Feb. 22, 2022
Dear SEC, I'm writing to support the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), currently the world's largest Bitcoin fund, to the first Spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. The APA requires the SEC to treat like situations alike absent a reasonable basis for different treatment. This means the SEC must treat similarly situated investment products similarly. Bitcoin ETF products - Bitcoin futures-based ETFs registered under the '40 Act and Bitcoin spot-based ETFs registered under the '33 Act - are an example of two like situations that should be treated alike. Prior to this year, Bitcoin ETF applications were treated alike: the SEC denied both futures-based and spot-based ETF applications, citing the potential for fraud and manipulation in the underlying spot Bitcoin market. Because both types of ETFs are priced based on the same underlying Bitcoin market, it's intuitive then that the SEC would deny both types of ETFs, given their concerns. As it stands, the Bitcoin ETF landscape is unfair and discriminatory against GBTC shareholders and all of the other U.S. investors looking for an accessible and efficient way to gain their Bitcoin exposure. Fortunately, the Administrative Procedure Act exists to address situations just like this one - to govern the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations, ultimately to protect the American investor. Best regards, Jay Polshuk GE Healthcare