Mar. 23, 2019
Dear Chairman and Commissioners, With regards to the ETF, the question is not "When ETF?", however, "Why ETF?" I believe the creation of this product will in no way reduce any of the endogenous problems associated with this ecosystem. Neither will they help resolve any factors that arise exogenously. This is because the idea of this product is not to solve any real issues- it is for the financial system to create a meaningless product from which to profit from. The presentation by Bitwise has provided tries weakly to justify how this will resolve real-world issues. However, we all know that is just eyewash. The general public is willing to go along with it trying to board the 'bitcoin moon express'. There is no authentic moral philosophy or intention of consumer protection behind this product. It is plain and straightforward capitalism in all its glory. I am a believer in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I would instead the SEC provide a clear regulatory framework and tax us for participation and profit from exchanges than give our rights away to large faceless corporations. Also, the fact that the SEC is asking innovators to 'come and tell' you what we want at the FINHUB division and is doing roadshows shows that the agency cannot possibly be ready to greenlight an ETF. It is saying 'we have this thing which is supposed to be ground-breaking, and we are all sitting around staring at it, there is pressure for us to create a respectful product from the banks (so they can monetise it), so give us reasons to justify going ahead with this brilliant idea which we have no clue about. Either you are not sharing privileged information with us general public on why and how this conversation has gone from regulation to creation of something as serious as an ETF. Alternatively, there are bad actors within the agency who are not disclosing how they will benefit from greenlighting this project (career, holdings of cryptocurrency). As you can see from my very frank letter, I am opposed to this whole drama. Hugh