Cryptocurrencies

Father of VIX Wades Into Bitcoin ETF Battle to Back Grayscale Bid

  • Whaley writes letter to SEC in support of GBTC conversion
  • BITO’s launch means SEC must be comfortable with spot fund
Photographer: Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg
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The man who created Wall Street’s favorite fear gauge is throwing his support behind Grayscale Investments LLC’s bid to turn the world’s biggest Bitcoin fund into an exchange-traded product.

Robert Whaley, who created the Cboe Volatility Index in 1993, said in a May 25 letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that officials should approve the firm’s application to convert the $20 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ticker GBTC) into an ETF. He joins thousands of other letter-writers after Grayscale launched a campaign to solicit comments to the SEC.