Mark Shifke
About Mark Shifke
Mark Shifke, 66, is the Chief Financial Officer of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and serves on the board overseeing Grayscale’s Sponsor entity (GSO Intermediate Holdings Corporation, “GSOIH”) for Grayscale Litecoin Trust (LTCN). He has been a director since January 2024 and served as Chairman until August 2025, when Barry Silbert returned as Board Chair; Shifke remains a director. He sits on external boards at Dock Ltd. (since March 2021) and Luno (since September 2023). He holds a B.A. and J.D. from Tulane University and an LL.M. in Taxation from NYU School of Law. Note: LTCN, as a grantor trust, has no directors; governance is executed by the Sponsor and its board.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCG | Chief Financial Officer | Not disclosed in LTCN filings | Finance leadership for DCG (parent of the Sponsor) |
| Billtrust | Chief Financial Officer | Not disclosed | CFO at AR/cloud payments platform |
| Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT) | Chief Financial Officer | Not disclosed | CFO at mobile banking/payments platform |
| JPMorgan Chase; Goldman Sachs | Senior leadership in M&A Structuring & Advisory; Tax Asset Investments | Not disclosed | Transaction structuring and advisory expertise |
| KPMG | Head of International Structured Finance Group | Not disclosed | Structured finance leadership |
| Davis Polk | Partner | Not disclosed | Legal background (tax/transactions) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dock Ltd. | Director | Since Mar 2021 | Payments/digital banking platform |
| Luno | Director | Since Sep 2023 | Crypto platform; Luno is owned by DCG |
Board Governance
- Structure and oversight: LTCN has no directors, officers, or employees; all management and governance functions are delegated to the Sponsor. The Sponsor’s board (GSOIH) consists of Barry Silbert (Chair since Aug 2025), Mark Shifke, Matthew Kummell, CEO Peter Mintzberg, and CFO Edward McGee; the Sponsor has an Audit Committee overseeing Trust financial reporting.
- Role change: On Aug 4, 2025, Barry Silbert was appointed Director and Chairman; Shifke stepped down from Chair and remained a Director. The company stated it is considering expanding the Board to include independent directors.
- Independence and conflicts (analysis): Shifke is DCG’s CFO, and DCG is the indirect parent of the Sponsor and the Trust’s sole Authorized Participant affiliate (Grayscale Securities). These affiliations indicate he is not independent under customary exchange criteria, and reflect structural conflicts the company discloses (affiliated service providers, non-arm’s-length AP). Facts supporting this assessment: his DCG CFO role and DCG’s control/affiliations.
- Committee assignments, chair roles, attendance: Membership specifics (e.g., Audit Committee composition), chair roles (beyond Shifke’s prior Chair position), and meeting attendance rates are not disclosed in LTCN filings.
Fixed Compensation
- Director compensation for Sponsor board members is not disclosed in LTCN filings. As a grantor trust, LTCN itself pays a Sponsor’s Fee (2.5% of Trust assets, paid in LTC) to the Sponsor rather than board retainers to trust directors (the Trust has none).
Performance Compensation
- Performance-linked director equity or option awards for Sponsor board members are not disclosed in LTCN filings. No equity compensation plan applies to the Trust.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Person | External Board/Role | Interlock/Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Shifke | Director, Luno | Luno is owned by DCG (parent of Sponsor) | Intra-group directorship |
| Mark Shifke | Director, Dock Ltd. | Not disclosed as DCG-affiliated in filings | External fintech exposure |
| Board context | GSOIH Board (Sponsor) | DCG is parent; Grayscale Securities (sole AP) is DCG affiliate | Affiliated ecosystem concentration |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Nearly four decades in finance/fintech; over eight years as CFO across two public companies; leadership in M&A structuring, tax asset investments, and structured finance; legal training (Partner at Davis Polk). Education: Tulane (B.A./J.D.); NYU (LL.M., Taxation).
Equity Ownership
| Holder | LTCN Beneficial Ownership | Percent of Outstanding | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG) | Not quantified | Not quantified (significant shareholder listing) | Sept 2, 2025 | Barry Silbert may be deemed to have voting/dispositive power over DCG-held securities; DCG paused Trust purchases after Mar 31, 2022. |
| Mark Shifke | Not quantified | <1% | Sept 2, 2025 | Listed individually among Sponsor directors/executives with <1% ownership. |
Governance Assessment
- RED FLAG — Control and affiliate conflicts: DCG is the parent of the Sponsor and the sole Authorized Participant is an affiliate (Grayscale Securities). The company acknowledges potential conflicts, including incentives to favor affiliates and non-arm’s-length creations/redemptions; DCG also holds a minority stake in Kraken, a venue informing the Index. These are structural conflicts that can impair perceived independence of oversight.
- RED FLAG — Limited transparency on board processes: The Sponsor has an Audit Committee, but membership, attendance, and additional board committees (Compensation/Nominating) are not disclosed in LTCN filings, limiting visibility into board effectiveness.
- Signal — Chair transition and contemplated board expansion: Shifke ceded the Chair role to Silbert in Aug 2025; Grayscale indicated it is considering adding independent directors. This suggests recognition of the need to strengthen independent oversight, but execution remains to be seen.
- Alignment considerations: Sponsor directors (including Shifke) hold <1% of LTCN shares individually; the Trust pays a 2.5% Sponsor’s Fee to the Sponsor (related party), which may create incentives not perfectly aligned with LTCN shareholders absent robust independent oversight.
Important structural note: LTCN is a grantor trust with no board; governance occurs at the Sponsor (GSOIH) level. This makes traditional public-company director compensation, committee disclosure, and say-on-pay constructs largely inapplicable to the Trust, and places heightened importance on Sponsor-level independence and conflict management.