Grayscale Files to Convert Large Cap Crypto Fund Into ETF

Grayscale Files to Convert Large Cap Crypto Fund Into ETF

Grayscale filed with the SEC on Monday to convert its private Digital Large Cap Fund into a publicly traded ETF. The fund currently holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano, with Bitcoin accounting for nearly 80% of its weight. This would allow retail investors to gain diversified crypto exposure through traditional markets, without having to be accredited.

“The fund covers approximately 75% of the market cap of the digital asset market, excluding meme coins and stablecoins,” the filing states. Cardano was added to the portfolio in January, replacing Avalanche after an index rebalancing. Since launching in 2018, the fund has returned 478% based on its market price, according to Grayscale’s site.

The ETF filing comes amid a boom of new crypto fund proposals, from Ethereum hybrids to speculative Dogecoin and Trump-themed products. With over $105 billion now locked in US-based crypto ETFs, Grayscale aims to secure relevance beyond its beleaguered GBTC trust.

‍

Lawmaker Rejects Push for Interest-Bearing Stablecoins

On Monday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly urged lawmakers to permit interest-bearing stablecoins like USDC, arguing such products offer a more competitive alternative to traditional bank savings accounts. His plea came as Congress prepares to mark up two major bills; the STABLE Act and the GENIUS Act, which currently prohibit stablecoins from paying users interest.

Armstrong stated on X that banning yield-bearing stablecoins unfairly favors banks over crypto platforms. However, House Financial Services Chair French Hill quickly dismissed the request, stating there was no bipartisan consensus to classify stablecoins as investment products. Hill emphasized that lawmakers intend to frame stablecoins as payment tools, not interest-earning assets.

‍

Tether Bought 8,888 BTC in Q1 Becoming Sixth-Largest Holder

Tether announced on April 1 that it had purchased 8,888 BTC during Q1 2025, spending roughly $735 million to boost its reserves. The stablecoin issuer’s total Bitcoin holdings now exceed 92,600 BTC, worth around $7.8 billion, making it the sixth-largest wallet on the Bitcoin network. This buy aligns with Tether's ongoing reserve strategy to allocate 15% of quarterly profits to BTC.

Despite Bitcoin’s nearly 12% price drop in Q1 (its worst first-quarter performance since 2018), Tether continues to accrue BTC amid broader macro uncertainty. The company also earned $13 billion in net profits last year, largely through interest from U.S. Treasuries and unrealized gains on BTC and gold. As part of its expansion, Tether has moved into Bitcoin mining, energy production, and AI while pursuing a full audit.

‍

Logan Paul’s Lawsuit Against Coffeezilla Moves Ahead

A Texas judge denied YouTuber Coffeezilla’s motion to dismiss Logan Paul’s libel lawsuit, allowing the CryptoZoo legal battle to proceed. The lawsuit, filed in 2024, claims Coffeezilla, defamed Paul by repeatedly calling his CryptoZoo game a “scam” in widely viewed YouTube videos. Judge Henry Bemporad ruled that the language used was potentially defamatory and could be seen as a factual accusation.

Coffeezilla argued the statements were opinion-based, but the court found his role as a crypto investigator gave them added weight. The lawsuit references at four videos with “scam” in the title, with one surpassing 10 million views. The dispute follows a broader legal saga around CryptoZoo, including class-action lawsuits and refund offers from Paul, who also sued former collaborators for sabotaging the project.

‍

Data of the Day

A new report from MiCA Crypto Alliance and Nodiens revealed that Bitcoin mining’s reliance on coal has declined by 43% since 2011, dropping from 63% to 20% of total energy use. The analysis also showed an annual increase of nearly 6% in renewable energy adoption within Bitcoin mining operations. This trend comes despite a global rise in coal use, which reached an all-time high of 8.8 billion tons in 2024.

The report models five future energy-use scenarios based on Bitcoin’s price, ranging from $10,000 to $1 million per BTC by 2030. In a mid-range scenario, renewables could supply up to 74% of Bitcoin’s power needs, not counting nuclear sources. Despite these gains, the report anticipates peak mining energy consumption around 2030, potentially reaching 0.4% of global primary energy use in bullish price conditions.

‍

More Breaking News

• Backpack Exchange has begun the FTX EU asset recovery process, asking former customers to complete KYC to claim funds lost in the 2022 collapse.
• Binance has delisted Tether (USDT) spot trading in Europe to comply with MiCA rules, though users can still hold the token and trade it via perpetual contracts.
• Metaplanet has purchased 696 BTC worth $67 million following a 10-to-1 stock split, pushing its holdings past 4,000 BTC as part of a national Bitcoin push.
• Paradigm’s Samczsun says North Korea’s cyber operations go beyond the Lazarus Group, revealing a broader network behind Bybit’s $1.4 billion hack in February.
• Kentucky has joined South Carolina and Vermont in dropping its staking lawsuit against Coinbase, though seven U.S. states continue to pursue similar cases.
• UK police have recovered $671,000 in crypto from a fraud case under an amended Proceeds of Crime Act, marking a first-time use of the law’s new crypto provisions.
• UPCX suffered a major security breach as $70M worth of $UPC is drained from management accounts via upgraded contract exploit, funds remain untouched in a single wallet.

For the latest updates on digital asset markets, follow us on X @Datawalletcom.