Apr. 13, 2022
Dear SEC and to whom it may concern, I write to you today to advocate for SEC approval of the conversion of Grayscale trust to a spot Bitcoin ETF and/or the approval of a similar Bitcoin Spot ETF. Other investors and I have been waiting for the opportunity to invest in a safe and familiar, “physically backed” Bitcoin product that trades at the spot market price of Bitcoin. To date the SEC has approved even more confusing futures products, demonstrating little regard for consumer protection, yet they deny consumers the opportunity to purchase a “physically backed” spot ETF that can be traded on NYSE. It is hard to understand how a futures ETP is meant to safeguard investors, yet a spot ETF is too risky? Consumers in the U.S. have no other choice than to buy either a futures product, or the Grayscale Trust. Due to this, the product that consumers are purchasing in the U.S. never trade at the spot market price of Bitcoin. In addition, such products must charge higher fees. A Spot ETF should be approved immediately to eliminate confusing price premiums or discounts, and high fees associated with currently available products. Investors would also be assured that the product is physically backed unlike current options. Physically backed Spot Bitcoin ETFs and ETPs already exist in Canada and EU, providing citizens of those countries the opportunity to buy a safe, straightforward, and accessible product. The delay of the SEC in approving such a product is contemptuous of U.S. consumers investing in Bitcoin. It appears the SEC is refusing to provide U.S. investors with the same liberties and safeguards as regulators in Canada and the EU have afforded their citizens. It is unconscionable for regulators in the U.S. to, by de facto, lead investors to buy investment products that are not the one thing that the investor wants, a simple physically backed investment product where the price is exact or immediate thereto the spot market price of Bitcoin. I do hope that the SEC comes to see that the approval of a Bitcoin Spot ETF is the right decision and the best way forward to protect U.S. investors. Please promote the growth and innovation that make this country the greatest, the free market is demanding! Thank you, Garrett Banks