Barry Silbert Resigns as Grayscale Chairman, to Be Replaced by Mark Shifke

Grayscale
Investments,
whose
application
to
turn
its
Bitcoin
Trust
(GBTC)
into
a
U.S.
spot
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
is
being
considered
by
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission,
said
Barry
Silbert
resigned
as
chairman
and
will
be
replaced
by
Mark
Shifke.

Shikfe,
DCG’s
chief
financial
officer,
will
replace
Silbert
as
of
Jan.
1,
Grayscale
said

in
an
SEC
filing
without
giving
a
reason
for
the
changes.
Mark
Murphy,
DCG’s
president,
also
resigned
from
the
board.

The
SEC
has
delayed
several
ETF
applications
including
those
of
Grayscale,
BlackRock,
Ark
21shares,
Vaneck
and
Hashdex,
many
of
which
have

met
with
the
regulator
and

filed
amended
documentation
as
year-end
approaches.
The
agency
must
approve
or
reject
Ark
21Shares,
the
first
deadline
to
approach,
by
Jan.
10.

Silbert’s
Digital
Currency
Group
(DCG),
which
owns
Grayscale,
was
sued
in
October
by
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
for

allegedly
defrauding
more
than
230,000
investors,
including
at
least
29,000
New
Yorkers,
of
more
than
$1
billion.
James
also
charged
Silbert
with
defrauding
the
public
by
trying
to
conceal
heavy
losses.
DCG
and
Silbert
rejected
the
allegations.

Matt
Kummell,
senior
vice
president
of
operations
at
DCG,
and
Edward
McGee,
Grayscale’s
CFO,
also
join
the
board.

“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,”
a
Grayscale
spokeswoman
said.
“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.”

UPDATE
(Dec.
26,
14:00
UTC):

Adds
rejection
of
allegations
in
second
paragraph,
Mark
Murphy
resignation
in
third.

UPDATE
(DEC.
26,
14:21
UTC):

Adds
SEC
delay,
amended
filings,
approval
deadline
in
third
paragraph.

UPDATE
(DEC.
26,
15:04
UTC):

Adds
new
board
members,
Grayscale
comment.