So, it has started!
After closing access to its products and not making a single purchase since Christmas, the world’s largest crypto asset manager has set things in motion again.
This week, Grayscale Investments opened the business again for new investors and started it by adding 2,170 BTC, worth about $83.5 billion at a current Bitcoin price of $39,640.
With this latest purchase, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) now holds a total of 608,810 BTC, 3.27% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply.
This purchase coincided with an 18% jump in the price of Bitcoin from yesterday’s $32,400 low. Interestingly, Bitcoin price has been ripping higher lately in tandem with all the Grayscael’s Bitcoin buying frenzy and Coinbase’s big BTC outflows that represent the institution’s involvement.
While Grayscale has started adding more BTC to its stash, the asset manager has yet to add more ETH. It has been a month and a week since ETHE has added any new Ethereum to its holdings, still keeping at 2.93 million — 2.5% of Ether’s total circulating supply.
Currency or Security!
Coming on to XRP, Grayscale has decided to dissolve its XRP Trust following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple and its top two executives for allegedly selling unregistered security.
The announcement came on Wednesday in which the firm mentioned the delisting of XRP from major platforms as a reason behind its move because “it is likely to be increasingly difficult for U.S. investors, including the Trust, to convert XRP into U.S. dollars, and therefore continue the Trust’s operations.”
As such, the Trust has “liquidated” the XRP and intends to distribute the net cash proceeds to Trust shareholders. Just a few days back, the firm announced the liquidation of the XRP position from its Digital Large Cap Fund as well.
This move by the wide crypto market, however, has been limited to US customers. Japan is particularly clear about its stance on XRP, with Ripple partner SBI Holdings’ clarifying that the digital asset is, in fact, not a security.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has also said that it views XRP as a currency based on the Payment Services Act and not as a security (FSA also said this back in May of 2019). The same is the case in the UK, where XRP is considered an “exchange token.”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also maintains that the majority, 95% of XRP trading, happens outside the US. The digital asset, meanwhile, is trading under $0.30.
The post Grayscale Investments Buys 2,170 BTC, No ETH Yet While Dissolving XRP Trust Altogether first appeared on BitcoinExchangeGuide.
