Barry Silbert
About Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert (born 1976) is the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and serves as Chairperson of the Board of Grayscale Investments, Inc., which now manages and directs the affairs of LTCN’s Sponsor after an October 22, 2025 reorganization . He holds a finance degree from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and is an early Bitcoin investor with long-standing fintech leadership experience .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SecondMarket (acquired by Nasdaq) | Founder & CEO | 2004–2015 | Built a private markets trading platform for illiquid assets; company acquired by Nasdaq in 2015 . |
| Digital Currency Group (DCG) | Founder & CEO | 2015–present | Built crypto conglomerate spanning Grayscale, Genesis, CoinDesk; portfolio investments across the crypto ecosystem . |
| Yuma (decentralized AI) | Founder | 2024–present | Strategic move into AI–crypto convergence; focus on Bittensor protocol . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayscale Investments, Inc. | Chairperson of the Board | Since Oct 22, 2025 | Board now manages LTCN’s Sponsor; board members include Silbert (Chair), Mark Shifke, Simon Koster, Peter Mintzberg, Edward McGee . |
| Digital Currency Group (DCG) | Founder & CEO | 2015–present | Parent over consolidated subs including Grayscale Investments and LTCN’s Sponsor . |
Board Governance
- Structure: LTCN is a Delaware statutory trust managed by its Sponsor (Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC). It has no traditional corporate board; CSC Delaware Trust Company is the Delaware trustee with limited duties .
- Control and independence: After the Oct 22, 2025 reorganization, the Grayscale Investments board (chaired by Barry Silbert) directs the Sponsor; DCG remains the ultimate parent. Silbert is therefore not independent of LTCN’s Sponsor or DCG .
- Fiduciary framework: The Trust Agreement centers management authority in the Sponsor and narrows fiduciary duties; conflicts may be resolved considering the Sponsor’s own interests, with “sole discretion” and “subjective good faith” standards .
- Amendments and shareholder rights: Proposal 4 in the 2025 DEF 14A would allow the Sponsor to restate/amend the Trust Agreement without shareholder consent (with 20‑day notice for materially adverse changes) and, subject to counsel’s opinion, make tax-affecting amendments—raising disenfranchisement and tax‑classification risks .
Fixed Compensation
- LTCN does not disclose director compensation; the Trust has no board-level directors or committee retainers in filings. The Sponsor earns a 2.5% annual fee on NAV, accrued daily, historically payable monthly in arrears (change to daily pay proposed in Proposal 2) .
Performance Compensation
- No director performance-based compensation is disclosed for LTCN; the Trust structure compensates the Sponsor via an asset-based fee, not incentive awards .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Entity | Relationship to LTCN | Silbert Role | Interlock/Conflict Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayscale Investments, Inc. | Sole managing member of GSO; controls LTCN’s Sponsor | Chairperson of the Board | Direct oversight of Sponsor; not independent . |
| DCG | Ultimate parent of Grayscale Investments and the Sponsor | Founder & CEO | Related-party exposure; DCG consolidated with Sponsor . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Finance and capital markets: Former investment banker; founded SecondMarket; built DCG into a leading crypto conglomerate .
- Crypto industry leadership: Early Bitcoin investor; extensive portfolio and product knowledge via Grayscale trusts and ETFs .
- Emerging tech focus: Strategic pivot into decentralized AI through Yuma/Bittensor initiative .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Jun 30, 2025 | Sep 30, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Shares outstanding | 24,252,100 | 24,252,100 |
| Related-party holdings (shares) | 166,861 | 54,801 |
| Related-party holdings (% of outstanding) | ~0.69% (166,861 / 24,252,100) | ~0.23% (54,801 / 24,252,100) |
| >5% beneficial owners | None disclosed; “no person owns more than 5%” | None disclosed; “no person owns more than 5%” |
| Source | DEF 14A and 10-Q | DEF 14A and 10-Q |
| Notes | “No person owns >5%” per proxy . | “No person owns >5%” per proxy . |
| DCG affiliated purchases authorization (Item 2) | Jul 2025 | Aug 2025 | Sep 2025 | Program remaining authorization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shares purchased | – | – | – | $28.2 million remaining |
| Cumulative activity (Mar 2–Mar 31, 2022) | $1.8 million purchased under authorization |
Related-Party Transactions and Conflicts
- Sponsor’s Fee: 2.5% of NAV, accrues daily and historically payable monthly in arrears; Proposal 2 seeks daily payment in arrears—benefiting Sponsor cash flow without changing nominal rate .
- Prime broker omnibus accounts: Proposal 3 allows commingled omnibus accounts for settlement; exposes LTCN to unsecured creditor risk of the prime broker in insolvency scenarios .
- Amendments without consent: Proposal 4 reduces shareholder consent protections and could facilitate changes impacting tax treatment and governance with notice only, subject to counsel’s opinion .
- DCG-related exposure: DCG is the indirect parent of the Sponsor and Grayscale Investments; Silbert is DCG’s CEO, indicating related‑party oversight and potential conflicts in fee, custody, and product strategy decisions .
Risk Indicators & RED FLAGS
- Shareholder rights dilution: Proposal 4 enables Sponsor to amend the Trust Agreement without shareholder consent (20‑day notice), potentially disenfranchising holders .
- Custody/credit risk: Omnibus account commingling under Proposal 3 creates unsecured creditor risk if the prime broker fails; potential freezing of access to LTC .
- Conflicts of interest: Governance centralized in Sponsor; DCG/Grayscale control the Sponsor; Silbert chairs the board overseeing the Sponsor—independence concerns .
- Legal scrutiny: NYAG sued DCG, Genesis, and Silbert in Oct 2023, alleging investor fraud; DCG has continued to contest legal actions—ongoing headline and reputational risk .
- Fee dynamics: Proposed shift to daily Sponsor’s Fee payments increases Sponsor liquidity extraction cadence; combined with broad amendment powers, this is shareholder-unfriendly .
Governance Assessment
- Positive signals: Professionalized oversight via a defined Sponsor framework; clear disclosure of fee structure and related-party policies; no single holder >5% and limited related-party shareholdings as of Q1 FY26 .
- Negative signals (material): Structure lacks independent board oversight for LTCN; Sponsor-centric fiduciary framework with broad discretion and constrained shareholder rights; omnibus account commingling risk; concentrated control at DCG/Grayscale with Silbert centrally involved; ongoing external legal matters heighten governance and reputational risk .
RED FLAGS: Non‑independent oversight by DCG/Grayscale; proposed amendments reducing shareholder consent; omnibus custody commingling; external litigation involving DCG/Silbert; fee cadence change favoring Sponsor .