Grayscale Investments just announced the resignation of its chairman of the board, Barry Silbert, and another board member, Mark Murphy. Its chairman’s resignation is seen as a positive development in the ongoing bid of the company for spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the US.
The Grayscale Resignations
The latest reshuffle in Grayscale’s management was disclosed on December 26, 2023, via a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 8-K filing. The resignations of Silbert and Murphy will take effect on January 1, 2024. The document did not address the reason for their exit from the company.
Silbert is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG), which is the parent of Grayscale. Meanwhile, Murphy is the president of DCG. DCG’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark Shifke will take over the role that Silbert will vacate and he will be joined by new members, namely DCG Senior Vice President of Operations Matt Kummell and Grayscale CFO Edward McGee.
“Effective January 1, 2024, the board consists of Mr. Shifke, Mr. Kummell, Michael Sonnenshein, and Mr. McGee, who also retain the authority granted to them as officers under the limited liability company agreement of the sponsor,” said the 8-K filing.
How is the Crypto Community Taking the News?
Analysts are taking the resignation of Silbert from the Grayscale board as an early Christmas gift. While it is not clear whether or not it had something to do with DCG’s current legal battles, industry watchers are breathing a sigh of relief with the thought that it would help distance Grayscale from the issues of its parent company. In effect, this would put it in good graces with the SEC and would give greater autonomy to the management of Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein.
Others, however, are fanning the flames of a possible sale of Grayscale by next year.
Grayscale is presently one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency-centered asset management firms with $34 billion assets under management (AUM). It is also the third largest Bitcoin whale in the world with its haul totaling 643,572 BTC, which should be around $27.03 billion at the prevailing $42K per BTC rates.
Recently, the company converted amended its Form S-3 application to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin ETF. It also embraced the SEC’s recommendation for an In-Cash redemption model for its spot Bitcoin ETF.
All these should help improve Grayscale’s chances of becoming a part of the trillion-dollar Wall Street shake-up happening next year.