Grayscale Remains ‘Unequivocally Committed’ to Converting GBTC to an ETF

With the SEC’s final deadline to decide on whether to approve Grayscale’s application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) looming on July 6, CEO Michael Sonnenshein wrote in a letter to investors Monday that his company is “unequivocally committed” to getting the trust converted (Grayscale’s parent company is the Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk as an independent subsidiary.)

Sonnenshein reiterated steps the firm has taken to garner support for a conversion, including working to educate the general public about the issue, meeting with the SEC and hiring a former lawyer from the Obama Administration to assist with the process.

Sonnenshein wrote that despite being encouraged by the SEC’s actions over the last eight months in approving other futures-based bitcoin ETF products, the firm is still “preparing for all possible post-ruling scenarios.”

The discount between GBTC’s share price and the price of bitcoin has narrowed recently from 34% to 29% but most analysts and observers are still not expecting the SEC to approve Grayscale’s current application, nor that of Bitwise’s spot bitcoin ETF, whose final deadline for approval is this Wednesday, June 29.