Latest news with #OspreyFunds
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SEC Concerned About Crypto ETFs With Staking Exposure
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is concerned that crypto exchange-traded funds that offer exposure to staking may not qualify as ETFs after all. On Friday, the agency sent a letter to ETF Opportunities Trust regarding Ethereum and Solana funds by REX Financial and Osprey Funds with staking exposure: the REX-Osprey ETH ETF and the REX-Osprey SOL ETF. Staking allows crypto investors to earn rewards on the tokens they hold. The SEC letter said that it 'continues to have unresolved questions whether the Funds, if structured and operated as proposed, would be able to meet the definition of 'investment company' under the Investment Company Act.' Under the law, funds must meet this definition to be eligible to trade on the stock market. The financial regulator added that it is 'concerned that the Funds may have improperly filed their registration statement on Form N-1A and that disclosures in the registration statement regarding the Funds' status as investment companies may be potentially misleading.' REX Financial and Osprey Funds declined to comment to However, Bloomberg reported that Greg Collett, general counsel at REX Financial, said, 'We think we can satisfy the SEC on the investment company question, and we don't intend to launch the funds until we do that.' The funds would have been the 'first-ever staked Ether and Solana ETFs' as well as the "first-ever spot Solana" ETF, according to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg. The SEC's delay comes after it issued guidance on Thursday, stating that staking participants don't need to register their transactions with the agency. On Saturday, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw issued a statement criticizing the SEC's 'confusion' on crypto asset security status. 'In the name of this clarity, we've seen staff statement after staff statement, pronouncing that all sorts of crypto assets are not securities. And yet, now we see no objection to the effectiveness of new exchange-traded funds that assert certain crypto assets—ETH and SOL—actually are securities. Does this Commission, in fact, believe that ETH and SOL are securities?' Crenshaw wrote. 'How is it that these crypto assets are supposedly not securities when it comes to registration requirements but conveniently are securities when a registrant sees an opportunity to sell a new product?'Permalink | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SEC Flags Concerns on Crypto ETFs Offering Staking Rewards
(Bloomberg) -- A potentially watershed effort to launch US crypto exchange-traded funds that offer staking rewards is throwing up regulatory doubts, even after the funds said they received initial SEC registration approval. Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry Now With Colorful Blocks, Tirana's Pyramid Represents a Changing Albania NYC Congestion Toll Brings In $216 Million in First Four Months The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Issuers REX Financial and Osprey Funds are targeting to launch ETFs tracking Ethereum and Solana that offer staking exposure, which allows investors to earn rewards by pledging tokens to help operate the blockchain. US regulators are now raising concern the vehicles may not legally qualify as ETFs at all under federal securities law. In a letter late Friday sent to ETF Opportunities Trust — the legal entity that issues various ETFs including those managed by firms like REX — Securities and Exchange Commission staff said the two ETFs may fail to meet the legal definition of an investment company, a designation needed for the funds to list in the stock market. The SEC said it was concerned the funds 'improperly filed their registration statement' and that 'disclosures in the registration statement regarding the funds' status as investment companies may be potentially misleading.' 'We think we can satisfy the SEC on the investment company question, and we don't intend to launch the funds until we do that,' said Greg Collett, general counsel at REX Financial. The SEC declined to comment beyond the letter. SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, the commission's lone Democrat and frequent critic of its new view on crypto in President Donald Trump's administration, said the situation was emblematic of the agency's recent piecemeal approach to crypto regulation. During his reelection campaign, Trump touted his own digital collectibles, gathered campaign donations from crypto fans and said he would make the US the 'crypto capital of the planet.' Since February, following the launch of a special advisory group on cryptocurrency, SEC staff have issued statements saying crypto assets such as memecoins and stablecoins aren't securities, meaning they aren't under the SEC's jurisdiction. Yet firms see opportunities to register with the SEC to launch new products, Crenshaw said in a statement Saturday. 'How is it that these crypto assets are supposedly not securities when it comes to registration requirements, but conveniently are securities when a registrant sees an opportunity to sell a new product?,' she said. 'If you're confused, join the club.' It's the second time in recent months that the SEC has publicly expressed doubt on a listed fund investing in alternative asset classes. In March, it rebuked an ETF by State Street Corp. and Apollo Global Management — the world's first to invest in private credit — hours after the fund listed. 'Even if the SEC doesn't allow this structure to list, we still believe the more straightforward attempts to allow staking in a US ETF will ultimately be successful,' Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said. 'It's a matter of when, not if. But the SEC doesn't seem to be a fan of the way Rex tried to push these listings through.' REX said it received a so-called effective registration for the two ETFs earlier Friday, meaning they could be listed anytime. REX founder Greg King said at the time the company was planning the launch by mid-June for both. 'To the extent that these concerns remain unresolved, the Commission staff will consider the appropriate next steps to ensure compliance with the federal securities laws,' the SEC said late Friday. (Updates with comment by Democratic member of SEC starting in eighth paragraph.) YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce AI Is Helping Executives Tackle the Dreaded Post-Vacation Inbox How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Regulators Say Two Crypto Vehicles May Not Qualify as ETFs
