Grayscale is interested in filing for a US bitcoin ETF if regulators give the green light, its chief executive says

• Grayscale's CEO told Insider the firm would be interested in filing for a bitcoin ETF.
• The $37 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is currently the world's biggest crypto fund.
• Michael Sonnenshein said he thought it is a matter of "when, not if" the US approved a bitcoin ETF.

The company behind the world's biggest crypto fund would be interested in launching a US bitcoin ETF if the authorities gave the green light to such products, its CEO told Insider on Friday.

Grayscale Investments chief executive Michael Sonnenshein said: "When we get the signal that perhaps they have greater comfort and have seen some of [the] elements in the market mature, we would continue to look to be engaged in those discussions."

The company - which runs the $37 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) - recently posted a number of ETF-related job adverts. It sparked speculation that Grayscale could be about to file for an exchange-traded fund, although it has not yet done so.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is yet to approve a bitcoin ETF, but is currently weighing a few applications, including from VanEck. Canada has now approved three.

Sonnenshein told Insider that Grayscale is interested in applying for approval for an ETF, but suggested the company is holding fire on making a firm decision until regulators give a stronger signal.

The chief executive said he believed it is a "matter of when, not if" US regulators give cryptocurrency ETFs the green light. However, he said he would not want to second-guess the SEC, as "ultimately those decisions are in the hands of regulators."

He said: "We're certainly seeing positive receptivity from our investors as we not only launch more products but also think about offering additional product structures. And as a result of that, we certainly want to make sure we can continue to stay in front of investor demand."

Grayscale made a push to convert GBTC into an exchange-traded fund in 2017, but voluntarily pulled out of the process. That raises the possibility that it could attempt to do so again.

Exchange-traded funds are securities which track certain assets, indexes or sectors, in which investors can buy or sell shares on the stock market. They are a hugely popular method of investing, as they provide an easy and regulated way to gain exposure to certain assets.

Sonnenshein said Grayscale was "of the belief that a bitcoin ETF would be something that would be well received by the investment community."

"It's a product structure they're obviously now quite familiar with, given the popularity of ETFs, as well as a product structure that has been widely used across all different types of investor portfolios."