Grayscale opens DeFi Fund to public investors

Investment management firm Grayscale has opened its decentralized exchange (DeFi) Fund (under the ticker DEFG) for public trading via the over-the-counter (OTC) market.

Grayscale first launched the DeFi Fund in July 2021 but restricted its trading to only privately-accredited investors. However, on Dec. 9, it announced that U.S.-based accredited investors can publicly buy and sell the DEFG Shares.

DEFG enables investors to purchase some of the outstanding 233,960 Shares and gain exposure to a diversified basket of DeFi assets in a single investment vehicle.

According to GrayScale, the current composition of the DeFi Fund include 68.88% of Uniswap (UNI), 13% of Aave (AAVE), 8.89% of Maker (MKR), 5.14% of Curve (CRV), and 4.09% of Compound (COMP).

The DeFi Fund will use the CoinDesk DeFi Select Index (DFX) to evaluate and rebalance the underlying assets on a quarterly basis.

Grayscale’s Head of Investor Solutions Rayhaneh Sharif-Askaray said:

“We believe that investors deserve access to the digital currency ecosystem through secure products, and are excited to now offer them exposure to the evolving decentralized finance sub-sector through a publicly-quoted security.”

The newly launched DeFi Fund (DEFG) brings Grayscale’s public investment products to 15, including the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Grayscale’s GBTC trading at discount

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust GBTC was designed to track the price of Bitcoin (BTC). However, in the wake of recent market implosions, GBTC is trading at a discount of 49.2%. So far in 2022, GBTC has fallen by 74%, while BTC has declined by 63%.

GBTC’s discount is closely tied to financial constraints faced by the investment firm. Grayscale reportedly refused to reveal its Bitcoin holdings, which raised concerns that it may be facing liquidity issues resulting from the FTX collapse.