Barry Silbert has stepped down as chairman of Grayscale Investments, the entity behind the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC), and will be succeeded by Mark Shifke as reported by RTRS. This change, effective January 1st, is seen by some as a 'Christmas gift' from Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale, and occurs in the context of Grayscale's efforts to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot ETF. The trust has amended its application, shifting from 'in-kind' to 'cash creates', which is interpreted as a strategic move to match other applicants and possibly secure approval as Bitcoin Spot ETFs decisions loom. Grayscale has engaged in nine meetings with the SEC, and despite unresolved allegations against its parent company DCG, the market's optimism is reflected in the GBTC discount narrowing to -6.2%, a level not seen since it first emerged in February 2021. In addition, Mark Murphy, DCG's president, has also resigned from the board, with no official explanation for the resignations. The reshuffling of the board and the recent amendments to the ETF application suggest a concerted effort to demonstrate compliance and readiness for a potential ETF nod.
.@Grayscale says @BarrySilbert has resigned as chairman and will be replaced by @DCGCo CFO Mark Shifke on Jan. 1. DCG's president, Mark Murphy, also resigned from the board. https://t.co/uysYXmT4af https://t.co/Qg693ql0RQ
Chairman Leaves Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s Sponsor as Investors Await Call on ETF https://t.co/6W6S5V8FyZ
JUST IN: Grayscale capitulates, amending their S-3 for the spot #Bitcoin ETF to remove language for “in-kind” and changing to “cash creates” on the same day Barry Silbert resigns from the Board of Directors. Seems like they want in on the first round of approvals at all costs 👀 https://t.co/quIUwI3pfV
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Grayscale filed an amendment to it’s spot #Bitcoin ETF with the SEC to do cash creates to match the other applicants 👀 All ready for approval? 🚀 https://t.co/uWgHJdlfus
And there it is, this step down is for sure an agreement for Barry to be out for Grayscale to join the ETF ranks. Glad I loaded up on GBTC and ETHE with the higher discount today. 🫡 https://t.co/89G2QVOAEJ
UPDATE: @Grayscale just filed another amended S-3 to convert $GBTC into a #Bitcoin ETF. https://t.co/TKPP9ufa9X
Barry Silbert has resigned from the Grayscale board, and the GBTC discount currently sits at -6.2%. Since the discount emerged in February 2021, it has only been as narrow as it is today for about 4 weeks. The market appears optimistic about GBTC's odds of ETF conversion. https://t.co/M6Y9tE3fxJ
Suits crew is rolling in. "Grayscale board resignations a show of ‘best behaviour’ before Bitcoin ETF nod" https://t.co/h6i34uwWiL
Crypto asset manager @Grayscale, the @DCGco-owned asset manager aiming to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF, is reshuffling its board, and two top DCG execs are leaving. @BrandyBetz reports https://t.co/oXfwUkw83K
Grayscale's profits in 2024 will be about 10% of Blackrock's, maybe more if we rip higher. The board resignations today don't change the economics to DCG or the market share of Grayscale. All they do is pave the way for GBTC's almost certain uplisting. Full send.
Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert leaves Grayscale board as spot bitcoin ETF hopefuls race to the finish line https://t.co/UFmorZPfU3
Grayscale board resignations signal show of ‘best behaviour’ before Bitcoin ETF nod https://t.co/Eyj0Aqxj47
Great long thread (47 tweets & counting!) by @real_vijay that is relevant to today's news that Barry Silbert is stepping down from the board of @Grayscale on the eve of the SEC's decisions on #Bitcoin ETFs (including $GBTC's potential uplisting). https://t.co/sH6NIbxMwC
Would the SEC approve the Grayscale trust conversion with Barry still on board? No, Barry is not the grifter they can use, he is one of us to an extent, they need "clean" grifters. The Bitcoin Spot ETFs approvals are very close https://t.co/zSH4u3G6fY
Filing: Grayscale Investments, which runs the world's largest crypto trust, says Barry Silbert resigned as chair, replaced by Mark Shifke, and offers no reason (@yueqi_yang / Bloomberg) https://t.co/JP1XNanFyj 📫 Subscribe: https://t.co/OyWeKSRpIM https://t.co/jVms2sBLwP
Barry's resignation was @Sonnenshein's X-Mas gift. What to make of @bsilbert resigning from Grayscale? Grayscale has had 9 meetings with the SEC per the table below (h/t @JSeyff) Today, there are only allegations against DCG which have not been resolved in a court of law.… https://t.co/9VTriSMoM3 https://t.co/d7tZFFAOoU
Barry's resignation was Michael's X-Mas gift. What to make of the @bsilbert resigning from Grayscale? Grayscale has had 9 meetings with the SEC per the table below (h/t @JSeyff) Today, there are only allegations against DCG which have not been resolved in a court of law. Even… https://t.co/5Jz2Wb0fEy https://t.co/d7tZFFAOoU
.@Grayscale said @BarrySilbert resigned as chairman and will be replaced by Mark Shifke on Jan. 1. @sheldonreback reports. https://t.co/zer11YEQqz
GRAYSCALE BITCOIN TRUST (BTC): SHIFKE SUCCEEDS SILBERT AS CHAIRMAN OF GRAYSCALE INVESTMENTS - RTRS
Cash Creates: Basically a poison pill. One of the purposes of the Bitcoin ETF is to launder dirty bitcoins, by going with cash creates instead of in-kind, it’s basically poisoned. There’s a lot of dirty bitcoin looking to be made clean. If you ever wondered why the Grayscale… https://t.co/Q7z8nJtbu1