Grayscale Investments, LLC, a global leader in digital currency asset management, today announced that Samantha McDonald has joined the company as Vice President, Finance. McDonald most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of SPDR Gold (NYSEARCA: GLD) and SPDR Long Dollar Gold Trust (NYSEARCA: GLDW). GLD is the largest ETF to invest directly in physical gold. Reporting to Grayscale CEO Barry Silbert, McDonald will oversee finance, accounting, and legal for Grayscale.
"Samantha is an outstanding addition to the Grayscale leadership team, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience managing ETFs and other complex financial instruments," said Silbert. "She will play a critical role for Grayscale as digital currencies continue to grow as an asset class for institutional and individual investors. We are very pleased to have her on board."
Grayscale provides investors access to the digital currency asset class through its family of single-asset and diversified investment products, including Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCQX: GBTC), the first publicly-quoted instrument solely invested in bitcoin.
"The growing family of products at Grayscale reminds me of the early days of SPDR. Grayscale sits at the forefront of digital currency investing and the company has enormous potential to further establish itself as the innovator in this developing marketplace," said McDonald. "I am thrilled to join Barry and his terrific team as we continue to facilitate access to digital currencies for the global investment community."
Before her tenure with SPDR Gold, McDonald worked at Roubini Global Economics, a global financial firm that provides economic analysis to portfolio managers, chief investment officers, analysts, and bankers. McDonald was responsible for the planning, operating performance, and leadership of the financial accounting and administrative functions. Prior to RGE, McDonald held multiple financial and operational positions, including as Chief Financial Officer of an education technology company.
McDonald holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Auburn University and received her Master's in Accounting from the University of South Alabama. She is a Certified Public Accountant.
Grayscale has launched seven distinct single-asset investment vehicles that provide exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), and Zcash (ZEC). In 2017, Grayscale introduced its first diversified investment vehicle, Digital Large Cap Fund, an adaptive offering which provides exposure to the top digital currencies by market cap. Grayscale's investment vehicles are available only to accredited investors under applicable SEC rules.
Grayscale is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group. DCG sits at the epicenter of the bitcoin and blockchain industry, building and investing in companies in more than 30 countries around the world. In addition to Grayscale, DCG is the parent company of Genesis Trading, a registered broker-dealer that specializes in digital currency trading, and CoinDesk, a leading media and events company in the industry.
About Grayscale Investments, LLC
Established in 2013 by Digital Currency Group, Grayscale Investments, LLC is a trusted authority on digital currency investing. Grayscale provides secure access to the digital currency asset class through its single-asset and diversified investment products, including Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) and Digital Large Cap Fund. As of March 31, 2018, the firm managed $1.5 billion in assets. For more information on Grayscale, please visit www.grayscale.co.
