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The world’s largest digital asset manager, Grayscale Investments, announced on Tuesday that it had selected BNY Mellon as an asset servicing provider for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). BNY Mellon will now provide GBTC with fund accounting and administration effective October 1. The oldest bank in the US, BNY Mellon, is the largest custodian in the world with over $1T in ETF assets, which announced in Feb. this year that it will hold, transfer, and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its clients. "Digital assets are the future,” said BNY Mellon at the time, noting a “very significant demand for digital assets” from its clients. Now, it has partnered with Grayscale, which Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital at the banking giant, said is “another critical milestone in our rapidly growing digital asset capabilities.”
An Important Milestone
BNY Mellon will help the digital asset manager with its Bitcoin ETF when approved. Not a single Bitcoin ETF has been approved by the regulator so far, while several, at least twelve such applications have been filed with the SEC. “It is anticipated that BNY Mellon will provide transfer agency and ETF Services for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust upon its conversion to an ETF,” noted Grayscale with its CEO Michael Sonnenshein maintains that it is an “important milestone as part of our commitment to converting” its largest product into an ETF. According to Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, it might not happen anytime soon. “Was just at the NYSE having a discussion, and a bitcoin ETF doesn’t seem likely soon,” said Gerber, to which Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg, agreed, saying:“When you look at isolated like any other ETF, you get bullish. They work great in Canada, big issuers filing, ETF would save retail from less efficient product, crypto-friendly chairman. But then factor in outside variable of higher ups in govt 'concerned' you get bearish.”Grayscale Bitcoin Trust currently holds 650.92k BTC, representing $21.4 billion in assets under management (AUM). Back in April, Grayscale first announced its intention to convert its GBTC into an ETF. Soon after, its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG), authorized up to $750 million worth of GBTC shares to shrink the ongoing discount but to no avail. The discount on GBTC is currently sitting at 15.36%, which started in March, and since then, it has seen no private placements. [deco-beg-single-coin-widget coin="BTC"]