May. 06, 2022
Dear SEC, I write to you as a shareholder of the GBTC, asking you to approve the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) (the world’s largest publicly-traded cryptocurrency fund) to an ETF. By not approving this conversion, you are not protecting small investors like me: the very person you were appointed to protect. Last October, you approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETFs, but continue to reject applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs: I don't understand WHY?... Given that investors use both vehicles to gain exposure to the same underlying asset, Bitcoin we, as investors, should be able to choose if we’d like direct or futures-based exposure to that asset. Even worse, the discount to NAV is around 27%. This means that the price of GBTC is way 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 NEW YORK, with gratitude for the opportunity to express my view and with the hope that you will approve this conversion and protect the interest of small investors like myself. Sincerely, Angel de la Fuente