Grayscale filing reveals board reshuffle as Barry Silbert exits
Key figures at Grayscale, including chairman Barry Silbert and Mark Murphy, president of its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG), will step down from their board positions effective Jan. 1, 2024, according to a Dec. 26 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Mark Shifke, DCG’s chief financial officer, will replace Silbert as chairman by Jan. 1, and he will be joined by other board members Matthew Kummell and Edward McGee.
“The [new] Board consists of Mr. Shifke, Mr. Kummell, Michael Sonnenshein, and Mr. McGee, who also retain the authority granted to them as officers under the limited liability company agreement of the Sponsor,” Grayscale wrote in the filing.
The SEC filing did not indicate why the firm had decided to make these changes.
Grayscale is one of the world’s largest crypto-focused asset management firms, with the value of assets under its management exceeding $34 billion.
Grayscale is known for its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which it is currently applying to convert into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The firm scored a pivotal victory against the US SEC in August when the court ruled that the financial regulator acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in rejecting its previous attempt to convert its trust into an ETF.
Meanwhile, the investment company is the second-largest BTC entity globally, with nearly 620,000 units of the top cryptocurrency valued at more than $27 billion.
However, its Bitcoin Trust currently trades at a 5.63% discount to the underlying asset, according to Coinglass data.