Digital Currency Group To Buy $250 Million Of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Shares

Digital Currency Group Inc (DCG), the parent company of Grayscale Investments, plans to purchase $250 million worth of shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC.

What Happened: In a press release shared by the company earlier today, DCG disclosed that it would make the purchase on the open market while funding it with cash on hand.

DCG’s CEO Barry Silbert is considered one of the most active investors in the blockchain sector, as DCG backs over 175 blockchain-related companies over 35 countries.

Why it matters: DCG subsidiary Grayscale Investments has over $42 billion under its assets management, making it undoubtedly the largest digital currency asset manager.

See also: How to Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Of all Grayscale’s products, its Bitcoin Trust remains the most popular investment vehicle, particularly to institutional investors as it offers them a regulated option to gain indirect exposure to Bitcoin.

Throughout most of its existence, shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) have traded at a premium to its Net Asset Value (NAV), but more recently, that premium has turned into a discount.

According to data from Ycharts, the discount was around -3.2% at the time of writing –– a sharp contrast from its premium of over 40% in December 2020.

Factors contributing to the fall in this premium include large investors cashing out of GBTC as well as competing products, like Canada’s Bitcoin ETF capturing some of the market.

What Else: According to Grayscale’s website, the company seems to be actively hiring ETF specialists.

The job postings indicate that Grayscale might be trying to launch its own Bitcoin ETF – a prospect that excited many in the crypto community.