Grayscale, World's Largest Digital Asset Manager Enters European Crypto Market

Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset manager, with $30 billion in assets under management is planning to expand its footprint in the European market.

Grayscale Chief Executive Officer Michael Sonnenshein said that they have yet to decide the countries and exchanges with whom they shall be partnering. Speaking to Bloomberg on Tuesday, April 26, Sonnenshein said that he’s currently having talks with local partners to discuss the timeline. The crypto asset manager is also willing to run pilot tests in local markets. He added :

“Although the EU is unified, we don’t view the entire European market as in fact one market. Instead we’re going to be very thoughtful, very methodical about each of the financial centers and financial hubs that we ultimately launch in, because we recognize the differentiation of investor behaviors and attitudes, and of regulatory regimes.”

However, Grayscale is going to face tough competition in Europe. Western Europe has already more than 80 exchange-traded crypto products listed with more than $7 billion in assets under management. On the other hand, ECB officials are calling for tighter regulations amid the ‘wild west’ crypto market. Grayscale is already preparing for a tough battle with the U.S. SEC. It is working on converting its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Tighter Crypto Regulations Coming To Europe
Officials from the European Central Bank remain concerned about the widespread use of cryptocurrencies. Speaking on this matter, French Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said :

“Unregulated crypto would mean regression and turning back to private fragmentation. This is really the last thing we need in our world.”

Fabio Panetta, the executive board member at the ECB said that digital assets “are creating a new Wild West”. He further compared the current situation to the subprime mortgage market which triggered the 2008 global financial crisis.

At the same time, the ECB is working on getting its Digital Euro CBDC to the market by the middle of the decade. Francois Villeroy said that banks should innovate themselves while simultaneously contributing to crypto regulations.