Matthew Kummell
About Matthew Kummell
Matthew Kummell (age 49) served as a director on the board overseeing GXLM’s Sponsor (Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC) from January 2024 until stepping down on October 13, 2025. He is Senior Vice President of Institutional and Enterprise at the NEAR Foundation, and holds a B.A. from UCLA and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. GXLM is a Delaware statutory trust with no directors; all governance and management functions reside with the Sponsor and its board.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEAR Foundation | SVP, Institutional & Enterprise | 2025–present | Leads institutional and enterprise engagement for NEAR Protocol ecosystem |
| Digital Currency Group (DCG) | Senior VP, Strategy & Operations | 2021–2025 | Corporate strategy/operations across DCG portfolio |
| Citi, Markets Division | Head of North America, Business Advisory Services | 2018–2021 | Strategic consulting for institutional investors |
| Citadel; Balyasny; S.A.C. Capital Advisors | Strategic/front-office roles | Earlier career | Buy-side roles in trading/strategy |
| Bain & Company (Boston) | Case Team Leader | Earlier career | Strategy consulting |
| Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth) | Adjunct Professor | 2020–2025 | Academic appointment |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSO Intermediate Holdings Corporation (GSOIH) – Board overseeing GXLM’s Sponsor | Director | Jan 2024–Oct 13, 2025 | Stepped down Oct 13, 2025; governance of Sponsor transitioned to Grayscale Investments board Oct 22, 2025 |
| Foundry (DCG affiliate) | Director | Dec 2023–Jun 2025 | DCG-owned affiliate; interlock with DCG ecosystem |
| CoinDesk, Inc. (DCG affiliate) | Director | Until Nov 2023 | DCG affiliate; prior board role |
| Derivix Corporation | Director | Until Jan 2012 | Financial software company |
Board Governance
- GXLM has no directors; the Sponsor and its board manage and direct GXLM’s affairs. As of January 2025, the board overseeing the Sponsor comprised Barry Silbert, Mark Shifke, Matthew Kummell, Peter Mintzberg, and Edward McGee; after the October 22, 2025 reorganization, the board at Grayscale Investments (now managing the Sponsor) comprised Barry Silbert (Chair), Mark Shifke, Simon Koster, Peter Mintzberg, and Edward McGee. Kummell stepped down on October 13, 2025.
- The Sponsor discloses having an Audit Committee responsible for overseeing GXLM’s financial reporting process; committee membership is not disclosed.
- Independence status is not stated; Kummell simultaneously served in an executive role at DCG (the Sponsor’s controlling parent), indicating an affiliate relationship during his board tenure.
Fixed Compensation
- Director cash retainers, committee fees, or meeting fees for the Sponsor’s board are not disclosed in GXLM filings. GXLM itself has no directors.
Performance Compensation
- Equity grants (RSUs/PSUs), options, vesting schedules, performance metrics (TSR, revenue, EBITDA, ESG), severance/change-of-control terms, clawbacks, tax gross-ups, deferred comp, pensions/SERP, and perquisites are not disclosed for Sponsor directors in GXLM filings.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Affiliation to GXLM/Sponsor | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundry | Director | DCG-owned affiliate; DCG is Sponsor’s parent | Dec 2023–Jun 2025 |
| CoinDesk, Inc. | Director | DCG affiliate | Until Nov 2023 |
| Derivix Corporation | Director | Unaffiliated | Until Jan 2012 |
| GSOIH/Grayscale Investments (board overseeing Sponsor) | Director | Governs GXLM Sponsor | Jan 2024–Oct 13, 2025 |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Finance and operations leadership: SVP Strategy & Operations at DCG; Head of North America advisory (Citi); roles at Citadel, Balyasny, S.A.C. Capital.
- Institutional client engagement and market strategy; blockchain/digital assets ecosystem experience via DCG and NEAR Foundation.
- Academic credentials: B.A. (UCLA), MBA (Dartmouth Tuck); adjunct professorship at Tuck (2020–2025).
Equity Ownership
- GXLM reports no beneficial owner >5% of trust shares as of the September 25, 2025 record date; individual holdings of Sponsor directors (including Kummell) in GXLM are not disclosed.
- Directors and executive officers are permitted to invest personally in Grayscale products on substantially the same terms as other investors, but amounts are not disclosed.
Governance Assessment
- Tenure and transition: Kummell served ~21 months on the board overseeing GXLM’s Sponsor and stepped down on Oct 13, 2025, contemporaneous with governance changes that installed Simon Koster and later consolidated oversight under Grayscale Investments’ board. This reduces his current direct governance influence on GXLM.
- Independence considerations: His concurrent employment at DCG during board service reflects an affiliate relationship with the controlling parent; GXLM filings do not classify director independence.
- Committee and engagement transparency: While the Sponsor maintains an Audit Committee, GXLM filings do not disclose member composition, meeting attendance, or engagement specifics for directors, limiting assessment of board effectiveness and oversight at the individual director level.
- Broader governance environment: Recent DEF 14A proposals expand Sponsor discretion (e.g., daily payability of Sponsor’s fee, omnibus accounts with prime broker, amendments with notice rather than shareholder consent), which centralize control and may be viewed by investors as reducing shareholder protections; these proposals pertain to Sponsor governance rather than to Kummell individually.