Grayscale CEO: BlackRock ETF filing is Bitcoin 'validating moment'

Author: FELIX NG, COINTELEGRAPH; Compiler: Songxue, Jinse Finance

Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein said the recent filing of a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing should be seen as a "validating moment" for bitcoin.

In an interview with CNBC Last Call on July 12, Sonnenshein dismissed the notion that BlackRock’s entry into the Bitcoin ETF race made it “uncool.”

“Literally, the public commitment of the world’s largest asset managers to advance their efforts around cryptocurrencies only bolsters the asset class’s effectiveness and its staying power.”

In the past four weeks alone, at least seven major institutions, including BlackRock, have applied for spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States.

If approved, both institutional and retail investors in the U.S. will have an easy, legal way to get bitcoin pricing without actually owning bitcoin.

“ETFs are tried and true, and they’ve become an access point to many different assets, whether it’s commodities or stocks,” Sonnenshein said.

“Bitcoin is an asset that is not going away. Investors want and deserve it.”

So far, Sonnenshein’s Grayscale has been offering U.S. investors a roundabout way to gain exposure to bitcoin — allowing investors to hold large stakes in bitcoin trusts through its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) trade.

However, the firm also hopes to convert it into a spot bitcoin ETF, which would give the inventor an easier way to trade bitcoin prices without GBTC’s nasty discount to NAV.

“Being able to offer investors bitcoin exposure through GBTC like we do today is an incredible milestone...but moving to an ETF structure will give investors the extra protection they want.”

In June 2022, Grayscale filed a lawsuit against the SEC over the denial of its 2021 application to convert its GBTC.

“If we succeed in this challenge, it will literally unlock billions of dollars in investor capital,” Sonnenshein said.

In the days after BlackRock filed for a spot bitcoin ETF on June 15, the bitcoin price surged 20 percent, reaching a yearly high of $31,460 on July 6. It is currently trading at $30,633.