Grayscale sees investment double in Q2, says institutions 'invest with us all the time'

In a recent interview with The Block, a Grayscale executive noted that investment in the firm's trust products has doubled in Q2 and institutional investors have been "investing with us all the time." 

Grayscale's director of sales and business development Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary said the firm has raised a total of around $85 million from investors in Q2, 84% of which came from institutional investors.

As one of the largest cryptocurrency asset managers in the world, Grayscale offers various cryptocurrency trusts that cater to investors’ demand for “ownership of digital assets in the form of traditional securities,” according to Sharif-Askary. As such, she considers it a myth to think that institutional investors have not entered the cryptocurrency market yet. 

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“I get asked this a lot; there is this rhetoric in media of when institutional investors are going to get involved, when they are gonna start investing,” she said. “It’s ironic because we see institutional investors investing with us all the time and that’s been the case for a long time now.”

Speaking about the recent launch of the Intercontinental Exchange-cryptocurrency derivatives platform Bakkt, Sharif-Askary said she is "thrilled to see more on-ramps" that can onboard more institutional investors. 

“We are a lean team, we can’t be the only one running around educating investors and providing access to this asset class,” said Sharif-Askary. 

Besides the rise of institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, Sharif-Askary also highlighted the growing interest in altcoins from investors. In Q2, Grayscale saw about a quarter of the investment flowed into altcoin trusts. Sharif-Askary said this could signal investors’ increasing comfort with cryptocurrencies as a new asset class. 

“It's a sign that investors are getting more comfortable with the asset class. It's great to see diversification," said Sharif-Askary.  

About Author

Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.