Grayscale Ethereum Trust Files To Become An SEC-Reporting Company

On August 6, Grayscale Ethereum Trust filed to become an SEC-reporting company.

Amidst the Ether (ETH) bull run, Grayscale Investments voluntarily decided to make its Ethereum Trust an SEC reporting company. The company’s best-known investment product is a Bitcoin Trust that holds around 400,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth nearly $4,744,800,000 as of press time. Additionally, its Ethereum Trust currently has 1.9 million ETH in its possession, valued at approximately $746 million. As with other Grayscale products, Coinbase is acting as a custodian.

Grayscale noted that the filing is under review. If approved, it would be the second cryptocurrency investment vehicle to attain such status: 

“The filing is subject to SEC review; if the Registration Statement becomes effective, it would designate Grayscale Ethereum Trust as the second digital currency investment vehicle to attain the status of a reporting company by the SEC, following Grayscale® Bitcoin Trust as the first.”

This would likely present the Trust in a more favorable view to potential institutional investors.

81% of returning institutional investors invest beyond Bitcoin

In today’s Medium post, Grayscale pointed out that the demand for its Ethereum Trust in the second quarter of 2020 accounted for almost 15% of all inflows:

“This past quarter alone (2Q20), we saw the average weekly investment into the Grayscale Ethereum Trust hit $10.4 million, amounting to record quarterly inflows into the Trust to the tune of $135.2 million.”

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Grayscale emphasized the increased willingness to diversify beyond Bitcoin for the returning institutional investors. In the last quarter, 81% of these investors diversified their holdings beyond Bitcoin, an increase from 71% over the  trailing 12 months.