Grayscale Opens Ethereum Classic Vehicle to Accredited Investors

Digital Currency Group subsidiary Grayscale Investments is launching a new investment vehicle for the alternative digital asset ether classic.

The firm is opening the Ethereum Classic Investment Trust to investors beginning today. The vehicle was first unveiled earlier this year, and is modeled after other offerings by the company, which specializes in investment products centered around digital currencies.

According to Grayscale, the ETC trust has been seeded with $10m, with funding drawn from Digital Currency Group; its founder and CEO Barry Silbert; and Glenn Hutchins, a DCG board member and co-founder of private equity firm Silver Lake.

The trust is being pitched to accredited investors, with a minimum investment of $10,000. It will charge a 3% sponsor's fee, with one-third of that amount being contributed to the development of ethereum classic during the first three years.

Ether classic is the cryptocurrency that underlies the ethereum classic network. Ethereum classic came into existence in mid-2016 following the collapse of The DAO, a smart contract-based funding vehicle built on ethereum, the second-largest blockchain by market capitalization.

The launch comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission begins to consider an investment vehicle for retail investors centered around ether, the cryptocurrency of ethereum. As reported by CoinDesk, the agency is weighing whether to approve the listing of an ether ETF first proposed last summer.

The market movements come amid a time of increasing diversification in the cryptocurrency and blockchain communities, with investors seeking opportunities beyond the oldest, and more liquid bitcoin market.

Disclosure: Grayscale Investments is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company.

Investment image via Shutterstock