Sushi and Synthetix get the boot in Grayscale DeFi fund rebalancing

April 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Crypto asset management firm Grayscale has added three new crypto assets to its funds and has kicked SushiSwap and Synthetix from its DeFi Fund following its first quarterly rebalance.

Digital asset management firm Grayscale, has added three new cryptocurrency assets across three main investment funds, while removing two other assets from its Decentralized Finance Fund as part of this year’s first quarterly rebalance.

Grayscale removed tokens from crypto-derivatives decentralized exchange Synthetix (SNX), and decentralized exchange SushiSwap (SUSHI), from its DeFi fund after the two crypto assets failed to meet the required minimum market capitalization. No other cryptocurrencies were removed during the rebalancing.

Grayscale’s DeFi fund, which was launched in July last year, currently holds approximately $8 million in assets. The digital assets remaining in the DeFi fund after the quarterly rebalance include Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), Curve (CRV), MakerDAO (MKR), Amp (AMP), Yearn Finance (YFI) and Compound (COMP).

The crypto asset manager added Avalanche (AVAX) and Polkadot (DOT) to its Digital Large Cap Fund, alongside adding Cosmos (ATOM) to its Smart Contract Platform Ex-Ethereum Fund (GSCPxE Fund).

The GSCPxE Fund, which was launched on March 22nd, offers investors the ability to bet on an index of Ethereum’s largest competitors. The GSCPxE Fund’s current holdings listed by the total amount held are ADA, SOL, AVAX, DOT, MATIC, ALGO, XLM and ATOM.

Grayscale remains the world’s leading crypto asset manager, reporting that it held $43.5 billion in assets under management as of Jan. 3rd, this year. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) remains the largest fund with just over $30 billion in AUM, but has traded at an increasing discount to its net-asset-value for the past year. GBTC is followed in size by the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETCG) which currently holds approximately $11.8 billion in AUM.

01/03/22 UPDATE: Net Assets Under Management, Holdings per Share, and Market Price per Share for our Investment Products.

Total AUM: $43.5 billion$BTC $BAT $BCH $LINK $MANA $ETH $ETC $FIL $ZEN $LTC $LPT $XLM $ZEC $UNI $AAVE $COMP $CRV $MKR $SUSHI $SNX $YFI $ADA $SOL $AMP pic.twitter.com/67Pb7xneoQ
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) January 4, 2022

In 2021, cryptocurrency investment funds generated over $9.3 billion in inflows as institutional adoption rose to new highs. Grayscale is gearing up to offer a Bitcoin Spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) and said it was willing to pursue legal action if the investment product remains barred by the SEC.

$10,000,000,000,000 Asset Management Firm BlackRock Exploring Support for Crypto Assets

March 25, 2022 The Daily Hodl

a16z-backed TrueFi launches DeFi lending market for asset managers

February 3, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Andreessen Horowitz

Ali Yahya, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, told Cointelegraph that TrueFi will “bring the unique advantages of DeFi to a wider and global user base.”

Stablecoin operator TrustToken has launched a new lending marketplace that allows asset managers to create their own decentralized finance products, potentially opening the door to wider mainstream adoption of DeFi solutions.

The new lending marketplace, which is offered on unsecured lending protocol TrueFi, gives independent financial institutions the ability to design, launch and fund new investment products. Asset managers also have access to TrueFi’s pool of lenders and borrowers as well as TrustToken’s institutional offerings.

Version 1 of the TrueFi protocol was shipped to institutional clients in November 2020 around the same time that the native TRU token launched. The protocol allows for the creation of collateral-free loans denominated in the TrueUSD stablecoin and vetted using on-chain credit scores. In 2021, the protocol originated $1 billion worth of loans.

TrueFi is described as an “app store for lending,” but instead of developers launching applications, the protocol enables asset managers to launch new financial portfolios directly on-chain.

Institutions are bullish on #Bitcoin!

The amount of BTC held by public companies has gained significant market share from that held in spot ETFs. https://t.co/DZP2AlMXlh
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 3, 2022

On Thursday, Delt.ai, a Mexico-based Y-Combinator startup, was announced as TrueFi’s first non-crypto financial partner. Since December, the startup has used TrueFi to originate millions of dollars worth of loans and expects to lend up to $25 million to Latin American businesses by the end of 2022.

TrueFi’s current lenders are “largely private, pseudo-anonymous individuals and family offices in DeFi, participating at a range of investment sizes,” TrustToken CEO Raphael Cosman told Cointelegraph in a written statement. TrueFi’s borrowers are likewise increasingly diverse, representing crypto hedge funds, venture capital-backed startups and soon-to-include traditional financial institutions.

