May. 06, 2022
Dear SEC, I am writing as a GBTC shareholder supporting the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC), the world’s largest publicly-traded cryptocurrency fund, to an ETF. Unfortunately, you are not protecting me, the investor, the very person you were appointed to protect by not approving this conversion. Last October, you approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETFs but continue to reject applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Given that investors use both vehicles to gain exposure to the same underlying asset, Bitcoin, from which both vehicles derive their prices, we, as investors, should be able to choose if we’d like direct or futures-based exposure to that asset. Furthermore, the discount to NAV in GBTC has been around 25%, on average, this year. This means that the price of GBTC is less than the price of Bitcoin, the asset itself. Given that GBTC has about $30bn in AUM, shareholders like me are experiencing a destruction of the value of around $7.5 billion. I’m writing from the state of Florida with gratitude for the opportunity to express my view and hope that you will approve this conversion and protect the interest of investors. Sincerely, Wajeeh Bajwa