Feb. 22, 2022
Dear SEC, I’m writing to support the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (Symbol: GBTC), currently the world’s largest Bitcoin fund, to the first Spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. As a schoolteacher in Connecticut, your actions by not approving a spot BTC ETF are directly destroying the wealth of my family. I was smart enough to see the value in bitcoin a long time ago and bought GBTC in my Roth IRA. For somebody who works an underpaid and underappreciated job, this investment went a long way to securing my family's financial future, while still doing something incredibly positive –– helping kids –– on a day to day basis. In the guise of investor protection, you've approved a futures ETF, which fundamentally allows institutions to naked short sell BTC (and never own the asset in the first place). This is another example of the government choosing the rich and powerful over the average person. It is neither right, nor fair, and it is not protecting any investor, including myself. Roughly one quarter of the users in the broader cryptocurrency space are Americans. Bitcoin is the next great platform where innovation can be built and the core American values of free markets, opportunity, and the ability to rise up in society can shine. American values and bitcoin values are aligned. You are betraying the average person by not approving a spot ETF, but you are also hindering an industry where America must lead. There is no logical argument why America shouldn't dominate the bitcoin space and instead, with petty and silly actions like this, you are allowing other nations around the world to embrace bitcoin and reap those obvious benefits. Bitcoin's continued growth is inevitable. It is a when, not an if question. Please act accordingly and approve a spot ETF in the USA. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Matthew Pachniuk