Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein explained:
“We have begun to see that it is not only hedge funds that invest in grayscale funds, but other institutions, pension funds and endowment funds are also beginning to participate. Their investment scale is also growing rapidly.”
Grayscale has always been the center of the Bitcoin (BTC) buying frenzy and now holds about 3% of Bitcoin in circulation. As more and more institutional investors seek exposure to Bitcoin, the crypto fund management company continues to accumulate large positions in digital assets.
The total scale of asset management (AUM) of Grayscale investment products has exceeded US$27 billion. To date, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is still the most popular product, with an AUM of more than $23 billion. The Grayscale Ethereum Trust is currently worth approximately US$3.6 billion, while the Grayscale Large Cap Fund’s AUM is nearly US$339 million.
Update on January 7, 2021: The net assets under the management of the company, the holdings per share, and the price per share of our investment products. Total assets: US$27.4 billion. The company’s investment products include BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, ZEN, LTC, XLM, XRP, ZEC.
Pension funds are following a group of institutional buyers who have entered the Bitcoin market starting in 2020. A survey conducted by Fidelity Investments last year found that 36% of financial institutions in the United States and Europe stated that they purchased cryptocurrencies or derivatives. More than a quarter of respondents said they hold Bitcoin, while 11% of respondents said they hold Ethereum (ETH).
According to Grayscale Investments, institutional investors are constantly pouring into the cryptocurrency and bitcoin markets, and pension funds and endowment funds are recent investors entering this field.
Grayscale’s active purchase of bitcoin may be one of the reasons for the rapid appreciation of bitcoin prices. As more and more Bitcoins exit circulation, this already scarce asset becomes more difficult to obtain. Sonnenshein explained:
“Bitcoin is an asset that verifies its scarcity, so when the mechanism removes them from circulation, it will naturally become a scarcer asset.”
