June 30, 2018
Dear SEC,
As an accredited investor, who is also an executive in the financial services industry, not affiliated with either VanEck or SolidX, I wanted to comment that I’d like to see a Bitcoin ETF approved by the SEC.
I have a sophisticated level of market knowledge, and both undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and economics. I’m a fan of Bitcoin, and the blockchain technology that is most effective utilizing Bitcoin.
To that point I have assets that I’d like to use for speculation in this new asset class, that I believe in. I’d like to own the underlying asset, Bitcoin, not CBOE futures contracts.
However, I don’t have a way to effectively do this without placing funds in crypto currency exchanges, which as we’ve seen on the news, can be less secure than accounts at more traditional registered broker dealers.
Not providing a solution here funnels money to companies with less regulatory oversight. This increases the likelihood of fraud and theft. It also discourages innovation, from the United States, in technology that could have global significance. Japan is institutionalizing Bitcoin and the United States doesn’t want to be too far behind.
Please help solve this problem by approving a regulated ETF from two respected institutions, that will allow accredited investors to be able to allocate a portion of our money into an asset class that offers asymmetrical upside and increased diversification in our portfolios.
Thank you for your consideration of my comments.
Regards,
Casey J. Ahern