Grayscale Launches Closed-End MakerDAO Trust

Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, is launching a closed-end MakerDAO Trust, adding to its extensive list of digital asset investment vehicles. This marks the third single asset trust announced within a week, following the launch of funds tracking the decentralized AI project Bittensor’s TAO cryptocurrency and the Layer 1 network Sui’s eponymous token.

Like its existing funds, this product will allow qualified investors and institutions to gain exposure to MakerDAO’s MKR governance token.

MakerDAO, a pioneering decentralized lending platform and stablecoin issuer, is one of the earliest DeFi projects. Its DAI stablecoin ranks third largest, following Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, boasting a market capitalization over $5 billion.

Based on Ethereum, MakerDAO is currently undergoing significant transformation under founder Rune Christensen’s “Endgame” plan, aiming to introduce new products and services managed by a potentially infinite number of subDAOs. Particularly, Maker is focusing on penetrating the emerging on-chain credit and real-world asset markets.

“MakerDAO’s innovative stablecoin approach and on-chain credit functionality have established it as a cornerstone of decentralized finance (DeFi). We believe its long-awaited ‘Endgame’ transformation will further solidify its DeFi role,” stated Grayscale’s Head of Product and Research, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary.

Grayscale’s two largest products, the spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds, both originated as closed-end trusts prior to being converted after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the ETFs in 2023. However, unlike ETFs, assets cannot be directly withdrawn from closed-end trusts, leading to potential divergences between the trust’s price and its underlying assets.

The firm, a unit of Digital Currency Group, offers at least 17 private single-asset funds for other protocol tokens, including Basic Attention Token, Chainlink, and Zcash, as well as thematic funds investing across sectors like decentralized finance and artificial intelligence.