Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust Files with The SEC to Receive Reporting Status

The Ethereum Trust of digital currency asset manager Grayscale revealed on Thursday that it has filed for a Registration Statement on Form 10 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Voluntary filing by the firm

The asset manager revealed to its investors that the filing was voluntary. If the SEC approves it, then the Grayscale Ethereum Trust will become the second crypto investment vehicle to get the reporting company status by the regulator. Grayscale Investments was established by the Digital Currency Group in 2013.

It currently manages several investment vehicles that allow users to gain exposure to the crypto-assets’ markets. Popular crypto assets include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, XRP, Ethereum Classic, Stellar, Litecoin, and Zcash among others.

The firm introduced the Bitcoin Investment Trust in 2013 which was available only to accredited investors in the beginning. It also received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) after which it was permitted to offer shares to the public. The shares were registered in January this year which made it the first crypto-based trust to receive a reporting status from the SEC.

Ethereum Trust to take a similar path

Now Grayscale is trying to follow a similar path for its Ethereum Trust as well. In an investor’s email, it wrote,

“If the Registration Statement becomes effective, it would designate Grayscale Ethereum Trust as the second digital currency investment vehicle to attain the status of a reporting company by the SEC, following Grayscale Bitcoin Trust as the first.”

It noted that accredited investors who participated in the trust early on will also get an early liquidity opportunity because of registration. This happens because of the statutory holding period being reduced from 12 months to 6 months.

Grayscale boasted of a $10.4 million investment in its Ethereum Trust in Q2 2020. It was responsible for 15% of the total inflows into Grayscale products. The firm recently received FINRA approval for its Litecoin Trust and Bitcoin Cash trust as well.