Jun. 18, 2022
Dear SEC, My name is Lucas Signorelli, and I’m a 33 year old small business owner located in St. Louis Missouri. I’m writing to express strong favor for approving the Form 19b-4 that NYSE Arca filed with you to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) – the world’s largest publicly traded crypto asset fund, with approximately $30 billion in AUM, hundreds of millions in daily trading volume, more than 850,000 investors, holding approximately 3.4% of all Bitcoins outstanding – into a Bitcoin Spot ETF. This year, GBTC has traded at an approximately 25% discount to its NAV, which means the price of GBTC is less than the price of its underlying assets, Bitcoin. With approximately $30 billion in AUM, that results in approximately $7.5 billion of trapped value from existing U.S. investors. I began investing in GBTC in 2019 in order to gain *safe* exposure to digital assets. This is such a dynamic, important, and growing asset class that I wanted to invest in, but I did not feel I had the technical skills required to safely own and store BTC itself. GBTC gave me the opportunity to gain exposure to Bitcoin, but outsource custody and purchasing to a trusted third party. Since 2019, the GBTC premium has eroded into a significant discount. I’ve unfortunately lost a significant amount of money on the investment, despite the price of Bitcoin appreciating during that time. Seeing the approval of a Futures Bitcoin ETF, while a Spot ETF has not been approved in the market, was demoralizing and confusing. I truly don’t understand the decision, and feel it has hurt me as an individual investor. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, due to it’s size and professional management, would be an ideal candidate for Spot Conversion, and present a very safe option for investors who are not comfortable having custody over their own Bitcoin, but want to gain exposure. I am not an institutional investor…just an average citizen, and small business owner. My belief is that American investors should have access to a SAFE, and stable Bitcoin Spot ETF, and that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is a leading candidate. My net worth has been personally damaged by the mounting GBTC discount, and lack of access to a Spot ETF. I urge you, for the sake of justice, regulatory clarity, and prosperity for American investors, to PLEASE approve Form 19b-4 that NYSE Arca filed with you to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) into a Bitcoin Spot ETF. Thank you very much for your consideration, and for the work that you do as regulators in this industry. Sincerely, Lucas Signorelli Owner, Signorelli Insurance