SEC drops its formal definition of ‘digital assets’ from hedge-fund rulebook

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its first formal definition of ‘digital assets’ from the свода правил for hedge funds.

In the первоначальной версии документа they were described as assets issued and transmitted using distributed ledger or blockchain technology, including the so-called “virtual currencies”, “coins”, and “tokens”.

“We propose a term and definition that align with the SEC’s recent statement on digital assets. We believe such a classification will provide a consistent understanding of the subject matter we intend to regulate,” the regulator said.

However, in the final rules this item is absent. A footnote states that the Commission is still working on the definition and has already proposed adding it to the Form PF glossary of commonly used terms.

In September 2022, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated that the possibility of staking cryptocurrencies could fall under the definition of a security based on теста Хауи.

Earlier in April 2023, lawyer Jeremy Hogan said the regulator’s arguments in the Ripple case were weak. In his view, the XRP token is not a security, as the SEC contends, and only ‘perhaps fits the definition of an investment contract’.