Grayscale Investments hires former Invesco ETF lead John Hoffman to take on managing director role

Grayscale Investments has added a former Invesco ETF lead John Hoffman to its team as the digital asset manager continues its push to convert its flagship G BTC + fund into a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Hoffman previously led Invesco’s Americas ETF team. He now takes on a new role at Grayscale as managing director and head of distribution and strategic partnerships, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Thrilled to welcome Hoffman to the team,” said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein on Friday on X.

“The Grayscale team is thrilled to have John Hoffman join us as Managing Director and Head of Distribution and Strategic Partnerships. John has a wealth of industry and ETF expertise, which will be invaluable to our team and clients, especially during this exciting time at Grayscale,” Grayscale Global Head of ETFs Dave LaValle said in an emailed statement to The Block.

The race to a spot bitcoin ETF

Multiple asset managers have been vying for a spot bitcoin ETF including WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity and BlackRock. The applications need the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval, and the regulator has yet to sign off on any spot crypto ETF.

Grayscale and BlackRock have both recently met with the SEC’s division of trading and markets about their applications for spot bitcoin funds.

Bitcoin’s price has surged amid speculation that approval could be getting closer. The world’s largest digital asset by market capitalization has risen 12.1% over the past month and is up 123.7% over the past year. It was trading up 2.3% over the past day to $38,415 at 10:48 a.m. ET, according to The Block data.