Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) Is Fast Approaching World’s Largest Commodity ETF, GLD with $57B AUM

The largest digital asset fund manager, Grayscale Investments, has reached the milestone of $50 billion in AUM.

The majority of this AUM belongs to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) at nearly $41 billion, which continues to trade at a discount, currently at almost $14%.

Other crypto assets that contribute to this milestone include Ethereum (ETH) at $7.53 billion, Litecoin (LTC) at $401 million, Ethereum Classic (ETC) $263 million, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $237 million, Zcash (ZEC) $78 million, Horizen (ZEN) $51 million, and Stellar (XLM) $43 million, while the latest six additions MANA, LPT, FIL, LINK, and BAT account between $4-$20 million.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is currently closed for new subscriptions, but still, it is ready to surpass the largest commodity ETF in the world, GLD.

“Bitcoin Trust on Track to Surpass World's Largest Commodity ETF – In a world going digital, we believe gold symbolizes the diminishing potential for sustained commodity-price advances, notably vs. Bitcoin. The crypto is a prime example of how advancing innovation suppresses,” said Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.

GLD currently has about $57 billion in assets under management, down from $84.24 billion in early August 2020, as per YCharts. The GLD AUM has been increasing since mid-October 2018, only to lose momentum when the price of the precious metal topped at $2,075.

Compared to bitcoin’s over 116% gains YTD, spot gold prices are down 8.24%, trading at $1,750.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust currently has 654,100 BTC, and at this number, it will surpass GLD at $87,150 per BTC.

“Bitcoin is a scarcity, Gold is a commodity,” commented Michel Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy that holds 91,579 BTC on its balance sheet.

The fund (GBTC) recently shared its intention to convert the Trust, which has no redemption program, into an exchange-traded Fund (ETF). Nine ETF proposals have been filed with the US SEC so far.

Besides GBTC, the first-ever Bitcoin ETF of North America, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange has amassed 17,500 BTC (CAD 1.4 billion) in just over two months.

Another digital asset manager, CoinShares, reached the milestone of surpassing $5 billion in AUM.

“The macroeconomic landscape has changed dramatically over the last twelve months, and there is a massive global asset rotation under way. With $400T in wealth, and $2T in crypto markets, the last year has seen a dramatic shift in retail and institutional investor appetite for bitcoin and other digital assets,” said CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti.