Investors are eagerly anticipating the approval of the first exchange traded fund (ETF) for spot markets, following the approval of 2X Volatility Shares to start trading the first ETF in leveraged Bitcoin futures.

Grayscale has added Lido to its DeFi fund, becoming the second-largest asset with a 19.04% share. Lido's liquid staking service offers stETH, the seventh-largest cryptocurrency, which provides cheaper staking on Ethereum. However, Grayscale's DeFi fund has underperformed since its launch, with a significant decline of over 73% and only $3.1 million in assets, in contrast to Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, which has over $18 billion. Lido met the requirements for CoinDesk's DeFi Select Index (DFX) and was officially included in July.

Shares in Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust have surged by 57% since BlackRock filed for a spot bitcoin ETF on June 15. The trust's discount to net asset value is currently at 29.3%, the first time it has traded below 30% since July last year.

July 5 (Cointime) - The fate of Bitcoin's price for the rest of the year depends on whether a Bitcoin spot ETF will be approved in the US. Joe Carlasare, a commercial litigator supporting Bitcoin, believes that there is a 30-40% chance of such a product launching within a year.

June 28 (Cointime) - BlackRock's recent application for a spot bitcoin ETF has a 50% chance of being approved by the SEC, according to Bloomberg's senior ETF strategist Eric Balchunas.

June 27 (Cointime) - The news of BlackRock filing for a bitcoin ETF has generated excitement in the crypto market, with some calling it the start of a new "crypto summer." GoldenTree's head of digital asset trading, Avi Felman, believes that Grayscale's GBTC shares could benefit the most from this development.

June 26 (Cointime) - The discount of Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust to its net asset value has decreased due to the recent filings for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. On June 23, GBTC was trading at a discount of 31.32% to NAV, which is a decrease from the 44.02% discount on June 13.

June 26 (Cointime) - According to a research report by Bernstein, Grayscale's dominant position as the largest bitcoin asset management product may be threatened by Blackrock's filing for a spot bitcoin ETF in the US. Grayscale's BTC trust (GBTC) earns around $380 million in annualized fees despite being inefficient, illiquid, and trading at a significant discount.

June 21 (Cointime) - The daily trading volume of Grayscale's Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) has soared from $16.1 million to nearly $80 million following asset management firm BlackRock's filing for a spot bitcoin ETF. The volume has spiked about 400% in just five days after the filing on June 14.

June 19 (Cointime) - There are rumors that Fidelity Management is planning to acquire Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset management company with over $20 billion in assets. Grayscale allows customers to invest in crypto assets through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Trusts, with its Bitcoin ETF being the main milking cow, in charge of $16 billion, or 80% of the total assets under management.