Grayscale announced that it has secured David Grider as its new Head of Research, effective from August 2021.
According to a press release shared with Finance Magnates, David Grider, a crypto executive previously Head of Digital Assets Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, has been named by Grayscale, a unit of Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, as its new Head of Research.
Grider stated in an interview that he decided to join the crypto asset manager because he thinks Grayscale's unique position enables them to Bridge the gap between crypto and Wall Street. This comes amid the increasing institutional adoption and maturation of the still-nascent asset class.
"I'm really excited about the size and scale of Grayscale as an asset manager in the crypto industry, and what it means for me to be able to help provide color to investors and the broader community on what's going on within the crypto space, both from an investment perspective and what's happening in the industry as a whole," Grider said.
Reviewing Grider’s Background
Prior to Grayscale’s announcement, Grider served as Head of Digital Assets Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, LLC. He spent around twenty months in the role and was located in New York.
Before working for Fundstrat, this crypto executive spent close to four years as Co-Founder and General Partner at Ænigma Capital. During this time, he led the firm’s investment process. Thus, he oversaw portfolio performance, idea origination, due diligence, structuring, negotiation and execution of deals as well as other requirements. Simultaneously, he took on the responsibilities as Co-Founder and Managing Director of Aenigma Advisors/Partners.
Earlier on at PwC, he served the consulting group in Financial Instruments, Structured Products & Real Estate (FSR). In July 2015, he managed a team of associates during 30+ engagements. He provided assert valuation advisory, transactions services and strategic consulting among other responsibilities.
In January 2012, Grider joined Noble Financial Group in Tech, Media & Telecom (TMT) in Equity Research. Within a year, he received a promotion to Vice President of Equity Capital Markets (ECM).
The Drive Behind Surging Crypto Asset Prices
Recently, there has been a surge in crypto asset prices. The two largest Cryptocurrencies , Bitcoin and Ethereum, have increased 18.9% and 23.5%, respectively, over the last week. Grider comments on his perspective regarding the surge in crypto prices.
"Beyond bitcoin, there are a lot of opportunities for me to help people understand what these other crypto assets are, how they work, what they do, what the technological value is, and how they function," Grider said.
"My view has been that this was a mid-cycle pullback in a broader bull market cycle run," he said. "I think that fits within the narrative of the macroeconomy being in the early innings of a recovery post the Covid crisis."
Additionally, "I think that that kind of broader risk-on is something that's fueling the broader markets as well as crypto," he said. "And that's reflected in the price."
He also points out that crypto is benefiting from industry-specific tailwinds. Recently, JPMorgan gave its financial advisors the go-ahead to enable all wealth-management clients access to crypto funds. This includes four from Grayscale and one from Osprey Funds.
Grayscale has a running list of assets under consideration for launching potential new products. Though Grider is new to the role, he intends to contribute considerably to that research going forth.
"I'm definitely going to be researching a lot of other crypto-assets as I have been and continue to do," he said. "Grayscale is very forward-thinking in that it has been very open to adding additional products for assets that make sense and that we think are great opportunities for clients and for the industry as a whole."
