A knock-on effect of Grayscale’s recent favorable ruling against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is that it potentially renders meaningless a lawsuit brought by FTX affiliate Alameda Research, which called for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to reduce its fees and implement a redemption program.
Grayscale’s victory over the SEC could pave the way for the company to convert it into the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETF – a shift that would permit redemptions of fund shares, making Alameda’s suit unnecessary, litigation analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence said in a note on Wednesday. (Redemptions could allow the fund to remain more closely tied to the value of its underlying bitcoin holdings, something it’s struggled to do for quite a while.)
“The Grayscale court ruling probably shows that Alameda’s attempt to unlock about $9 billion for Grayscale shareholders was premature and ultimate resolution of the issue may be prolonged,” the analysts wrote.
A lawsuit filed by FTX affiliate Alameda Research in March attacked Grayscale and its owner Digital Currency Group (which also owns CoinDesk), for its high fees and its refusal to allow investors to redeem their shares from its two crypto-focused trusts, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and the Grayscale Ethereum Trust.