Grayscale’s enormous crypto asset trusts are now bigger than the economy of Bahrain, it has emerged.
The firm’s reputation is grounded in the famous Grayscale Bitcoin Trust – an investment vehicle that provides more traditional investors portfolio exposure to BTC.
But booming NFT markets have seen Ether prices surge almost 100% over the past six weeks in a wild and unabated rally. With the asset now pushing resistance in an all-time high range (ATHs), the lesser-known Grayscale Ethereum Trust has risen to prominence.
An updated report released by Grayscale last Friday reveals Ethereum now represents the second-largest asset holding in the company’s portfolio, and following the summer price dip there is now 3,000,000 Ether (ETH) in Grayscale’s custody.
3,000,000 ETH is valued at about $12B at the time of writing. It has been reported that the company made $3B in gains during the recent Ethereum price rally.
Bitcoin remains backbone
The company’s report also revealed it had reached a whopping $47 billion in digital assets under management, making the firm more valuable than Bahrain.
09/03/21 UPDATE: Net Assets Under Management, Holdings per Share, and Market Price per Share for our Investment Products.
Total AUM: $46.8 billion$BTC $BAT $BCH $LINK $MANA $ETH $ETC $FIL $ZEN $LTC $LPT $XLM $ZEC $UNI $AAVE $COMP $CRV $MKR $SUSHI $SNX $YFI $UMA $BNT $ADA pic.twitter.com/MfpRYl3SS0
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) September 3, 2021
Bitcoin (BTC) remains the backbone of the Grayscale investment holdings, with $32B under management. It is the largest collection of institutional BTC spot positions in the world and accounts for around 3% of global circulating supply.
The Bitcoin Trust is primarily used at an institutional level as a means of investing in BTC without actually holding it, with the Grayscale shares representing the value of the underlying Bitcoin. GBCT traditionally trades at a premium to the native asset value (NAV) pricing for BTC but, so far, 2021 has seen a persistent discount relative to the NAV.
(Source)
Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) took hold earlier this year, as investors feared the first Grayscale unlocking event would induce a sell-off. Whilst this contributed to the BTC price correction in June, it appears to have widely taken place without any real impact.
The table above also shows that the firm holds a plethora of alternative assets, demonstrating an increased diversification of crypto holdings, showing significant funds for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Zcash (ZEC).
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