Jun. 15, 2022
Dear SEC, I am Travis Brainard a 41 year old medical helicopter pilot from Illinois and I am in favor of approving the Form 19b-4 that NYSE Arca filed with you to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) into a Bitcoin Spot ETF. This year, GBTC has traded at an approximately 30% discount to its NAV, which means the price of GBTC is less than the price of its underlying assets, Bitcoin. With approximately $30 billion in AUM, that results in approximately $7.5 billion of trapped value from existing U.S. investors. When I started buying it GBTC was trading at a 20% premium because it was about the only way to get exposure to BTC in my retirement account. Now it's basically down %50 just because it's not a Spot Bitcoin ETF. Converting GBTC to a spot bitcoin ETF would fix this problem and it would more fairly follow the price of Bitcoin. Also I believe a an ETF it would be more related, bringing more investor protection to us investors. I'm a huge fan of BTC whether it's up or down and just want a fair way to invest in it. Thanks for your consideration. Sincerely, Travis