Grayscale Investments, the cryptocurrency fund manager, holds more than 500,000 BTC in its Bitcoin Trust.
It has been reported that Grayscale now holds to $8.35 billion worth of Bitcoin, equating to 2.69% of Bitcoin’s (BTC) outstanding supply and market cap.
However, Chainalysis estimated that around 3.7 million BTC, which have been lost, Grayscale may actually now be in possession of 3.37% of Bitcoin’s remaining circulating supply.
The report said that appealing to institutional investors who are prepared to pay a premium to buy and hold cryptocurrency through the security of a regulated fund, shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust currently represent $15.62 worth of Bitcoin each, yet change hands for $18.86.
Grayscale’s 500,000 BTC milestone comes after an aggressive year of accumulation for the firm. It now holds an estimated 3.37% of the circulating supply. https://t.co/5uv13iv7Q5 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) November 17, 2020
This equates to nearly a 19% premium. Grayscale also charges an annual fee of 2%.
Likewise, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust has aggressively accumulated Bitcoin during 2020, with the amount of BTC held by the fund increasing almost 50% in the past six months. That’s a steep rise in 2020 for a fund that launched seven years ago and suggests snowballing institutional interest.
Last week, the fund reported its largest-ever weekly inflow by taking in 15,907 BTC worth $215 million. Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust also ramped up its purchases during 2020, and now holds roughly $1.175 billion worth of Ether (ETH), or 2.24% of ETH’s entire capitalization.
Thus, Grayscale’s eight other crypto funds currently manage nearly $400 million worth of assets by bringing the total value of digital assets managed by the firm to $9.9 million.
Source: Cointelegraph