(Bloomberg) — Michael Sonnenshein is stepping down as chief executive of Grayscale Investments after a decade at the cryptocurrency asset manager and will be replaced later this year by Peter Mintzberg.
Mintzberg, currently global head of strategy for asset and wealth management at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, will become the new CEO on August 15, Grayscale said in a press release. In the interim, Chief Financial Officer Edward McGee will lead the firm, Grayscale said.
Sonnenshein joined Grayscale in 2014 and served as CEO for the past three years. He resigned to pursue other interests, the company said. The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Under Sonnenshein's tenure as CEO, Grayscale won a historic battle against the SEC, which opened the way for the adoption of the first spot-Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale had been trying to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ticker GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund for years. Since the conversion, the fund has seen billions in outflows while investors have flocked to newly launched, cheaper Bitcoin ETFs.
Read: Grayscale Plans New Bitcoin Fund As GBTC Drops Billions
GBTC was once one of the only ways for investors to bet on the world's largest cryptocurrency without buying the token directly; assets peaked at nearly $44 billion in 2021.
Since converting to an ETF in January, GBTC has flowed more than $17.6 billion. The other ten US spot-Bitcoin funds have all had positive inflows this year, with BlackRock's $15.6 billion withdrawal leading the way. GBTC charges an expense ratio of 1.5%, while other funds charge a fraction of that.
sun said in an interview to Bloomberg TV in January that GBTC's relatively high fee is justified by the company's “size, liquidity and track record.”
“As an investor, when you're choosing between these products, fees are a consideration, the asset manager, the issuer behind it are a consideration, but it's also got to be size, liquidity and that history,” Sonnenshein said at the time.
The SEC rejected Grayscale's proposal to convert GBTC in 2022, arguing that a Bitcoin-based ETF lacked adequate oversight to detect fraud. Grayscale sued to overturn the decision, accusing the SEC of discriminating against its product while approving similar Bitcoin futures ETFs.
Grayscale's board and parent company, Digital Currency Group, began searching for a new CEO in late 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter. The inquiry was not related to GBTC's performance or outputs, the report said.
“The crypto asset class is at an important inflection point and this is the right time for a smooth transition,” Sonnenshein said in a press release.