May. 06, 2022
Dear SEC, I write to you as a GBTC shareholder, in support of the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC), the world’s largest publicly-traded cryptocurrency fund, to an ETF. Should you not approve this conversion, you are not protecting me, the investor – the very person you were appointed to protect. I currently hold more than 25k shares of GBTC in several Fidelity accounts, including IRAs (BTC cannot be held in an IRA). I congratulate the SEC on their decision last October, to approve futures-backed Bitcoin ETFs, however it appears you continue to reject applications for a spot Bitcoin ETFs. Given that investors use both vehicles to gain exposure to the same underlying asset, Bitcoin, from which both vehicles derive their prices. As an investor, I believe I should be able to choose whether I would like direct or futures-based exposure to that asset through an SEC protected market. Furthermore, the discount to NAV in GBTC has averaged around 25%, this year. This means that the price of GBTC is significantly less than the price of Bitcoin, the asset itself. Given that GBTC owns about $30 billion in the AUM, shareholders like me are experiencing a a significant destruction of value. For background, my interest in Bitcoin and GBTC started a little more than 2 years ago. After the Federal Reserve began adding to the US currency supply in response to the pandemic, fearing this could lead to inflation, I began researching investments that would hold their value should that start to occur. Gold has been a traditional hedge, but recently I became more interested in Bitcoin due to its limited supply, convenience, and prospects for growth. I’m writing to you as a long-term investor living in Southborough, Massachusetts, with gratitude for the opportunity to express my views in the hope that you will approve this conversion and protect the interest of investors. I’m happy to live in a country where democracy and individual rights allow me to express these views freely and I genuinely appreciate your request for feedback. I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, Anthony Post