Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Chairman of Grayscale, has announced his resignation from his position. This news comes at a crucial time, as Grayscale is involved in the Bitcoin spot ETF race, about which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will have to rule very soon.
Barry Silbert resigns as chairman of Grayscale’s board of directors
An unexpected turn of events: while all eyes are on January 8-10, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to make a final decision on Ark Invest’s cash Bitcoin ETF application, Barry Silbert has announced his resignation as Chairman of Grayscale.
How are these events related? Well, Grayscale, which offers the world’s largest Bitcoin trust, namely the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is in the running in the BTC spot ETF race, and specifically wishes to convert its GBTC into an ETF. If Grayscale’s position is so important in the Bitcoin spot ETF narrative, it’s because the crypto giant won its case against the SEC last August.
This court decision required the SEC to reconsider Grayscale’s request for conversion, particularly as the regulator’s initial refusal was unjustified, since it had previously accepted Bitcoin futures ETFs, and these were entirely similar to spot ETFs.
Indeed, the SEC argued that the spot ETF applications did not include the necessary fraud detection features, a justification that the courts had described as wholly arbitrary.
Also, thanks to Grayscale’s victory over the SEC and the positioning of BlackRock, which holds the impressive record of 575 ETFs approved for a single denial, specialists estimate a 90% chance that a series of spot Bitcoin ETFs will be approved simultaneously around January 10.
Calendar of important dates relating to spot Bitcoin ETFs
The timing of Barry Silbert’s departure is particularly curious. According to Grayscale’s SEC filing, Silbert will officially step down on January 1, and will be replaced by Mark Shifke.
Barry Silbert is also CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG). DCG owns several companies operating in the crypto sector, including Foundry, Genesis, Luno and, of course, Grayscale. It also owned CoinDesk media, which it sold this summer for $125 million.
Digital Currency Group (DCG) president Mark Murphy has also decided to resign from Grayscale’s board of directors. He too will be replaced on January 1.
Mark Shifke, Barry Silbert’s replacement, has considerable experience in finance and banking. He has served with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase in mergers & acquisitions, advisory services and financial services. Welcome experience as we approach the (likely) Bitcoin spot ETFs on the US market…
