March 7, 2017
March 7, 2017
Michael S. Piwowar, Acting Chairman
Kara M. Stein, Commissioner
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549
Re: File No. SR-BatsBZX-2016-30
Dear Commissioners Piwowar and Stein,
I would like to thank the Securities and Exchange Commission for taking the time to consider the approval of the change to Bats-BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4), which would in turn facilitate the creation of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) based on Bitcoin commodity.
I am quite new to the world of Bitcoin, but the more I learn about it the more I advocate its use. By most metrics I am an unlikely enthusiast of cryptocurrency based on demographics of gender, political ideology, occupation, and economic class. Counter to stereotypes of a typical Bitcoin user, I am not a savvy computer programmer, a big money investor, a conspiracy theorist trying to avoid taxes or disrupt the status quo, and I have no desire to engaged in illicit trades or launder money on the dark web. Instead, I offer you my objective perspective as a scientist. Simply put, I am writing to you today because I recognize a strong advancement in technology when I see it.
It is apparent that Bitcoin will play an increasingly important role for society in the future. For me, the most fascinating thing about cryptocurrency is that it is based on a decentralized network design that offers maximum transparency for all interactions, self-regulated by consensus between independent sources. The process of "mining" for new Bitcoins requires solving complex mathematical problems. For future applications, I hope that this network design can be used towards broader scale societal needs, such as increasing the efficiency of market transactions, facilitating information verification, or the use of digital mining techniques to help answer complex and computationally intensive questions.
I believe that it is in the best interest of the American people to promote the advancement of science and technology using a diverse array of incentives. A Bitcoin ETF offers a rare, market-driven, opportunity to develop cryptocurrency to its fullest potential. In closing, I hope that the Securities and Exchange Commission approves the proposal SR-BatsBZX-2016-30 and the listing of Winklevoss Bitcoin Shares.
Thank you once again for your time and consideration with this important decision for the future.
Sincerely,
Melissa Whitman