USDGrayscale’s Push Toward Public Markets Gains Momentum With SEC Filing and Expanding Financial Disclosures
IPO Intentions Surface as Grayscale Positions Itself in a Changing U.S. Crypto Landscape
TL;DR
- Grayscale filed a confidential Form S-1 with the SEC on July 14, 2025, signaling plans to pursue an IPO on the NYSE under ticker “GRAY.”
- The crypto asset manager reported roughly $35 billion in AUM as of Sept. 30, 2025, alongside updated revenue and net-income figures showing year-over-year declines.
- The filing arrives during a broader U.S. crypto-policy push and follows major public-listing moves from firms like Circle, highlighting shifting regulatory and market dynamics.
Grayscale Investments laid out a bid to become one of the most prominent publicly traded crypto-native financial companies after submitting a confidential Form S-1 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14, 2025, outlining its intention to pursue an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The draft registration statement withheld specifics such as the number of shares to be offered and any price range under consideration, but the company described the move as a strategic step aimed at unlocking access to broader funding opportunities, including public stock offerings and potential convertible-note raises—an explanation acknowledged directly in the filing.
That first submission arrived while Congress debated three crypto-focused bills—the GENIUS Act, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act—during a week that had become an unofficial showcase of federal policy development around digital assets. The timing also aligned with a surge in public-market activity across the sector, with Circle, Gemini, Bullish and other established firms either filing or advancing toward listings earlier in the year. A Cointelegraph summary referenced Circle’s June 2 SEC filing, which was later upsized to more than $1.05 billion, representing a valuation of roughly $6.9 billion across more than 220 million outstanding shares—context that underscored a rising appetite for regulated crypto-financial entities entering public exchanges.
Grayscale’s updated financial picture became clearer once portions of its filing and accompanying disclosures surfaced, detailing the scale and composition of the business as it moves toward the public-market threshold. The firm reported approximately $35 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2025, spread across more than 40 product offerings, according to a Reuters breakdown of the filing. Earlier snapshots from mid-year placed AUM above $33 billion, with its product suite then described as exceeding 35 vehicles. Additional outreach cited by Bankless claimed a total addressable market of about $365 billion across a broader 45-asset lineup, reflecting how the company frames its potential growth once public capital becomes accessible.
Financial metrics released for the nine-month period ending September 30 revealed $318.7 million in revenue and $203.3 million in net income, down from $397.9 million and $223.7 million, respectively, during the same stretch of the prior year. Grayscale attributed the decline partly to reduced management-fee collections tied to outflows and distributions, a trend that has pressured many crypto-asset firms adjusting to post-ETF-approval market dynamics. Despite these shifts, the company reaffirmed its positioning as what it calls the world’s largest digital-asset-focused investment platform, citing its September AUM figure in public-facing summaries captured by outlets such as Investing.com.
The firm’s prospective NYSE ticker, “GRAY,” was specified in Reuters’ coverage of the filing, which also listed its underwriting group: Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Securities, Jefferies Group and Cantor Fitzgerald. Market sentiment around the sector has been reinforced by high-value benchmarks, with Bitcoin trading above $120,000 during portions of the summer, contributing to what analysts described as an opportunistic environment for an equity raise of this scale.
Historical context continues to shape Grayscale’s market narrative. Its 2023 legal win against the SEC—forcing the agency to revisit and later allow spot Bitcoin ETFs—bolstered the company’s credibility and helped reset regulatory expectations for digital-asset products. That decision played a notable role in the firm’s path toward public listing, framing the IPO not only as a financial maneuver but as a marker of maturation for an industry that has long pushed for a permanent foothold in traditional markets.
While the S-1 cautioned that no assurances can be made about the timing or final structure of the offering, the accumulation of regulatory momentum, product expansion and institutional dialogue sets the stage for one of the most consequential public listings the crypto investment sector has attempted. The IPO discussion now shifts from speculation to procedural reality, with Grayscale positioning itself to define what a publicly traded digital-asset manager looks like in an increasingly regulated U.S. marketplace.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
