Subject: File No. SR-NYSEArca-2021-90
From: Chuck Burnham
Affiliation:

Feb. 23, 2022

 

Dear SEC leadership - I am writing to ask that you approve the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (Symbol: GBTC) to a spot ETF in the United States. As the manager of the world’s largest Bitcoin fund, Grayscale has shown exemplary attention to the needs and voices of participants in the Trust, and I have no doubt that the firm will only improve on its history of client service and protection following the transition of GBTC to an EFT offering.  

 Although I fully support the SEC's mission to protecting investors, the lack of a fully regulated spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S., in fact, only increases the likelihood that the public engages with questionable actors and firms to gain exposure to this important technology. I know people who have taken just such risks and find the circumstance, frankly, alarming. Further, The existence and approval of futures-based ETFs in the U.S. encourages unsophisticated investors to participate in investment vehicles that they do not fully understand. There is little justifiable reason to allow the trading of futures ETFs while denying the much more straightforward option of a spot ETF. 

Finally, Bitcoin is, without question, the most well-established, decentralized, and secure among the many blockchain-based digital assets available. Again, I support strict, effective regulation of all such assets, and the full weight of SEC enforcement for bad actors. However, the quality assets--in this class are, as Chair Gensler has recognized, going to play an significant role in the future and democratization of finance. The SEC must lead the world in advancing the promise of these technologies to avoid nations led by less scrupulous regimes from leading the way and extracting talent and value from the U.S. 

Please, allow the Grayscale spot Bitcoin ETF to move forward so my fellow Alaskans and countrymen can safely participate in this revolutionary technology and investment opportunity. 

With sincere thanks for your consideration, 

Charles Burnham 
Juneau, Alaska