Jun. 20, 2022
Dear SEC, I am Jordon Hartley from Minnesota and I am in favor of 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. Vanguard recently eliminated the ability to buy certain OTC securities including GBTC. I have my retirement accounts at Vanguard and hold a significant amount of these assets in GBTC. I anticipated a sell off in the crypto market and was looking to exit my positions and buy back after the market correction. Since I am a believer in bitcoin, I fully expect a strong recovery to new highs so I do not want to eliminate my exposure to bitcoin. However, since GBTC is the only security that provides the exposure I am looking for, I was forced to hold my position at Vanguard during the pulldown in 2022 because I was not going to be able to buy back at a lower price. If the SEC would have approved GBTC's conversion to a spot ETF, and thereby moving GBTC off the OTC market, I would have been able to sell my position and then buy back when I was ready. Your failure to approve a spot ETF has cost me a significant portion of my family's wealth. Your job is to protect investors, but in this case you have failed. You are the party responsible for my losses. Please approve GBTC's conversion to a Bitcoin Spot ETF now. Thank you! Sincerely, Jordon Hartley