GBTC fees will drop when Bitcoin ETFs ‘start to mature’ — Grayscale CEO

Grayscale’s flagship Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) will drop its fees, the highest of all United States spot Bitcoin ETFs, but only once the products “start to mature,” according to CEO Michael Sonnenshein.

Sonnenshein said in an April 10 on-stage interview at Canaccord Genuity’s Digital Assets Symposium that “markets have tended to be very excitable” when commodity or specific thematic exposure products — such its own Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) — debut and give investors access to assets for the first time.

“We’re still kind of very much in that phase for Bitcoin,” he said.

Over time Sonnenshein said the products “start to mature,” and the market consolidates as investors allocate funds heavily toward only a few products.

“That means fees also come down over time. We’ll reduce fees on GBTC, and that also means that we’re kind of at the end of that first inning of that first wave of adoption.”

Typically, new products — such as the recently launched Bitcoin ETFs — make their way to wealth management platforms, Sonnenshein said.

“Those things really haven’t started happening yet,” he added. “We’re not quite yet at that next phase of adoption and growth here in the U.S.”

GBTC launched in 2015 and converted to an ETF in January, alongside the launch of nine other Bitcoin ETFs after Grayscale won a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission — forcing it to review a GBTC conversion bid it denied.

GBTC has the highest management fees out of all U.S. Bitcoin ETFs — pinned at 1.5% a year compared to the 0.30% average of its competitors.

It’s also seen the highest outflows of all its competitors since it converted in mid-January, having $16.1 billion in net outflows to April 11, per Farside Investors data.

Sonnenshein claimed after GBTC’s conversion it emerged as a “capital markets and risk transference tool” for those wanting Bitcoin exposure.

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“GBTC has a very large outstanding share supply, a lot of daily liquidity, very tight spread,” he added. “We have seen a lot of engagement from those types of investors.”

Despite Grayscale’s early “100% market share” for Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., Sonnenshein knew that other issuers coming into the market “would be a net positive for the ecosystem.”

“We really do believe a rising tide does lift all boats when it comes to the adoption, the maturation, the accessibility of the asset class.”

“We’ve seen some of the world’s largest asset managers getting involved in the space, Sonnenshein noted. “I think that just underscores, again, the staying power of the asset class and investor demand for it.”

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