A potentially watershed effort to launch US crypto exchange-traded funds that offer staking rewards is throwing up regulatory doubts, even after the funds said they received initial SEC registration approval. Issuers REX Financial and Osprey Funds are targeting to launch ETFs tracking Ethereum and Solana that offer staking exposure, which allows investors to earn rewards by pledging tokens to help operate the blockchain.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Next-Gen Crypto Funds That Offer Rewards Beckon After SEC Signal
A new generation of crypto ETFs that allow investors to earn yield — not just bet on prices — looked poised for their Wall Street debut. REX Financial and Osprey Funds have received a so-called effective registration from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for two new exchange-traded funds tied to Ethereum and Solana on Friday. These products offer so-called staking, which allows investors to earn rewards by pledging Ether tokens to help operate the blockchain.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Meme Coin Just Got Another Potential Catalyst. Is It a Buy?
As you've probably heard by now, President Donald Trump recently launched the Official Trump meme coin with the ticker $TRUMP, which is hosted on the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)blockchain. With a market cap of about $7 billion, the coin is already one of the most-valuable meme coins. There's just been a new development which could send its price higher. Here's what could happen, and how to think about it if you're considering an investment. It's often difficult to invest in the newest cryptocurrencies, even on relatively easy-to-use blockchains like Solana. Without going through the trouble of setting up a wallet, funding it with fiat money via an on-ramp, swapping that money for the blockchain's native token, and then swapping the token for the actual investment you want to make, there's no way to get exposure to most of the recently launched coins. Especially if you typically hold investments in a retirement account provided by a traditional financial institution, there are simply a lot of steps involved, and it's a prohibitive barrier for the vast majority of people. Some major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have such high investor demand that financial institutions have created workarounds. For example, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are meant to closely track the performance of these assets give investors the exposure they want via their normal financial accounts, such as an individual retirement account (IRA). ETFs tend to attract capital, buoying prices of the corresponding crypto and increasing their integration into traditional financial markets. So, the ETFs are seen as major catalysts, even if the actual evidence of this effect is somewhat ambiguous. In that vein, as of Jan. 21, there are now applications for an Official Trump ETF. Osprey Funds, the company that's applied to sponsor the ETF, also filed for permission to offer ETFs for Solana, Dogecoin, and Bonk, so it's safe to say that Trump's coin isn't alone in the meme coin ETF bonanza. Does the ETF filing make Official Trump a coin worth buying? Not exactly. First, there's no guarantee regulators will approve the ETF. If it is, the effect on the price may not be what holders are hoping for. Consider that many investors have heard of the coin by now, and that most of the more highly motivated potential buyers have probably found a way to invest. Furthermore, there aren't really any traditional financial fundamentals with which to model the asset's appropriate value, making it very hard to understand whether investors would be getting a bargain by buying the coin now -- or paying way too much. An ETF won't change that. Nor is it feasible to project the coin's future growth in any sensible way. It's true that the president has a vested financial interest in at least somewhat preserving the asset's value, as it bears his name. But that doesn't change the fact that as a meme coin, it's inherently a highly speculative and volatile bet, regardless of whether it's held on the blockchain directly or in an ETF. For most people, it simply isn't a responsible financial decision to buy the Official Trump coin. Nonetheless, if you're really enthusiastic about buying it regardless of the risks, it will be for the best if you ensure that your portfolio is already sufficiently diversified with safer investments beforehand. If your portfolio is already diversified, a smarter idea is to buy Solana and hold it for at least a few years if you want exposure to the effect of Trump's coin or other meme coins on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Anyone who wants to buy the president's coin will need to buy Solana first to complete their purchase, which will create buying pressure and potentially continue to boost the price. At the same time, Solana itself is the main token of its chain, on which there's currently a tremendous amount of activity. In other words, it doesn't need any one project hosted on the chain to continue to gain in value for it to still be valuable. Before you buy stock in Solana, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Solana wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $874,051!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 937% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list. Learn more » *Stock Advisor returns as of January 21, 2025 Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Trump's Meme Coin Just Got Another Potential Catalyst. Is It a Buy? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
