DCG CEO Silbert, President Murphy Exit Grayscale Board – Unchained

The Digital Currency Group-owned crypto asset manager, currently a spot bitcoin ETF candidate, has named two other DCG execs and its own CFO to the board.

Crypto asset manager Grayscale, a unit of embattled Digital Currency Group (DCG), announced significant changes to its board of directors in a regulatory filing on Tuesday with DCG CEO Barry Silbert resigning as Chair and President Mark Murphy also leaving the board, effective January 1.

Current DCG CFO Mark Shifke will replace Silbert. Matthew Kummell, senior vice president of operations at DCG, and Edward McGee, Grayscale’s current CFO, will also assume board positions.

“Aligned with Grayscale’s commitment to responsible growth, we are pleased to welcome Mark Shifke, Matt Kummell, and Edward McGee to Grayscale’s Board of Directors. Grayscale and our investors will benefit from their respective experiences in the financial services and asset management industries as we prepare for Grayscale’s next chapter,” a Grayscale spokeswoman said.

Grayscale is also one of 13 companies to file applications with the SEC to offer spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Grayscale is hoping to convert its flagship fund, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC),  into a spot Bitcoin ETF. The SEC originally rejected the application, but a federal appeals judge ruled in August that the regulator must vacate that decision, citing insufficient arguments, and reconsider the filing.

Last month, Grayscale executives met with the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets in a soft sign that the company was working its way toward an eventual approval. Wider signals have also been pointing to SEC approval of spot BTC products between Jan. 8-10.

The changes come at the end of a troubled year for DCG. Its lending unit, Genesis Global, which had heavy exposure to collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto exchange FTX, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January.

In October, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Genesis, DCG and crypto exchange Gemini for allegedly defrauding investors of more than $1 billion. The suit wants to ban the firms from the financial investment industry in that state.

Read more: Two Genesis Creditors Describe Their Frustrations With the Bankrupt Crypto Lender

UPDATE (Dec. 26, 2023, 13:58): Adds Grayscale comment.