Michael Sonnenshein former CEO of digital asset manager Grayscale Investments, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Securitize.
Former Grayscale Boss Joins Asset Tokenization Firm Securitize
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Grayscale Executive Michael Sonnenshein Pivots to Asset Tokenization
Ten-year Grayscale veteran Michael Sonnenshein who led the digital investment giant from 2021 to 2024 has now joined asset tokenization leader Securitize as its chief operating officer (COO), according to a press release shared with Bitcoin.com News.
Securitize specializes in tokenizing real-world assets and gained prominence when it partnered with Blackrock, the world’s largest investment manager, to create the Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on Ethereum in March.
BUIDL is now the world’s largest tokenized fund at a $550 million market capitalization and has expanded to multiple blockchains such as Avalanche and Aptos.
Sonnenshein began his career at Grayscale in 2014 as an account executive and quickly rose through the ranks, ultimately earning the company’s CEO title in 2021. He stepped down and was replaced by Goldman Sachs executive Peter Mintzberg earlier this year. The circumstances surrounding Sonnenshein’s resignation remain unclear.
Carlos Domingo, CEO and co-founder of Securitize, hailed Sonnenshein as a visionary and trailblazer who “helped pave the way for establishing digital assets as a mainstream investment class.”
Sonnenshein is now pivoting to asset tokenization right when experts are predicting tremendous growth in the area. A 2023 research report by Bank of America predicts that “traditional asset tokenization may reach $16 trillion-plus, transforming infrastructure and markets over the next five to fifteen years.”
“There is massive demand for tokenization, and I am thrilled to join Securitize at such a pivotal moment for the company and the industry,” said Sonnenshein.
