Grayscale Holds $10.4 Billion of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency

By Shaurya Malwa

Crypto fund manager Grayscale now holds over $10 billion worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its clients, it said in a tweet yesterday. The firm was launched in 2013 and is one of the first players to offer crypto-focused services to institutional clients.

Bitcoin’s parabolic move in the past few weeks has caused Grayscale to increase its holdings of the asset—and the value of them. As per a report by crypto research firm CryptoCompare, the firm's Bitcoin Trust Product surged by 56% in the past month to its current $9.1 billion market cap. This represents 87.5% of its assets under management. The product also saw a record $215 million in weekly inflows over the last month, the report added.

Grayscale’s other crypto holdings, as per an official release, include $1.2 billion worth of Ethereum, $69 million of Ethereum Classic, $58 million in Litecoin, $46 million of Bitcoin Cash, and a much smaller $9.8 million in XRP.

All these are offered to clients via the firm's “Trust” products, an over-the-counter issuance that represents a certain amount of that altcoin in each “share” purchased by an investor.

For example, the firm’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) offering has a market price of $20.16 and holds $16.42 worth of Bitcoin as part of that. The remaining amount is a small “premium” for the convenience and security offered to customers, as opposed to buying spot Bitcoin on an unregulated exchange and having to deal with security and storage issues. But clearly, institutional investors don't seem to mind.

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