Grayscale Investments Plans European Expansion

Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, is expanding into Europe. “We’re going to be very thoughtful, very methodical about each of the financial centers and financial hubs that we ultimately launch in,” said the CEO.

The world’s largest digital asset manager, Grayscale Investments, is getting ready to expand into Europe, CEO Michael Sonnenshein told Bloomberg Tuesday.

He explained that decisions have yet to be made regarding which exchanges, which products, and which countries Grayscale will target first. The executive revealed that he has been meeting with various local partners to discuss the launch timeline, adding that the company plans to run a series of pilot tests in different markets.

“Although the EU is unified, we don’t view the entire European market as in fact one market,” Sonnenshein described, elaborating:

Instead we’re going to be very thoughtful, very methodical about each of the financial centers and financial hubs that we ultimately launch in, because we recognize the differentiation of investor behaviors and attitudes, and of regulatory regimes.

There are more than 80 exchange-traded crypto products listed in Western Europe, the publication conveyed. However, in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to approve a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Grayscale has filed with the SEC to convert its flagship bitcoin trust (GBTC), which has about $25 billion in assets under management, into a spot bitcoin ETF. The SEC is expected to make a decision in July. Sonnenshein recently said that the securities regulator refusing to approve bitcoin spot ETFs is “potentially grounds for an Administrative Procedure Act violation.”

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