Grayscale is open to M&A-related opportunities, firm’s CEO says

GBTC operator’s “eyes and ears are open” when approached about potential strategic deals, CEO Michael Sonnenshein says

article-image

Grayscale and Adobe Stock modified by Blockworks

share

Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments has been fielding calls related to mergers and acquisitions following its high-profile legal win against the Securities and Exchange Commission last year. 

When asked during an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin whether Grayscale would still be an independent company in two years, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said his firm is open to considering deals.

“Our eyes and ears are open, and sometimes people are approaching us about strategically working together,” Sonnenshein told CNBC. “But nothing to announce this morning.”

Big financial players like BlackRock are further wading into the crypto space, Sorkin noted. Grayscale is a giant of sorts in the segment, with roughly $23 billion of assets under management in its Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) alone. 

Still, GBTC’s asset base has shrunk in recent weeks, while more money has gravitated to lower-cost spot bitcoin ETFs by BlackRock, Fidelity and others.

Carrying a fee of 1.5%, GBTC has seen about $7.3 billion in net outflows over the last six weeks. The nine other spot bitcoin ETFs have tallied collective net inflows of roughly $12.6 billion.

Read more: After record crypto product inflow week, bitcoin ETF volumes spike

“Would it make sense for you to be with somebody else?” Sorkin posed.

“It could,” Sonnenshein said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that those types of conversations and those opportunities over time have started to present themselves at Grayscale.”

A Grayscale spokesperson did not immediately return a request for further comment.

Sonnenshein said the broader investment community took notice of Grayscale’s court victory over the SEC in August.

DC Circuit Court of Appeals judges ruled that the SEC’s decision to approve bitcoin futures funds, but not Grayscale’s proposed conversion of its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), was “arbitrary and capricious.” 

The ruling, which the SEC chose not to appeal, essentially prevented the SEC from denying spot bitcoin ETFs under reasons it had given in the past. 

The SEC ultimately approved spot bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement at the time that the approval was “the most sustainable path forward” given the court’s decision on the Grayscale matter.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

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.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

Bitcoin is still rising, 11 years after the documentary film The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

article-image

Arch Labs CEO told Blockworks that the team plans to launch a native token, but declined to give details

article-image

CEO Mike Silagadze tells Blockworks that the US is “open for business” and why its DeFi bank offering is the first of many

article-image

Doing one thing well and leaving everything else out is often what disruptive technologies do best

article-image

Why an analyst is kicking off COIN coverage with “buy” rating