Grayscale Firm Launches Trust on the Back Of Stellar (XLM)

The newly launched Stellar Lumens Trust is the ninth single-asset investment solution for in Grayscale’s digital currency trading arsenal. Apart from its flagship Bitcoin Investment, the company offers products for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and more specific assets like ZCash (ZEC) and Horizen (ZEN). The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) and Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust (OTCQX: ETCG) are quoted on the over-the-counter (OTC) trading platform OTCQX and available for both institutional and accredited individual investors. The idea behind Grayscale’s single-asset trusts is to attract professional investors to the cryptocurrency market. Using the solutions offered by Grayscale, they can gain exposure to cryptocurrency markets via a set of traditional instruments, without the hassle of actually buying, selling, or storing the underlying assets.

1/ We are excited to announce two big developments! First, today marks the launch of Grayscale Stellar Lumens Trust! Investors can now gain exposure to the price movement of XLM through a traditional investment vehicle. For more info go to https://t.co/izJooCsKwS

— Grayscale (@Grayscale) January 17, 2019

Why Stellar?

Grayscale claims that it has launched the new product in response to investor demand. Stellar Lumens (XLM), now the sixth largest digital asset, has a great growth potential according to Michael Sonnenshein, a managing director of Grayscale. He is personally optimistic about the project as it has a solid real-life use case and sound fundamentals. Stellar aims to act as a bridge currency for cross-border payments and transactions. This solution might improve the efficiency of the banking system, especially in the emerging world where the financial system is not as vast or well developed as in Western countries. Stellar’s closest rival Ripple pushes the same idea, inviting banks and global financial institutions to implement its xRapid solution to process cross-border payments. While both Ripple and Stellar’s products are in their trial phase, both projects have the potential to gain traction, driving the price of the respective coins to new highs. It is worth noting that Mr. Sonnenshein is not the only one bullish on Stellar. A panel of cryptocurrency experts, recently surveyed by Finder.com, named Stellar as a potential growth leader in 2019.

Grayscale Defies Bear Market

Grayscale Investments, a full subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, showed good financial results, despite the cryptocurrency market collapse in 2018. The company raised a record $330 million in 2018, which is 13 times more than in 2017. Moreover, according to Sonnenshein, the inflows into Grayscale continue to climb, amid growing interest from institutional investors. The company reported $825 million under management as of Dec 31, 2018, and thus has broken the mould of cryptocurrency companies struggling to keep their heads above the water in the past year. What do you think of Grayscale’s new product? Will it boost Stellar’s price, or promote its adoption? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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