Grayscale Expands With Three New Crypto ETFs
Grayscale Investments has unveiled plans to launch three new crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) alongside the creation of a new entity — the Grayscale Funds Trust — to manage its growing suite of digital asset products.
Announced on May 9, the Grayscale Funds Trust will allow the firm to oversee its public financial offerings in-house, signaling its intent to further expand within the regulated investment market.
New ETFs Target Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Privacy
Grayscale has filed registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for three new ETFs:
- Grayscale Ethereum Futures ETF – offering indirect exposure to Ether (ETH) through futures contracts.
- Grayscale Global Bitcoin Composite ETF – investing in Bitcoin-related and Bitcoin-backed exchange-traded products, including mining companies.
- Grayscale Privacy ETF – focusing on firms developing blockchain-based privacy technologies.
These ETFs aim to broaden investor access to the digital asset ecosystem while aligning with growing institutional interest in regulated crypto exposure.
SEC Approval Still Pending
None of the three proposed ETFs are available for public purchase until the SEC approves the Grayscale Funds Trust registration. This marks another attempt by Grayscale to expand its product line amid a long-running standoff with regulators.
The firm remains in an active legal dispute with the SEC after its request to convert the $17 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF was denied. Grayscale filed a lawsuit in January, arguing that the SEC was unfairly discriminating between spot and futures-based Bitcoin products.
Grayscale contends that Bitcoin’s spot and futures markets are 99.9% correlated and should be treated equivalently for investor access.
Regulatory Outlook and Market Implications
While the SEC has approved several Bitcoin Futures ETFs, it continues to reject spot Bitcoin applications over concerns about market manipulation and investor protection.
If approved, Grayscale’s new ETF lineup could provide diversified crypto exposure — from Bitcoin and Ethereum to blockchain privacy innovations — offering a potential bridge between traditional finance and decentralized technologies.
