A new digital asset class to be offered through registered investment advisors is poised for takeoff.
"We are at the point that a registered closed-end interval fund with a Bitcoin futures strategy is preparing to launch," Dalia Blass, director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management, said in a Tuesday speech at the Investment Company Institute's 2019 Securities Law Developments Conference in Washington.
The NYDIG Bitcoin Strategy Fund, advised by Stone Ridge Asset Management, will be distributed by ALPS Distributors.
Speaking on fund industry innovation, Blass noted her call last year to the fund industry to engage in a dialogue with the securities regulator on the "investor protection and substantive issues" presented by registered funds seeking to invest substantially in digital assets and related investments.
Before registering such funds, Blass urged fund complexes to assess valuation, custody, liquidity, the efficiency of the arbitrage mechanism for ETFs, and potential manipulation in the digital asset markets.
"The industry took the letter seriously, recognized there were open questions, and responded with thoughtful and constructive input," she said.