Grayscale Investments is looking to launch three new funds as it awaits a court ruling related to the planned conversion of its flagship product into an exchange-traded fund, regulatory filings show.
The cryptocurrency-focused asset manager is looking to bring to market a global bitcoin composite ETF that tracks an index and would invest in exchange-traded products that hold or are backed by physical bitcoin — as well as bitcoin mining companies.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas called the proposed fund a “semi-spot Bitcoin ETF” in a tweet.
Grayscale also hopes to launch a fund that will provide “actively managed exposure to Ethereum futures contracts,” the filing shows. In the United States, filing regulatory documents for new fund products does not necessarily indicate they will be approved.
While the Bitcoin futures ETF first launched in the United States in October 2021, there are no Ethereum futures funds in the country.
The third proposed fund, the Grayscale Privacy ETF, will invest in companies developing blockchain-based privacy solutions. It will also seek to put funds toward digital assets “designed to ensure more private and secure transactions by obfuscating user identities and transaction details,” the filing said.
“Grayscale remains committed to responsibly scaling our business,” a spokesperson told Blockworks in an email. “Our goal is to continually improve, simplify, and modernize the investing experience for our customers.”
Plans for the product come as Grayscale awaits a court ruling related to its case against the SEC. It sued the U.S. securities regulator last year after the SEC blocked its proposal to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF.
In addition to the proposed ETFs, Grayscale on Tuesday pointed to the formation of Grayscale Funds Trust, a "statutory trust structure" registered in Delaware that Grayscale said in a tweet "enhances our capabilities as a global asset manager." The fund structure is designed to include Grayscale's ETF products if they receive regulatory approval.
“The creation of Grayscale Funds Trust reflects our commitment to responsibly scaling Grayscale’s business," Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said in a statement. "We are laying the necessary foundation so that Grayscale can continue to create and manage regulated, future-proof products.”
