July 11, 2018
Dear SEC,
I'm not affiliated with VanEck or SolidX.
Reprioritizing in emerging technology markets is inevitable. Cryptocurrency is fast becoming a trillion dollar industry. The SEC can take the offense and catch the crypto currency wave on it's way up. This assures the US remains a leading force in the global regulatory economy. Or the SEC can take the defense and let other more proactive countries in the emerging cryptocurrency market catch the SEC off guard. With other countries like Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Malta already taking positive regulatory measures towards institutionalizing crypto, the US is at risk of losing it's position as the global regulatory economy leader.
Regardless, a priority shift is inevitable. Playing defense with legacy regulatory models at the expense of playing offense with the emerging crypto market can have negative long term consequences for the US. None of us want US leadership to go the way of Netscape, Commodore, or Blackberry. Leadership at these companies took a defensive stance towards emerging technology. And all of us want the US to go the way of Apple, Amazon, and Sales Force. Leadership at these companies took an offensive stance towards emerging technology.
The faster the SEC regulates an ETF, the lower the chance money will flow into exchanges into less regulated jurisdictions. The longer the SEC waits to enact an ETF, the more money is at risk of flowing into unregulated jurisdictions. This could put investor money at risk, which goes against the values of the SEC.
I would urge the SEC to immediately take a globally offensive regulatory stance towards the SR-CboeBZX-2018-040.
Regards,
Maurice Boelens