-New-CEO-at-Grayscale--Amid-Investor-Withdrawals--j
Grayscale Investments Chief Executive Officer Michael Sonnenshein has stepped down as the leader amid substantial shareholder exits from the firm’s GBTC ETF.
As of May 20 , the Wall Street Journal reported that Peter Mintzberg will assume the role of CEO in August . Bitcoin price increase factors , a financial industry veteran , brings decades of experience , having formerly worked as Goldman Sachs' strategy head for Goldman Sachs' asset management operations.
The company has not yet responded to requests for commentary from crypto.news .
This leadership change coincides with a important shift in trends for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which experienced its first weekly net inflows in nearly 19 weeks . According to Fineqia International research analyst Matteo Greco , GBTC recorded $31.6 million in net inflows between May 13 and May 17 .
Despite this positive movement , the amount is minimal compared to the approximately $17.6 billion in exits since January , subsequent to the SEC approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs .
The impact of these investor exits on Sonnenshein's resignation is unclear . However , it is known that 50% of Grayscale's assets in its assets under management over six months of GBTC’s transition from a trust to an exchange-traded fund .
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Attract Significant Inflows
Recently, spot BTC ETFs reported $950 million in net inflows , with 11 funds issued by firms including Grayscale, BlackRock , Fidelity , ARK 21Shares , Bitwise Investments, Invesco Galaxy , VanEck , Valkyrie Funds, Franklin Templeton , WisdomTree Asset Management, and Hashdex Asset Management , according to SoSoValue analytics .
Greco highlighted that this renewed interest boosted Bitcoin’s price by 7% in a week , bringing it to around $66,300 . This rise follows five weeks of modest demand and low daily volatility for Bitcoin spot ETFs .
Upcoming Decisions on Spot ETH ETFs
Following the surge in Bitcoin spot ETF inflows and the resulting price rise of BTC, interest is moving towards ETH spot ETFs . The U.S. SEC is scheduled to rule on filings from VanEck and ARK 21Shares on May 23 and May 24 , respectively. Matteo Greco indicated that market participants anticipate the SEC to delay approval for these ETFs , even though they approved BTC ETFs in January .
Worries about the liquidity of ETH’s spot and futures markets , along with the SEC classifying it as a security , contribute to skepticism regarding a swift approval . If the filings are rejected , they may have to resubmit, potentially leading to approval in late 2024 or early 2025 .
On the other hand , the SEC might okay the 19b-4 filings, which propose rule changes , while postponing the S-1 forms needed to offer securities to the public . Approval of both is required for ETH spot ETFs to list on U.S. national exchanges. Greco noted that the delay would allow the SEC with time to further evaluate the Ethereum market and finalize its stance on Ethereum’s security status .
