Grayscale Sees Crypto Assets Under Management Rise to $19 Billion

The crypto rally has been music to investors’ ears, with many cashing in while Bitcoin holds firmly above the $20,000 price point. However, it is hard to find any player that has grown as much as Grayscale Investments.

A Bitcoin-Fueled All-Time High

Barry Silbert, Grayscale’s chief executive, announced on Twitter that the company’s assets under management had surged to $19 billion. The tweet showed incredible progression over the past month, with Grayscale’s AUM jumping from the $13 billion held as of December 15, 2020.

https://twitter.com/BarrySilbert/status/1343680110902341633

Silbert’s claims are backed up by data from Bybt, which shows Grayscale’s AUM pegged at $18.7 billion.

A significant part of this growth has come from market gains. Bitcoin’s price was pegged at $19,452 as of December 15, with investors still looking to see if the asset will be able to break its previous all-time high. At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $26,590, marking a 34 percent increase.

Grayscale has also been on a significant Bitcoin purchasing spree over the past few weeks. Last week, tech and business industry insider Kevin Rooke reported that the New York-based firm had added 12,000 BTC to its Bitcoin Investment Trust.

As Rooke’s report showed, Grayscale’s single-day haul was more than the 11,512 BTC that the firm acquired in the previous week following the Bitcoin rally that led to the asset breaking its last all-time high. At the time, the purchase gave Grayscale’s Bitcoin trust a 66 percent surge for the year.

What XRP?

Grayscale’s position as an essential entity in the crypto space is no longer in question. The asset management firm holds a significant stake in the Bitcoin market, with data confirming that it held over two percent of the leading cryptocurrency’s value in circulation months back.

However, while the firm is riding a Bitcoin high, it seems the firm has joined the ranks of firms cutting ties with XRP. But, nothing official has been announced yet. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a lawsuit against XRP’s developers, Ripple Labs, over the asset’s status as a security. Since then, several companies have severed connections with the asset in hopes of not getting roped into any trouble with the top regulatory agency.

Recently, a Twitter user suggested that Grayscale might have closed its XRP Trust. The user explained that Grayscale would announce that it would no longer accept new XRP Fund subscriptions or process existing ones. Currently, the Grayscale XRP Fund’s web portal shows a notice that the Trust is closed to investment.

Along with Grayscale, Bitwise Asset Management also announced last week that it would liquidate al XRP positions in its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund. Several exchanges – including Coinbase and OKCoin – have also delisted the asset and halted trading in the interim.