Grayscale Investments announced on May 20, 2024, that chief executive Michael Sonnenshein had stepped down1. Peter Mintzberg, from Goldman Sachs, was set to take the role on August 15. Cointelegraph reported it on May 20 too2. Until Mintzberg arrived, finance chief Edward McGee would lead the firm, Grayscale said.
The second CEO exit at Grayscale Investments on the record since 2021
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Grayscale Investments, by year
- 2024: 2
- 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 | 2 |
20 CEO exits on the record in 2024
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2024: 20
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
Barry Silbert, founder and chief executive of parent company Digital Currency Group, credited Sonnenshein's tenure. “Michael guided Grayscale from $60 million to ~$30 billion of assets under management and through its historic court victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission, which enabled Grayscale to uplist the first spot Bitcoin ETF to NYSE Arca alongside the largest players in traditional finance,” Silbert said1. Sonnenshein called the decade formative. “It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside such smart, passionate people to grow Grayscale into an industry titan over the last decade,” he said.
Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust had converted into an ETF on January 11, 2024, Cointelegraph reported2. The fund had run since 2013, which made it the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund, Grayscale said. At Sonnenshein's exit, the fund held over 287,801 bitcoin, worth $19.3 billion, a 34.9 percent market share among spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Grayscale before and after
Sonnenshein had run Grayscale since 2021, after joining the firm in 20141. He led the SEC fight over the Bitcoin Trust, and Grayscale won it before he left. Mintzberg, his successor, spent more than 20 years at BlackRock, OppenheimerFunds, and Invesco. Before Grayscale, he led strategy for Goldman Sachs's asset and wealth unit.
What came next
In December 2024, seven months after he left Grayscale, Sonnenshein became chief operating officer of Securitize, a tokenization firm, its press release said3. He started on December 9. “There is massive demand for tokenization, and I am thrilled to join Securitize at such a pivotal moment for the company and the industry,” he said. Securitize's chief executive, Carlos Domingo, called Sonnenshein “a trailblazer whose strategic vision and ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes have helped pave the way for establishing digital assets as a mainstream investment class”.
Sources
- "Grayscale Investments® Announces CEO Transition," GlobeNewswire (Grayscale Investments), May 20, 2024, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grayscale-investments-announces-ceo-transition-130000370.html
- Zoltan Vardai, "Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein steps down," Cointelegraph, May 20, 2024, https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-ceo-michael-sonnenshein-steps-down
- "Michael Sonnenshein Joins Securitize as Chief Operating Officer," PR Newswire (Securitize), December 12, 2024, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiuwFBVV95cUxQQl9NZ1JTaXRsOWF4clE3aGs2SUprbXg2UHNEazJYOWgtOVlJeUFrYmRJWVpzbXFYUmJpMlpjSnBBejdwYm1wV2VneXlSbHBnbnpXR2JZcmhqZkRUQ3FWdmMwMVJSazk5ZV95MEgxeE1WYXlKNU9YVW5fbUk3TDJmNi1mZFBSZGFvV2xuV3JqdzZZSVNYRzlBQzc1ZU0yU3JNWnhnNG1tMHVaT0Q5RmlkRU9FNDJFS1lCWG1R?oc=5