Michael Sonnenshein is stepping down as chief executive officer of Grayscale Investments after a decade-long stint at the cryptocurrency asset manager, and will be replaced later this year by Peter Mintzberg.
Mintzberg, currently the global head of strategy for asset and wealth management at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, will become the new CEO on August 15, Grayscale said in a press release.
In the interim, Chief Financial Officer Edward McGee will lead the firm, Grayscale said.
Sonnenshein joined Grayscale in 2014 and served as the CEO for the last three years. He stepped down to pursue other interests, the company said. The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Under Sonnenshein's tenure as CEO, Grayscale won a historic battle against the SEC, which paved the way for the approval of the first spot-Bitcoin ETFs.
Grayscale had been for years attempting to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ticker GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund. Since the conversion, the fund has suffered billions in outflows while investors have flocked to newly-launched, cheaper spot-Bitcoin ETFs.
GBTC was once one of the only ways for investors to bet on the world's largest cryptocurrency without buying the token directly; assets peaked at nearly $44 billion in 2021.
Since converting into an ETF in January, GBTC has bled more than $17.6 billion.
