FTX estate sells majority of GBTC holdings: Reports

Both Bloomberg and CoinDesk reported that the FTX estate has sold a majority of its GBTC shares

article-image

FTX and Adobe Stock modified by Blockworks

share

The FTX estate reportedly offloaded the majority of its shares in the recently converted Grayscale bitcoin ETF.

Both Bloomberg and CoinDesk reported on the sale, citing sources familiar. 

Marex Capital sold a majority of the 22 million shares held by FTX, according to Bloomberg. Court documents filed last year showed that FTX owned 22.28 million shares.

The sale, with the shares trading for around $38, fetched roughly $600 million, the report said.

“Broadly speaking, large capital markets ETFs are used in a variety of investing strategies, and we anticipate GBTC’s diverse shareholder base will continue to deploy strategies that impact inflows and outflows,” John Hoffman, managing director of sales & distribution at Grayscale, said in a statement to Blockworks.  

Nearly two weeks ago, Grayscale’s fund converted to a bitcoin ETF. This followed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authorization for nearly a dozen firms to launch spot bitcoin ETFs for the first time.

Read more: As bitcoin ETFs continue fight for assets, here’s where they all stand

GBTC initially launched in 2013 and has roughly $23 billion in assets under management due to its conversion. Other funds, such as BlackRock’s new spot bitcoin ETFs, are well under that figure due to the recent launches. 

The reports from both Bloomberg and CoinDesk would account for nearly a billion in outflows from GBTC in the last week. In total, Grayscale’s fund has seen $2.2 billion of net outflows.

As Blockworks previously reported, CoinShares data shows that the outflows have overshadowed some large inflows raked in by rivals BlackRock and Fidelity Investments. The firms have seen crypto-related inflows of $931 million and $860 million, respectively, according to the data.

Both funds have since hit $1 billion in assets.

FTX received court approval last November to sell assets, including shares of Grayscale’s fund. 

“The Debtors are authorized, but not directed, to execute sales of the Trust Assets, in their reasonable business judgment,” a court document approving the sales said at the time.

Updated Jan. 22, 2024 at 4:17 pm ET: Added quote from Grayscale.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).png

Research

Aave’s revenues have doubled from April lows and are fast approaching all-time highs. With 35% of borrow interest coming from ETH and 55% from stablecoins, Aave is emerging as a powerful proxy as an ETH and stablecoin beta. As looping strategies accelerate growth and Horizon positions the protocol to ride the RWA wave, Aave is shaping up as one of DeFi’s most compelling multi-narrative plays.

article-image

Private testnet aims to deliver low-cost settlement with partners including Visa, Deutsche Bank, and OpenAI

by Blockworks /
article-image

Solana saw $78 million in REV for August

article-image

Lit Protocol’s Vincent is shifting agentic finance from toy demos to production rails

article-image

The new system aims to unify Europe’s fragmented tokenized asset settlement and cut cross-border costs

by Blockworks /
article-image

Tron slashed fees by 60% as Plasma looms, threatening its USDT moat

article-image

The acquisition adds evaluation-based funding to Kraken Pro, giving traders access to capital on performance

by Blockworks /