When asked about the driving force behind the growing institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial products, Cosman told Cointelegraph that “capital will always seek the best risk-adjusted yields,” regardless of whether it’s coming from DeFi or traditional finance.

“The best yields are no longer in traditional markets, like equities or bonds, but in DeFi,” he said. “That promise of lucrative returns is the biggest force pulling traditional finance on-chain, and we expect it to continue.”

Even with the promise of higher yields, the transition to the unfamiliar world of crypto isn’t easy for many financial institutions. Cosan explained:

“First, it takes any organization time to understand and become comfortable with the “wild west” of crypto. This includes understanding the technology, the risks, the mechanisms for trading and custody of assets, and how to bring money into and out of crypto [...] The same goes for compliance and regulatory clarity."

Institutions want Bitcoin now more than ever, and Fidelity just revealed that 90% of their biggest clients are clamoring for crypto. https://t.co/MdsFljbqhL
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) August 17, 2021

Institutional involvement in the blockchain industry has broadened considerably over the past year, with asset managers buying into cryptocurrency funds and financial institutions utilizing crypto transactions with greater frequency. Several crypto-focused companies have also expanded their service offerings to target institutions, chief among them being ConsenSys, the blockchain infrastructure provider behind popular wallet extension MetaMask. In May 2021, the company announced a new service designed to onboard institutional players to the DeFi ecosystem.

Bitcoin AUM falls 9.5% to record largest monthly pullback since July

November 28, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Asset Management

The Bitcoin assets under management (AUM) market fell 9.5% to $48.7 billion in November while altcoin-based crypto funds such as Ether saw their AUM rise 5.4% to $16.6 billion.

While Bitcoin’s (BTC) position as a viable hedge against fiat inflation continues to attract investors, new data reflects a change in sentiment as Ethereum (ETH) and other cryptocurrency products pick up steam against falling Bitcoin assets under management (AUM).

The Bitcoin AUM market fell 9.5% to $48.7 billion in November, marking the year’s largest month-on-month pullback since July, according to a CryptoCompare report. On the other hand, altcoin-based crypto funds such as ETH saw their AUM rise 5.4% to $16.6 billion.

Monthly AUM of aggregated products. Source - CryptoCompare

As shown in the above graph, the total AUM across all digital asset investment products has fallen 5.5% to $70.0 billion, which coincides with the ongoing bear market ever since Bitcoin achieved an all-time high of above $65,000.

As a result of the 9.5% fall, the Bitcoin AUM market represents 70.6% of the total AUM share. Ethereum’s AUM, however, rose 5.4% to $16.6 billion while AUMs representing other crypto assets were up by $2.6 billion.

AUM by asset type. Source - CryptoCompare

Out of the total AUM offerings, Grayscale products amount to 76.8% of the AUM market. The Grayscale-dominated trust products fell by 6.8% to $54.5 billion. Other prominent players include XBT Provider ($5.0bn, 7.2% of total) and 21Shares ($2.5bn, 3.6% of total), evidenced by the graph below:

According to the report, weekly flows into Bitcoin-based products in November averaged $94.4 million. Out of the other $67.8 million, Ethereum-based products contributed to roughly $24.4 million, while Cardano- and Tron-based products amounted to $10.7 million and $10.5 million respectively.

American finserv giant Morgan Stanley reported increased their exposure to Bitcoin through purchases of shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

As Cointelegraph reported, Morgan Stanley’s recent filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlighted a 63% increase in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) holding.

Sporting a market price of nearly $45, Morgan Stanley’s overall Bitcoin-centered portfolio surpasses $300 million, primarily aimed at BTC exposure without direct crypto investments

SEC rejects VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF as BTC price falls below $63K

November 12, 2021 Coin Telegraph

SEC rejects VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF as BTC price falls below K

Asset Management

The SEC said any rule change in favor of approving the ETF would not be “‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” nor “protect investors and the public interest.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has officially disapproved asset manager VanEck’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund months after the firm submitted its application.

According to a Nov. 12 filing, the SEC rejected a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of VanEck’s Bitcoin (BTC) Trust. Specifically, the SEC said any rule change in favor of approving the ETF would not be “‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” nor “protect investors and the public interest.”

“The Commission concludes that BZX has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section,” said the SEC, adding:

“It is essential for an exchange listing a derivative securities product to enter into a surveillance-sharing agreement with markets trading the underlying assets for the listing exchange to have the ability to obtain information necessary to detect, investigate, and deter fraud and market manipulation, as well as violations of exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws and rules.”

The regulatory body had a maximum of 240 days to approve or deny the offering following its publication in the Federal Register on March 19, giving the SEC until Nov. 14 to make a decision after extensions on April 28 and Sept. 8. Industry experts including Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said he gave the odds of the SEC approving the VanEck fund at less than 1% given its track record of denying offerings from investment firms with exposure to crypto, a prediction which ultimately came to pass.

