Many in the industry believe the chances of the SEC greenlighting a spot ETH ETF in May is slim, although issuers continue to update applications.  The SEC appears significantly less enthusiastic about pursuing a spot ETH ETF compared to the BTC ETF process. This could stem from the SEC's recent skepticism regarding ETH's classification as a non-security.

FinCEN's proposal to include "investment adviser" in the definition of "financial institution" under the BSA has significant implications for registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers, among others. The proposed rule would certainly lead to increased operational costs and regulatory burdens, particularly for advisers whose activities and client bases do not present high AML risks. As the IAA noted, a collaborative effort between FinCEN, the SEC and industry stakeholders is…

The SEC’s enforcement action against the adviser here underscores the importance of transparency and accurate representation in any communications sent to advisory clients. Investment advisers must provide clear and honest communication about investment strategies and performance history. Following the SEC’s recent wave of enforcements and new , this enforcement is further indication of the SEC’s heightened focus on Marketing Rule and similar violations. (See e.g.,  and .)…

In this case, the firm was hit with more severe penalties than four other advisers who were also charged with Marketing Rule violations on the same day. Two things stood out here to differentiate this adviser from the others: (i) the charges brought were much more than hypothetical performance posted on a public website with no policies and procedures; here, the adviser allegedly made false and misleading statements in multiple instances, failed to keep proper records, and did not enter into…