May. 01, 2022
This is a further plea to the SEC to NOT approve a Bitcoin ETF and certainly not to allow the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to become an ETF. The factors behind the SEC's rejection of previous applications remain unchanged. The Bitcoin market remains vulnerable to manipulation through the unregulated issuance of so called 'stable coins'. There are totally inadequate safeguards to ensure that stable coins are backed by real assets rather than being conjured out of thin air. The stable coins are tantamount to counterfeit money and are a threat to the established global financial systems. Tether (USDT) in particular is a serious concern. From the standpoint of both current market cap or issuance in circulation AND daily turnover. It continues to baffle me how Tether is able to escape any authoritative external in depth audit. The company has consistently evaded or obfuscated probing of its reserves. Permitting a Bitcoin ETF essentially legitimises what may be the largest fraud ever perpetrated in history. It really is very simple: the stable coins must be regarded as a type of foreign currency and regulated as such. The issuing authority or company must be as transparent, verifiable, scrutinised and compliant as any Sovereign issuer of fiat currency. This includes the ability of US Authorities to monitor the use of stable coins and cryptocurrencies purchased using the same in the avoidance or evasion of restrictions and sanctions imposed by the US Government. Stable coins and cryptocuurencies must not be a route by which terrorists, criminals, drug smugglers, child and people traffickers, tax evaders bypass US sanctions or laws. Yours sincerely Mark Bloomfield London United Kingdom.