Apr. 23, 2022
Dear SEC, I’m writing to OPPOSE 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. In its current form, the daily price of GBTC is correlated to the price of BTC on the blockchain. This gives me, a retired man, the ability to safely own BTC without having the technical know-how of using a cryptocurrency wallet. I am concerned that short hedge funds will be able to manipulate that price of the ETF BTC product so that the price is not directly related to the performance of the underlying BTC. The SEC has shown itself unable or unwilling to enforce the integrity of the stock market. I point to the failure of many companies who have been put out of business by the activities of short hedge funds. Some notable names of companies affected are Blockbuster, Office Max, Pizza Hut, K-Mart, Neiman Marcus, Pier Imports, Sears, Toys R Us, Circuit City and JC Penny. A small sample of other companies now being adversely affected are Petco, Rivian, Fisker, Nikola, Rocket Mortgage, SOFi and Chewy. There are many other stocks whose price is being manipulated while the SEC turns a blind eye to illegal activities. For this reason, I ask that you deny the application of Grayscale to become an ETF and leave GBTC as a good investment. Sincerely, Gary N. McClernan