Bitcoin fund behemoth Grayscale announces CEO succession

Grayscale Investments, the asset manager behind the world’s largest bitcoin investment product, the $27.5 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, has announced a pivotal leadership transition.

Grayscale has appointed Peter Mintzberg as its new chief executive officer, following the departure of Michael Sonnenshein, who has stepped down to pursue other interests.

Mintzberg, who will ascend to the chief executive role effective August 15, will also join Grayscale's board of directors on that date. During the interim period, Edward McGee, Grayscale's chief financial officer, will serve as the principal executive officer.

Mintzberg brings over two decades of experience in asset management, having held senior roles at leading firms.

"Peter is an exceptional strategic leader with global expertise across the most prominent asset managers, which are critical ingredients as we position Grayscale for its next phase of growth," Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, which is one of Grayscale’s major venture capital backers, said in a statement.

"I’m excited to see what he accomplishes at Grayscale in its next chapter."

Mintzberg's career includes significant positions at Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, OppenheimerFunds, and Invesco. Most recently, he was global head of strategy for asset and wealth management at Goldman Sachs.

Reflecting on his new role, Mintzberg said, “I’ve long admired Grayscale’s position as the leading crypto asset management firm, and I am honored to join the most talented and pioneering team in the business. This is an exciting time in Grayscale’s history as it continues to capitalize on the unprecedented momentum in the asset class.”

Silbert also extended his thanks to Sonnenshein, who led Grayscale since 2021. He joined the company in 2014.

“Michael guided Grayscale from $60 million to approximately $30 billion of assets under management and through its historic court victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

In a landmark decision last August, a federal appeals court ruled that the federal regulator must give consideration to an application Grayscale had submitted to convert its bitcoin trust into an ETF, which flew in the face of the SEC’s view at the time that while bitcoin futures ETFs are acceptable, spot Bitcoin ETFs aren’t.

The SEC changed tack in January when it granted approval to 11 spot bitcoin ETFs. That decision opened the floodgates to billions of investment dollars flowing into the product space. Grayscale has made plans to clone its bitcoin ETF, which hasn't benefited as much from the gold rush.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside such smart, passionate people to grow Grayscale into an industry titan over the last decade,” Sonnenshein said.

“The crypto asset class is at an important inflection point and this is the right moment for a smooth transition,” he said. “I wish the Grayscale team every success in its next chapter.”