Grayscale, touted among the world’s largest crypto asset managers, is planning to go public in the coming months. Ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), the investment firm has welcomed its founder Barry Silbert back as the company chairman to replace Mark Shifk from the position. Silbert had stepped down as the Grayscale chairman towards the end of 2023 when the company and its affiliates were in the thick of multiple legal issues in the U.S.
At present, Grayscale claims to hold over $35 billion in assets under management from an array of products — including BTC and ETH ETFs as well as diversified crypto funds among others. Announcing Silbert’s return, the company believes, he will bring historical insight and strategic perspective to shape up its operational roadmap for the next phase of expansion.
I’m honored to rejoin the Grayscale board at a defining moment for both the company and the broader digital asset ecosystem,” said Silbert, who also founded Grayscale’s parent firm — the Digital Currency Group (DCG) in 2015.
Along with Silbert, four more industry veterans from fintech firms like Goldman Sachs, Citagde, Bridgewater, and Apollo Global Management have been roped-in to serve in senior positions at Grayscale. While Diana Zhang and Ramona Boston have been appointed as the COO and CMO, Andrea Williams and Maxwell Rosenthal will take up the roles of Chief Communications Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer.
According to Grayscale CEO Mintzberg, this team will help the company deliver advanced investment strategies around services like single-asset exposure and strategically designed thematic portfolios.
On July 14, Grayscale announced that it confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the U.S. SEC, hinting at a planned IPO. It said that it is yet to finalize the price range and number of shares to be registered.
For now, it is awaiting SEC’s review of its filing to take further action on its plan.