Grayscale Investments brings aboard John Hoffman, the former lead of Invesco’s Americas ETF team, as part of its mission to transform its key GBTC fund into a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Hoffman, now Grayscale’s Managing Director and Head of Distribution and Strategic Partnerships, brings his wealth of experience in the industry and ETF realm to the team. Grayscale’s CEO, Michael Sonnenshein, expressed excitement about Hoffman joining the team. The move reflects the intensifying competition among various asset managers, including WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity, and BlackRock, all eyeing approval for spot bitcoin ETFs from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Despite meetings between Grayscale, BlackRock, and the SEC’s trading and markets division, no spot crypto ETF has yet secured regulatory approval. Bitcoin’s price surge amid anticipation hints at the potential for nearing approval, with the digital asset rising by 12.1% in the past month and marking a staggering 123.7% increase over the last year. As of the latest, Bitcoin was trading at $38,415, climbing by 2.3% in the past day.