Gokil, This Company Sells 4,000 Bitcoins

Bitcoin, the largest digital asset by market cap. (Photo; Doc. Pexels)

Grayscale, one of the world's largest crypto asset investment companies, reportedly sold around 4.000 bitcoins (BTC) worth IDR 2.7 trillion (USD 175 million) to crypto exchange Coinbase. This sale comes amid the crypto market that began to rise after the launch of the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States (US).

According to data from blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, the sale of BTC Grayscale was carried out in four separate transactions on Friday, January 12. Each transaction involves 1,000 BTC which was transferred from an address allegedly owned by Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to Coinbase.

GBTC is an investment product that allows investors to buy shares representing fractional holdings of bitcoins stored by Grayscale. GBTC is one way for institutional and retail investors to access crypto markets without having to hold crypto assets directly.

However, GBTC is currently facing stiff competition from the newly launched spot bitcoin ETF in the US. The spot's bitcoin ETF is considered more transparent, liquid, and efficient than GBTC.

Last week, Wednesday January 10, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 applications for bitcoin spot ETFs from various companies, including ARK Invest, Invesco, VanEck, and Fidelity. The first bitcoin spot ETFs that started trading were ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, which recorded trading volumes of IDR 71.5 trillion (4.6 billion US dollars) on its first day.

The launch of the spot's bitcoin ETF received a warm welcome from the crypto market, although the price of bitcoin fell 5.5% to IDR 240 million (USD 15,490) per coin on Friday. Analysts argue that the spot's bitcoin ETF will open the door to the entry of new capital flows into the crypto industry, especially from institutional investors looking for exposure to the world's largest digital asset.

Speculation also emerged about the reasons behind the sale of BTC Grayscale. Some observers think that Grayscale may be preparing to turn GBTC into an ETF bitcoin spot, given the company has submitted an application to the SEC since April 2021. By selling part of its BTC, Grayscale can adjust its portfolio to regulatory requirements for the ETF bitcoin spot.

On the other hand, there are also those who suspect that Grayscale may be taking advantage of the price difference between GBTC and bitcoin in the spot market. Currently, GBTC is trading at a discount of 18.6% against its net asset value (NAV), meaning the share price of GBTC is lower than the underlying BTC value. By selling BTC in the spot market and repurchasing GBTC shares, Grayscale can take advantage of the discount and increase its holdings.

At the same time, Arkham Intelligence data also shows that Grayscale not only owns BTC, but also ethereum (ETH), the world's largest second crypto asset. Grayscale is known to manage 2.99 million ETH worth IDR 1,264 trillion (81.6 billion US dollars) through its investment product called Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE). There is no word yet whether Grayscale also plans to sell part of its ETH or turn ETHE into an Ethereum spot ETF or not.