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Most Influential 2021: Barry Silbert
The founder of Digital Currency Group sees Standard Oil as an inspiration.
By CoinDesk
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:31 p.m. Published Dec 9, 2021, 8:25 p.m. 1 min read
If U.S. lawmakers ever target the crypto industry for antitrust activity, Digital Currency Group (DCG) might be top on the list. Founded by Barry Silbert in 2013, DCG is a crypto powerhouse with investments across the industry – including ownership of this publication. It wholly owns digital currency trader and lender Genesis Global Trading and digital asset management firm Grayscale Investments, the provider of the popular bitcoin investment vehicle, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. This year, Silbert made the case for that trust to be converted into a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), distinct from current bitcoin ETFs that track BTC futures, though that instrument has yet to be approved.
The crypto investment giant expanded further into the world of trading by buying global crypto exchange Luno and crypto mining firm Foundry. DCG is valued at $10 billion, and employees recently sold $700 million worth of shares on secondary markets to SoftBank and Google parent Alphabet’s venture capital branch. Silbert is holding his shares. He even told the Wall Street Journal that he sees Standard Oil, the conglomerate created by John D. Rockefeller, as inspiration for DCG.
The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021
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The inclusion could attract fresh passive inflows from index-tracking funds, while the firm's stock tanked 95% from its peak over the past year.
알아야 할 것:
- SharpLink will join the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes effective June 29.
- The company held nearly 873,000 ETH, worth roughly $1.8 billion at current prices.
- The inclusion comes as many digital asset treasury firms have slowed or halted crypto purchases.
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