Mar. 23, 2019
Dear Chairman and Commissioners, With regards to the ETP, the question is not "When ETP?", however, "Why ETP?" I believe the creation of this product will in no way reduce any of the endogenous problems associated with this ecosystem. Neither will they help resolve any factors that stem exogenously. This is because the idea of this product is not to solve any real issues- it is for the financial system to create a meaningless product from which to profit from. I am a believer in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I would instead the SEC provide a clear regulatory framework and tax us for participation and profit from exchanges than give our rights away to large faceless corporations. Also, the fact that the SEC is asking innovators to 'come and tell' you what we want at the FINHUB division and is doing roadshows shows that the agency cannot possibly be ready to greenlight an ETP. It is saying 'we have this thing which is supposed to be ground-breaking, and we are all sitting around staring at it, there is pressure for us to create a respectful product from the banks (so they can monetise it), so give us reasons to justify going ahead with this brilliant idea which we have no clue about. Either you are not sharing privileged information with us general public on why and how this conversation has gone from regulation to creation of something as serious as an ETP. Alternatively, there are bad actors within the agency who are not disclosing how they will benefit from greenlighting this project (career, holdings of cryptocurrency). As you can see from my very frank letter, I am opposed to this whole drama. Hugh