Grayscale Hires Former Invesco Head John Hoffman to Lead Distribution and Partnerships Team

According to CoinDesk, crypto asset manager Grayscale has appointed former Invesco Head of Americas John Hoffman to lead its distribution and partnerships team. The announcement comes six weeks before a decision is expected on whether Grayscale will be allowed to launch a spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded-fund (ETF). Hoffman, an ETF veteran, spent over 17 years at investment manager Invesco, holding various positions, including director of ETF institutional sales and capital markets at Invesco PowerShares Capital Management, adviser, and most recently, leading the Americas, ETF and indexed strategies team. Dave LaValle, Global Head of ETFs at Grayscale, expressed excitement about Hoffman joining the team, citing his industry and ETF expertise as invaluable assets. Invesco is one of the largest issuers of ETFs in the U.S., with over 200 ETFs traded on U.S. markets and approximately $425 billion in assets under management (AUM). The company recently experienced another significant departure, as Anna Paglia, who served as global head of ETFs, indexed strategies, SMAs, and models at Invesco for the past seven years, left to join State Street Global Advisors as executive vice president and chief business officer. Grayscale aims to convert its GBTC bitcoin trust into an ETF in January, pending the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decision on whether to approve the launch of 13 potential spot bitcoin ETFs, including those of BlackRock, Invesco, and Franklin, among others.