Grayscale Will Have A Better Path Forward Than Others In ETF Battle: CEO Of Digital Asset Research

Grayscale Investments, the asset manager behind the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC, has partnered with Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK to avail its fund accounting services.

What Happened: In a press release on Tuesday, Grayscale said that the partnership would also see BNY Mellon providing transfer agency and ETF Services for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust upon its conversion to an ETF.

“Engaging BNY Mellon is an important milestone as part of our commitment to converting Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF,” said Michael Sonnenshein, chief executive officer of Grayscale Investments.

Why It Matters: Earlier this year, Grayscale announced that it was “100% committed to converting GBTC into an ETF.”

So far, there has been no sign of a Bitcoin ETF approval from the SEC, with the U.S regulator delaying verdicts on most applications this year – most recently pushing its decision on an application from WisdomTree.

According to the CEO of Digital Asset Research, Doug Schwenk, however, the industry view is not a matter of "if" but "when" a Bitcoin ETF is approved.

“Lots of hope for a path toward an ETF with the successful ETF launches in Canada in February and a change at the SEC. However, the past couple of months have revealed that the SEC hasn't seen certain risks addressed, or doesn't like some aspect of the filings submitted, or isn't ready to proceed,” Schwenk told Benzinga via email.

“It's not surprising that the SEC would be slower moving than Canadian regulators, given the larger size of the US market and it's not surprising that Chairman Gensler and the rest of the commission would be focused on other issues after just taking office on the back of a pandemic,” he added.

Read also: Bitcoin ETF Proposals: The SEC's Long History Of Rejections

Given the current state of affairs, Schwenk expects that a Bitcoin ETF might only materialize next year, but Grayscale might have an advantage over its competitors.

“As one of the more established providers, it's likely Grayscale will have a better path forward than others, but ultimately it will depend on the quality of their filing. Having highly trusted, institutional players, like BNY Mellon, as part of their offering will only help,” he said.

Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin BTC/USD was trading at $31,609, down 0.54% over the past 24-hours.