New York-based crypto-fund manager, Grayscale today reported a record $3.3 billion in crypto inflows in the last quarter of 2020, more than tripling its previous record set in Q3 at $1.05 billion. The Grayscale family of products attracted $5.7 billion last year, more than four times the $1.2 billion cumulative inflow from its inception in 2013 through the end of 2019.
The impressive data comes amid a remarkable bull run for cryptocurrencies that have seen Bitcoin eclipse $41,000 last week. The sudden rise has helped Grayscale grow from $2 billion in assets under management at the start of 2020 to more than $24.7 billion as of yesterday.
Investments into the company’s flagship product, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) ballooned to $2.8 billion in Q4 of 2020, up from $719.3 million during the July-September quarter. The publicly traded fund averaged $250.7 million in new investments per week, five times higher than the $55.3 million in the Q3. The Trust has seen its assets under management surge from $1.8 billion to a record $17.5 billion.
Grayscale’s Other Products Performed Well
Besides institutional investors, which accounted for 93 percent of the total investment in the fourth quarter, Grayscale said accredited individuals, retirement accounts and family offices increased their involvement.
In addition, following the record quarter, Grayscale® Ethereum Trust saw $341.8 million in 4Q20 inflows, and $789.4 million across 2020, the company noted on Thursday. The average commitment from institutional investors during Q4 in 2020 was $26.3 million, up from less than $3.0 million in Q3.
Grayscale’s other products have also outperformed, with Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Digital Large Cap products combined have exceeded $600 million of inflows over the last three months.
According to Grayscale, the figures show strong and sustained evidence that institutional investors, dominated by asset managers, are increasing their digital asset exposure despite a historically tumultuous market.
The company’s publicly-traded funds offer institutional investors the opportunity to trade crypto on the stock market, with most of the funds poured into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Grayscale Investments, a unit of Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, announced last week a major shift in its executive leadership. The company’s longtime Managing Director, Michael Sonnenshein has been handed the job of leading the world’s biggest crypto-fund manager.
The former Barclays analyst assumed the post of Chief Executive as Grayscale Founder, Barry Silbert stepped down to focus on his other initiatives including OTC crypto trader, Genesis Trading and cryptocurrency news site, CoinDesk.
