vaneck ETF https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboebzx/2021/34-92196.pdf, relevant
In particular, the Commission seeks comment on the following questions and asks commenters to submit data where appropriate to support their views:
14 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 15 Id. 16 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 17 See Notice, supra note 3. 5 1. What are commenters’ views on whether the proposed Trust and Shares would be susceptible to manipulation? What are commenters’ views generally on whether the Exchange’s proposal is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices? What are commenters’ views generally with respect to the liquidity and transparency of the bitcoin markets, the bitcoin markets’ susceptibility to manipulation, and thus the suitability of bitcoin as an underlying asset for an exchange-traded product? 2. What are commenters’ views of the Exchange’s assertion that regulatory and financial landscapes relating to bitcoin and other digital assets have changed significantly since 2016? 18 Are the changes that the Exchange identifies sufficient to support the determination that the proposed listing and trading of the Shares are consistent with the Act? 3. The Exchange states that “approving this proposal . . . [would] allow U.S. investors with access to bitcoin in a regulated and transparent exchange-traded vehicle that would act to limit risk” associated with retail exposure through other means.19 Further, the Exchange asserts that “the manipulation concerns previously articulated by the Commission are sufficiently mitigated to the point that they are outweighed by quantifiable investor protection issues.”20 What are commenters’ view regarding such an assertion? 4. According to the Exchange, “[n]early every measurable metric related to [Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s] Bitcoin Futures has trended consistently up since launch and/or accelerated upward in the past year.”21 Based on data provided and the academic research cited
18 See id. at 14989. 19 See id. at 14990. 20 See id. at 14994. 21 See id. at 14991. 6 by the Exchange, do commenters agree that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) now represents a regulated market of significant size? 22 What are commenters’ views on whether there is a reasonable likelihood that a person attempting to manipulate the Shares would also have to trade on CME to manipulate the Shares? What of the Exchange’s assertion that the combination of (a) CME bitcoin futures leading price discovery; (b) the overall size of the bitcoin market; and (c) the ability for market participants to buy or sell large amounts of bitcoin without significant market impact helps to prevent the Shares from becoming the predominant force on pricing in either the bitcoin spot or CME bitcoin futures markets?23 5. What are commenters’ views on the Exchange’s statement, generally, that bitcoin is resistant to price manipulation and that other means to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices exist to justify dispensing with the requisite surveillance sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to bitcoin?24 What of the Exchange’s assertion in support of such statement that significant liquidity in the spot market and the decreasing impact of market orders on the overall price of bitcoin mean that attempting to move the price of bitcoin is costly? 25 What of the assertion that offering only in-kind creations and redemptions provides unique protections against potential attempts to manipulate the Shares and that the price the Sponsor uses to value the Trust’s bitcoin “is not particularly important”?26