July 11, 2018
I am writing in support for SR-CboeBZX-2018-040 to allow for Cboe's Bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin was initially released in 2009 and the last 9 years have been a lesson in the power of technological revolution. I hope you spend a significant amount of time review the technical details of the Bitcoin protocol and the history of the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs, https://github.com/bitcoin/bips). BTC is as organic as any other security the Cboe provides and may easily be the most profitable of the next decade.
The years from 2009 to 2017 are akin to the gold rush of the 1850s. With BTC's fixed supply, and just over 84% of BTC having been "mined", we are approach the next stage where we have a deflationary security, the first of its kind. BTC is a digital gold, one with its value not predicated on stumbling around the globe turning over rocks and finding luck, but one built on human ingenuity and technical prowess. The rapid growth of the last 9 years was a hedge that this security is something new and unique, and people wanted to be a part of it. What lies ahead is unknown, but a new economy is being constructed as we speak. It is an economy embracing a decentralized ledger with a low cost of adoption, helping to connect the world's citizens and their finances in a secure and reliable way. I believe this is in-line with the SEC's prime directive and will help our citizens join this revolution.
Cboe's BTC ETF, under SEC's monitoring, will mark a day of recognition that this new economy is here to stay and it has the potential to grow into something wonderful. It is no longer about mining the remaining 16% of unclaimed BTC, but about building the society that it has shown a glimpse of. Cheap, reliable, and secure transactions across the globe. A currency of the internet, a technical marvel in software and communications, worthy of its place in the 21st century. Lead the revolution!
Regards,
Jacob Block