“[The SEC] address the inconsistency with not deeming CME a regulated mkt of sig size in spot denial but then approving futures ETFs,” said Balchunas. “It's such a good point, but SEC doesn't care. Not having it. Basically logic and reason are trumped by technical legality.”

The impact on the price of Bitcoin saw the crypto asset dip to $62,300 in the last hour before returning to $62,976.

This story is developing and will be updated.

Franklin Templeton seeks experts for Bitcoin trading and crypto research

September 3, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

With more than $1.4 trillion in assets under management, Franklin Templeton is one of the world’s largest independent asset managers.

Franklin Templeton is the latest investment company to go on a cryptocurrency hiring spree by posting fresh job applications seeking crypto professionals.

The American asset manager is looking for two medium-senior level experts to lead its crypto trading and research efforts, according to LinkedIn job postings published on Sept. 1.

Franklin Templeton’s newly opened crypto positions target professionals to work with the “largest, most liquid and tradable crypto assets,” including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

The company’s crypto research analyst will be responsible for creating and maintaining valuation models and keep portfolio managers and senior executives informed of related business opportunities, regulations, as well as technologies like staking. The analyst will be expected to help Franklin Templeton grow and manage new products in the crypto industry.

The trader position is seeking an expert to execute Franklin Templeton’s crypto trades who would be responsible for the timely execution of portfolio rebalancing and supporting work processes involving reconciliation and settlement. “The quantitative trader will also bring a process automation mindset to build or work with developers to construct tools to support the platform’s growth,” the application reads.

Franklin Templeton, with more than $1.4 trillion in assets under management, Franklin Templeton is one of the largest independent asset managers in the world, offering several professionally managed mutual funds. The company has been working on getting involved in adopting the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry in recent years.

In 2019, Franklin Templeton led a funding round for Proof of Impact, a blockchain-based marketplace for natural and social capital. Previously, Franklin Templeton Investments filed a prospectus with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for a state money market fund focusing on blockchain-based shares.

Wealth managers gain exposure to Bitcoin via Grayscale, according to new SEC filings

August 14, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Asset Management

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which trades under the ticker symbol GBTC, is being snatched up by institutional managers looking for more traditional exposure to digital assets.

New filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, reveal that four wealth management companies have acquired shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust, offering further evidence of institutional adoption of digital assets.

As first reported by MacroScope, a Twitter feed devoted to institutional trading and asset management, the firms disclosed their GBTC holdings in new filings for the period ending June 30, 2021.

Clear Perspective Advisors, an Illinois-based wealth manager, revealed direct ownership of 7,790 GBTC shares on Friday.

In an SEC filing today, Clear Perspective Advisors, a wealth management firm in Aurora, Illinois, reported owning 7,790 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin as of June 30.

Filing:https://t.co/PT21czzjvO pic.twitter.com/WZ7RYk1RBp
— MacroScope (@MacroScope17) August 13, 2021

Ohio-based Ancora Advisors scooped up 13,945 shares of GBTC as of June 30. While that’s a small position for the multi-billion-dollar asset manager, it reflects an important strategic move given that the company has a long-term investment perspective.

BTC institutional watch:

In a filing today, Ancora Advisors, based in Cleveland, reported 13,945 shares of Grayscale BTC as of June 30.

Tiny position for a big firm, but Ancora is a smart long-term shop. Worth watching in coming quarters.

Filing:https://t.co/QLtEbMq3Gd
— MacroScope (@MacroScope17) August 13, 2021

Meanwhile, two additional firms added to their GBTC holdings for the June 30 reporting period. Boston Private Wealth, which had previously reported 88,189 GBTC shares as of March 31, increased its exposure to 103,469 shares. Ohio-based manager Parkwood boosteits holdings to 125,000 shares from 93,000 at the end of March.

Major firms are finding new and diverse ways for gaining exposure to Bitcoin and other virtual assets. As Cointelegraph reported, tech giant Intel recently disclosed a sizable position in Coinbase stock, which provides direct exposure to the digital currency market.

Institutions are likely to increase their exposure to digital assets in the coming months — provided that the bullish narrative continues to play out. Many crypto observers subscribe to four-year cycle theory, which attempts to explain and forecast Bitcoin’s price from one cycle low to another. With the crypto asset class returning above $2 trillion this week — representing a $700 billion recovery from the local bottom — it appears that the next phase of the bull cycle is gaining traction.

VanEck takes new approach with SEC, files for Bitcoin Strategy ETF

August 10, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Asset Management

SEC chair Gary Gensler recently hinted he would be more open to accepting ETFs based on crypto futures rather than through direct exposure.

