Grayscale Investments Hires Ex-US Solicitor General

Firm adds muscle to its legal counsel before SEC rules on its bitcoin ETF application

article-image

Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., former Solicitor General of the United States | Source: Embassy of Italy in the US/"21" (CC license)

share

key takeaways

  • Donald B. Verrilli Jr. was US solicitor general from 2011 to 2016 and was previously deputy counsel to President Barack Obama
  • The SEC is set to rule on Grayscale’s application to convert its bitcoin trust to an ETF next month

Grayscale Investments is bolstering its legal team as the SEC weighs whether to allow the crypto-focused asset manager to convert its bitcoin trust to an ETF.

The company hired Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. as a senior legal strategist to work alongside Grayscale’s in-house counsel and its attorneys at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Grayscale wrote Tuesday in a series of tweets

“We want to ensure that we have the strongest possible team of legal minds ready to support our BTC ETF application,” Grayscale tweeted. “He is one of the nation’s most experienced attorneys with a deep understanding of legal theory, administrative procedure, and the practical matters of working with the judiciary branch.”

Verrilli was the 46th solicitor general of the United States, from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as deputy counsel to President Barack Obama and as an associate deputy attorney general in the US Department of Justice. 

Before working for the government, he was a partner at law firm Jenner & Block where he co-chaired the firm’s Supreme Court practice.

The SEC, which has not yet approved an ETF that would invest directly in bitcoin, is set to rule on Grayscale’s application for such a product next month. 

The asset manager has asked the agency for approval to morph its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which has roughly $20 billion in assets, to an ETF. 

Verrilli has argued more than 50 cases before the US Supreme Court, including several that dealt directly with Administrative Procedure Act (APA) violations, according to Grayscale.

Attorneys for Davis Polk & Wardwell previously argued to the SEC that the securities watchdog’s decision to approve a futures-based bitcoin ETF and not a spot ETF is “arbitrary and capricious” — and therefore in violation of the APA.

Grayscale Chief Legal Officer Craig Salm said in April that the bitcoin ETF landscape is “unfair and discriminatory against GBTC shareholders and all of the other US investors looking for an accessible and efficient way to gain their bitcoin exposure.” 

Earlier that month, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein doubled down on previous comments that the company would consider suing the agency if it denies its proposed conversion.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

Blinks Report Image.png

Research

Blinks enable the ability to vampire attack user monetization of existing networks by inserting onchain and financialized functionalities directly within the popular social feeds and digital experiences of today.

article-image

Plus, how the FTX collapse played out in Asian countries

article-image

Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour said Thursday marked the “the first trade on regulated election markets in nearly a century”

article-image

I was excited about being on the precipice of realigning societal incentives and solving many issues plaguing our modern financial world

article-image

Cypherpunk Holdings has rebranded to Sol Strategies in a pivot to a Solana-first investment approach

article-image

BitGo’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) has a new custodial challenger

article-image

Make no mistake: Tether makes a ton of money. But exactly how much depends a lot on the price of bitcoin.