Jan. 05, 2017
Brent Fields, Secretary
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-0609
January 4, 2017
Via e-mail: rule-comments@sec.gov
Comments on SR-BatsBZX-2016-30 (Bitcoin ETF)
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I am a small businessman and I am writing to express my support for the approval of a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund. I have invested small amounts of money in Bitcoin over the past 2 ½ years. I am fascinated by the innovative and decentralized nature of the blockchain, and I’m encouraged by the potential of Bitcoin to change payments in the world in the future the way the internet has changed communication.
My interest in Bitcoin is probably stronger because I deal in both international and domestic payments regularly to vendors and from clients, and seeing many shortcomings of the traditional banks in processing payments, including delays, excessive fees (often redundant fees), I can see from my own experience the enormous potential of a technology that allows for instant payments without fees or with only minor fees, a fraction of what are currently imposed on consumers and businesses alike from banks and merchant processing companies. I am not a tech-savvy individual, and so despite my interest in investing, I found it somewhat difficult at first, and it took me some time to research and figure out how to buy it and safely store it.
I strongly support the approval of a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund available to investors in the American market. It would clearly help investors and fund managers, and would be in the best interest of all Americans to have a access to a legitimate, SEC regulated Exchange-Traded Fund based on the value of Bitcoin.
An Exchange-Traded Fund for Bitcoin will allow access by all to invest in this new technology. Without the ETF, it is primarily the tech-savvy few who fully understand the complexities of this asset who are able to invest in a significant way, and they have profited a great deal from such investment to date.
You had asked if we believe the Gemini Exchange to be an accurate indicator of the spot price of Bitcoin in the market. I keep up every day with the Bitcoin price in the market, and yes, Gemini is one of the better ones, though it is certainly not the only one and I don’t know that the ETF would necessarily have to tie to the Gemini index. I have found that the Coindesk BTC price index is among the best, and that is the one I watch on a daily basis. Coinbase is a regulated exchange and wallet service in the USA and they also have a very accurate BTC price which is updated every few seconds. Other good price indicators are Circle, Bitfinex and Bitstamp, but really there are dozens of excellent sources for establishing an exchange rate.
I do hope you will approve the first Bitcoin ETF as it will be important to have a legitimate, SEC regulated ETF available to investors and fund managers in this market.
Thank you.
Sincerely,