Grayscale's current CEO, Michael Sonnenshein, is stepping down. His successor will be Peter Mintzberg. The CEO position will be reshuffled on August 15, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Michael Sonnenshein leaves the stage at Grayscale
Information about Michael Sonnenshein's resignation was published on the X website by Barry Silbert. He is the founder and CEO of Digital Cyrrency Group, the parent company of Grayscale. According to the information provided, the position of CEO at Grayscale will be taken over by Peter Mintzberg. In the official press release, Michael Sonnenshein emphasizes that:
It has been an honor and a privilege to work with such intelligent and passionate people to grow Grayscale into an industry leader over the past decade. I would like to thank Barry Silbert for his vision and collaboration, and for entrusting me to lead Grayscale. The crypto asset class is at an important inflection point and this is the right time for a smooth transition of responsibilities.
It is worth noting that Graysclae has the largest bitcoin spot ETF fund, with assets worth USD 19.37 billion under management. The company was one of the first issuers of BTC ETFs in the US. Interestingly, Grayscale recently abandoned plans to launch a similar ETH-based spot ETF.
In what direction will Grayscale develop under the new CEO?
Grayscale has over 11 years of history and is considered one of the most important companies that manage cryptocurrency assets. Michael Sonnenshein's presidency was a decade of huge changes on the cryptocurrency market and the final introduction of BTC in 2024 on Wall Street thanks to BTC-ETF funds.
From the latest information, we know that Sonnenshein's place will be taken by Peter Mintzberg, former global head of strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management. Before taking up this position, he also worked for seven years at BlackRock as COO. The recent withdrawal of its application for an ETH-based spot ETF is a pretty clear signal that Grayscale now intends to focus on its bitcoin fund.
