Friday, May 14, 2021
On May 11, 2021, the staff of the Division of Investment Management (“IM”) within the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a statement (the “Statement”) regarding the staff’s current views on funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) investing in bitcoin futures.
1 Although the Statement most directly illustrates the staff’s current stance toward mutual funds investing in bitcoin futures, more significantly, given the intense interest in potential bitcoin and other cryptocurrency products, the Statement is being scrutinized for what it might say about the willingness of the staff to approve exchange-traded products offering exposure to bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
Despite its critics, bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise in 2021 as companies have embraced the mainstream adoption of digital currencies, prompting them to make their own investments.
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Meet the 30 Private & Public Companies with Bitcoin Reserves Totaling Over $55 Billion
BitGo, the leading digital asset financial services company, issued a blog post discussing 30 private and public companies that are the first movers to add Bitcoin to their balance sheet or portfolios.
Bitcoin has attained newfound ubiquity over the past year, with prominent figures ranging from Bridgewater s Ray Dallio to Tesla s Elon Musk acknowledging the viability and utility of the asset class. Often referred to as ‘digital gold, Bitcoin is supported by a resilient, peer-to-peer global ledger called a blockchain. Like gold before it, Bitcoin is perceived to be a hedge against rising inflation of the dollar and other global fiat currencies. Bitcoin s popularity and adoption as a reserve asset has further increased over the past year due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent monetary expansion.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is deepening its crypto footprint.
“Prospectus documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday indicate that BlackRock Global Allocation Fund Inc. and BlackRock Funds V are at least eyeing bitcoin. They both include “bitcoin” on their list of derivative products cleared for use,” reports Danny Nelson for
Bitcoin futures debuted in the U.S. in late 2017.
Derivatives help increase liquidity and improve markets for an asset category by allowing investors to bet on ups and downs of an asset, even allowing individuals to adopt market-neutral strategies. They are also a key component in the creation of many futures-backed ETFs utilized by a range of investors.
Grayscale buys more than 8,000 Bitcoin after the price dropped from $38,000 to $33,400. BlackRock prepares to allow clients to buy cash-settled Bitcoin