Grayscale Investments, a digital assets firm that provides market insight and institutional investment services, has launched a “Stellar Lumens Trust,” making it the ninth such investment trust that Grayscale offers.
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 (@GrayscaleInvest) January 17, 2019
The XLM trust joins those for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Horizen, Litecoin, XRP and Zcash.
Managing Director of Grayscale Investments Michael Sossenhein, speaking to The Block, last year said that investors are more interested than ever in a family of crypto products. 70% of funds which came in during Q3 2018, right before the bear market began, was a result of institutional investment.
According to Sossenhein, the creation of this new trust stems directly from client demands.
Stellar is attempting to revolutionize the way banks work with its own technology, and is seen as a competitor to Ripple.
Sossenhein also commented on Stellar’s (XLM) role in revolutionizing the banking industry:
An American bank may be keeping large amounts of currencies in foreign banks, and to be able to bring those balances of foreign currencies onto a balance sheet as working capital is valuable… [With Stellar,] financial institutions won’t be required to hold balances all over the place. This will improve efficiency and shore up balance sheets for other uses.
He also said that the addition is a part of Grayscale’s bid to offer investors “established blockchain projects with substantial traction and resources.”
Could 2019 Be a Stellar Year?
Grayscale Investments has done well in 2018, despite the lengthy bear market. Sossenhein attributes this increase in incoming funds to the fact that Grayscale’s products follow regulations. Q3 investment reports saw a year-to-date inflow of $330 million.
Stellar Lumens was created by Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple and Mt.Gox, and has steadily grown in reputation. Stripe, which backs Stellar’s efforts, is investing in the digital infrastructure that decentralized systems like Stellar can offer.
Stellar had some good developments in 2018. Stellar DEX is up and running, and accounts on the Stellar network also recently increased five-fold.
There are several other exciting developments on the list. Something to look forward to soon is the Lightning Network upgrade. It was scheduled for launch in December 2018 but investors should hopefully see its introduction this year.
If Stellar is to act as a strong rival to Ripple, then 2019 is the year it will prove itself.
