Grayscale’s now-publicly traded bitcoin trust was the original way for U.S. investors to gain exposure to the asset without the headache of setting up a wallet. For a time, it was the only game in town, and handsomely profitable for investors who tolerated the initial 12-month lockup period. The CEO of the world’s largest digital asset manager candidly discusses GBTC’s evolution and his perspective on the challenges of the last two years, including the collapse of the trust shares’ premium to net asset value, evolving investor demands and new competition, and broader regulatory hurdles and the subsequent legal battle to convert the product into a more investor-friendly structure: an ETF.

Laura Shin, author and podcast host of “Unchained,” moderates the panel featuring Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments.

This episode is executive produced by Jared Schwartz and edited by Ryan Huntington, with additional production assistance from Eleanor Pahl. Cover image by Kevin Ross and the theme song is "Get Down" by Elision.