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Crypto Asset Manager Grayscale Offers AVAX Token Investment in New Avalanche Trust

The provider of bitcoin and ether ETFs now offers more than 20 crypto investment products.

Updated Aug 22, 2024, 1:00 p.m. Published Aug 22, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
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  • The Grayscale Avalanche Trust offers investors exposure to the AVAX token, used to pay transaction fees and secure the high-speed, ultra-scalable blockchain.
  • Grayscale recently introduced a slew of decentralized AI token funds.

Cryptocurrency asset manager and exchange-traded funds (ETF) provider Grayscale Investments said it added an Avalanche blockchain token trust to the slew of new products the firm has introduced in recent weeks.

The Grayscale Avalanche Trust, announced Thursday, offers investors exposure to the AVAX token, used to pay transaction fees and secure the high-speed, ultra-scalable competitor to Ethereum.

Interest in publicly tradeable products linked to cryptocurrencies and the surrounding ecosystem has been growing since January, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first bitcoin (BTC) ETFs for U.S. trading. Grayscale, the remaining jewel in Digital Currency Group crown, has brought digital assets to conventional investors for a decade through its bitcoin trust, which became one of the first ETFs after approval. The firm also recently uplisted Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) to an ETF structure.

Grayscale, whose new CEO, former Goldman Sachs banker Peter Mintzberg, took over a week ago, now offers more than 20 crypto investment products. The asset manager has lately focused on decentralized artificial intelligence (AI), having introduced an AI-focused digital asset trust, followed by two single asset funds: the Grayscale Bittensor Trust and Grayscale Sui Trust, that will hold the TAO and SUI tokens, respectively.

“Through its key strategic partnerships and unique, multi-chain structure, Avalanche is playing a pivotal role in the advancement of RWA tokenization,” said Grayscale’s head of product and research, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, in a statement, referring to the process of creating a way of trading real-world assets on-chain.

Avalanche’s AVAX token was trading at around $23 at the time of writing.

Ian Allison

Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.

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