GBTC’s issuer added an ETF veteran to its ranks following constructive talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission over approval for spot Bitcoin funds.
Digital asset giant Grayscale Investments has hired John Hoffman, a former high-ranking executive at Invesco, to aid its efforts toward bringing America’s first spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF to market amid growing interest in the world’s top cryptocurrency.
Hoffman was onboarded as Grayscale’s managing director, head of distribution and partnerships, a strategic role pivotal to growing financial products. He arrived at the firm with nearly two decades’ worth of experience including leading ETFs and Indexed Strategies decisions at Invesco Ltd from 2020 to 2023.
The Grayscale addition coincided with a period of considerable anticipation for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve 13 spot Bitcoin ETF filings from issuers like BlackRock, Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, Global X, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton.
Invesco also submitted its bid for a BTC ETF tied to the asset’s spot price in a joint filing with Galaxy Digital, a firm founded by crypto proponent Mike Novogratz in 2018 when Bitcoin traded below $10,000.
Grayscale’s hire follows dialogue with the SEC after which the company filed an amendment to its Bitcoin ETF bid. The firm attempted to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF, crypto.news reported.
Despite securing a court ruling mandating the SEC to review its applications, experts surmised that America’s securities watchdog may still refuse Grayscale’s filing.
Michael Sonneshein, CEO of Grayscale, said the SEC had not disclosed a timeline for approval while industry-wide speculation highlighted January 2024 as the most likely period for concrete decisions on spot Bitcoin ETFs.
