Bitwise Asks SEC To Protect Funds Relying On Token Status Filings

TL;DR: Bitwise filed a supplemental SEC comment seeking clearer protection for firms that rely on token-status filings. The October 21 letter develops its earlier proposal; it is an industry request, not an adopted rule. Bitwise is pressing the Securities and Exchange Commission to answer a question that matters to fund managers: when can a firm rely on somebody else’s determination that a crypto asset has separated from an investment contract? The asset manager’s October 21 supplemental letter focuses on that reliance problem in the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets framework. It asks the commission to distinguish an issuer’s filing of Form TR from the point at which a separate market participant can rely on an unchallenged filing. It also seeks protection for reasonable, good-faith determinations if a later challenge arises, and asks for the treatment to carry through relevant investment-company and investment-adviser definitions. A Token Issuer And A Fund Manager Have Different Information Bitwise’s original October 19 response explains its position as a company that builds investment products using crypto assets rather than issuing those assets itself. Whether an asset co...