Grayscale Investments said it confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a filing that signals plans for an initial public offering (IPO).
The asset manager owned by Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group didn’t disclose details of the submission and said the registration is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions, according to a press release.
Confidential filings allow firms to negotiate with the agency behind closed doors before revealing their plans. It’s a common tactic for gauging regulatory feedback while keeping competitive details out of public view until a launch is ready.
The move adds Grayscale to the number of growing companies lining up to take their companies public as the digital assets market heats up, with bitcoin
hitting new all-time highs.
Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) made its public debut at the beginning of June, and the stock has surged more than 500% since then. A few weeks prior to that, stock-trading app eToro (ETOR) also made the move. Its shares are now 10% higher.
While Circle and eToro hit the market during challenging macroeconomic times due to tariff discussions led by President Donald Trump, both debuted at higher valuations than anticipated, suggesting renewed interest in digital assets as U.S. legislators inch closer to clearer rules for crypto companies, especially stablecoin issuers.
Grayscale’s proposal, in contrast, comes at a time of bullish momentum for crypto assets. The price of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, is hitting record highs on an almost daily basis. The token is currently trading at $121,728, up 30% year-to-date, and just overtook gold as the year’s best-performing asset.
Grayscale is one of the largest crypto asset managers. Its core products are trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as its flagship Graysale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Ethereum Trust (ETHE), both of which converted into ETFs in January last year. The two alone have a combined $24 billion of assets under management.
Both have suffered heavy outflows since their conversion because the asset manager charges a higher fee for its products than competitors, making it more expensive for investors to buy and hold the product.
Many, however, believe that Grayscale is one of the reasons why the spot bitcoin ETFs were approved to begin with after it won a legal fight against SEC over its spot bitcoin ETF application, ultimately leading to the approval of several bitcoin ETFs.
UPDATE (July 14, 13:25 UTC): Changes lead photo.
UPDATE (July 14, 13:48 UTC): Adds recent IPOs in fifth paragraph, Grayscale products, background starting in eighth.
