Feb. 25, 2022
Dear SEC, I’m writing to support the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (Symbol: GBTC), currently the world’s largest Bitcoin fund, to the first Spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. My name is Thomas J. Murphy, and I am a resident of Virginia. I hold several thousand GBTC and very much want to see the GBTC Trust converted to a spot BTC ETF. I have three main points I want to make. First, Grayscale has done a superior job of protecting the massive amont of BTC under its trust. To me that is one of the main requirements for any firm running a BTC ETF. Second, I know SEC Chair Gensler has expressed concerns about the pricing of BTC and that there could be a problem with settlement of the ETF price because of manipulation. In recent months, the BTC spot price appears to have been completely transparent and always available to the public and regulators. There are many thinner, more manipulable markets for which there are ETFs. Finally, related to this last point, the SEC has approved all kinds of goofy ETFs over the years, including those that pay three times the return when a short spikes. The Bitcoin spot ETF is a simple, straight forward ETF that lets the average investor hold a small amount of BTC safely and through a regular brokerage account, like at Fidelity. Not having an ETF forces investors to take more risk to hold any BTC in their portfolios by making them work directly with crypto exchanges and often in trying to do cold storage themselves. Having a spot ETF, run by a solid company like Grayscale would make is safer for everyone involved. I am supportive of the SEC getting regulatory oversight over Bitcoin and other cryptos but I also know Chair Gensler has said full regulatory powers would probably require legislation, something that may be almost impossible to achieve given the partisan split in Congress. Approval of a spot ETF cannot wait for the SEC to get all of its regulatory powers put in pace bylegslation. Thank you for your consideration. Thomas J. Murphy