Asset manager VanEck is filing for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund after it unsuccessfully attempted to launch a similar fund four years ago.

According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC records, VanEck filed a prospectus for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund, or ETF, on Aug. 9. Unlike its Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) ETFs currently under review by the federal agency, the proposed fund would not invest in BTC directly, but provide exposure through Bitcoin future contracts, pooled investment vehicles, and other exchange-traded products.

VanEck said the Bitcoin Strategy ETF would allow exposure through crypto ETFs listed and traded in Canada — purportedly including those from Purpose Investments and Evolve Funds Group. A Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of the asset manager will make the investments.

Though VanEck filed a similar prospectus for a Bitcoin Strategy ETF in 2017, SEC chair Gary Gensler recently hinted he would be more open to accepting ETFs based on crypto futures rather than through direct exposure. Some companies filed similar "strategy" ETFs with the government body following Gensler’s announcement — investment firm Invesco announced its own plans to launch a Bitcoin ETF without direct exposure on Aug. 5.

The SEC has yet to approve any Bitcoin ETF in the United States. However, VanEck, Valkyrie Digital Assets, Fidelity Investments, and others have filed their own proposals for crypto ETFs. The commission has historically extended the deliberation window or opened the matter to public comments to seemingly avoid reaching any decision on a fund.

GoldenTree Asset Management is reportedly investing in Bitcoin

July 30, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

At least three executives at the $45 billion firm have participated in a funding round for the blockchain-focused VC group Borderless Capital.

New York-based asset management firm GoldenTree has reportedly added Bitcoin to its balance sheet, though the amount of this supposed investment remains unknown.

According to a Friday report from financial news outlet The Street, the firm with roughly $45 billion in assets under management has purchased some Bitcoin (BTC) but has seemingly shied away from other cryptocurrency investments. Citing two sources with knowledge of the matter, the publication reported the BTC purchase followed discussions between executives regarding hiring staffers familiar with crypto investments.

Executives at the firm, including founder Steven Tananbaum and partners Deeb Salem and Joseph Naggar invested in a funding round this month for Borderless Capital, which previously helped launch an accelerator program from Algorand. Borderless also participated in a funding round for the Coinbase-backed digital asset securities firm Securitize.

Other asset management firms have begun to delve into the crypto space as well, either through direct investments or by offering investment vehicles for Bitcoin and other tokens. Last week, Stone Ridge Asset Management filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to add BTC to its open-end mutual fund. On Wednesday, Contrarian investment firm Horizon Kinetics advised investors to seek exposure to crypto assets to protect themselves against currency debasement.

Cointelegraph reached out to GoldenTree, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Weekly roundup: Ark Invest, Edge Wealth Management, and Rothschild Investment accumulate crypto

July 23, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Asset Management

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest purchased more than 450,000 GBTC shares in two separate buys this week.

As the price of Bitcoin returned to more than $32,000 this week, some major firms announced they had increased their exposure to cryptocurrencies through Grayscale’s crypto trusts.

According to a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, New York-based investment firm Edge Wealth Management currently holds 54,134 shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at $27.13 at the time of publication, and 25,280 shares of the company’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE). The crypto holdings are worth almost $2 million at $1,468,655 and $466,668, respectively, roughly 0.3% of the $703 million total assets under management the company reported on Feb. 2.

Grayscale’s crypto trusts are not new investment opportunities for Edge. The investment firm held 37,605 GBTC and 17,300 ETHE shares in April, representing increases of 44% and 46%, respectively.

Some institutions’ exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies through Grayscale have increased as digital currencies seemingly play a larger role in the global economy. Similar filings with the SEC show Rothschild Investment Corp quadrupled its exposure to Bitcoin through Grayscale, owning 38,346 GBTC shares in April and 141,405 GBTC as of June 30. With a reported more than $1 billion in assets under management as of April 8, the Bitcoin trust shares represent less than 0.09% of the investment firm’s holdings.

However, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest is continuing to purchase GBTC shares at higher rate than the two aforementioned companies. This week, the investment firm reported it purchased more than 450,000 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in two separate buys, bringing its combined holdings to more than 9 million shares, or roughly 0.5% of its portfolio. At its peak in March, GBTC represented 0.9% of Ark’s portfolio.

“The investment community continues to express interest in the digital currency asset class, and the crypto ecosystem more broadly, and as these assets gain mainstream adoption, we anticipate investors will seek new ways to access digital currencies to further diversify their portfolios,” said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein in a letter to investors.

The reports of GBTC purchases come the same week Grayscale unlocked 16,240 BTC worth of its Bitcoin Trust shares after six months. Though there was some speculation the price of the crypto asset could be adversely affected by such a large release in a single day, BTC saw a roughly 2.9% increase in price week-over-week and reached $32,457 at the time of publication.

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