Grayscale to Open Ethereum Trust to Individual Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Grayscale Investments LLC said its structured note that holds the cryptocurrency Ether will open soon to mom-and-pop buyers after receiving secondary-market trading approval.

. Launched in December 2017 during the height of the crypto bubble, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust was initially only available to accredited and institutional investors at a minimum of $25,000 through private purchases. Small investors will be able to buy shares in the trust in over-the-counter markets after gaining approval by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self-regulatory organization.

. "The secondary market really opens up the opportunity for any and all investors,” Michael Sonnenshein, managing director of New York-based Grayscale Investments, said in a phone interview.

. Grayscale Ethereum Trust currently has about $12.5 million in assets under management, Sonnenshein said. Each of the trust’s shares, which will trade as ETHE, is equivalent to about one-tenth of an Ether. There won’t be any trading volume available until the shares are DTC eligible.

. Investors in the Ethereum Trust who have held shares for a year or longer will now be able to sell these shares over the counter.

. Grayscale has already received approvals for secondary-market trading for its Bitcoin and Ethereum Classic trusts. The trust are eligible for investors to hold in IRA, 401K or brokerage-account funds.

. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, has rallied about 80% this year to around $237, after plunging from more than $1,100 at the start of 2018.

. To contact the reporter on this story: Olga Kharif in Portland at okharif@bloomberg.net

. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Brendan Walsh

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Grayscale to Open Ethereum Trust to Individual Investors