May. 06, 2022
Dear SEC, I invested in GBTC in 2017 because I wanted a more lucrative way to save up for my family’s future. I knew I wanted a family but was delaying my decision to have a child because of how cost prohibitive it is. I started investing half our household income, which a large position going to GBTC. In 2020, I became a mother. I write to you as a GBTC shareholder, in support of the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC). By not approving this conversion, you are not protecting me, the investor – the very person you were appointed to protect and our hope for our daughter’s financial future. I have years of experience in trading from forex to options and should be able to choose among investment vehicles for myself. I am aware of the risks, but also the upside which I find is purposely being limited. To me, options and futures represent more risk than the underlying asset. Last October, you approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETFs, but continue to reject applications for 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—we, as investors, should be able to choose if we’d like direct or futures-based exposure to that asset. Furthermore, the discount to NAV in GBTC has been around 25%, on average, this year. This means that the price of GBTC is less than the price of Bitcoin, the asset itself. Given that GBTC has about $30bn in AUM, shareholders like me are experiencing a destruction of value of around $7.5 billion. I’m writing from North Carolina, with gratitude for the opportunity to express my view and with the hope that you will approve this conversion and protect the interest of investors. Sincerely, Tamera Szijarto North Carolina