Without a means of enforcement, will this notice change conduct? Although the MSRB cautions underwriters that they may be at greater risk of missing required disclosure if they rely on an issuer-selected counsel, it is not clear that this risk is urgent enough to discourage the practice (if it were, the notice would likely not be necessary).

Although Commissioner Piwowar's statement that the DOL Fiduciary Rule is in conflict with the notion of American individualism may seem a little over the top, it, in fact, raises a real big-picture question: can the government and regulators devise a system of disclosure that is sufficient to allow individuals to make decisions for themselves based on the information required to be provided to them, or are most individuals so ill-equipped to make decisions for themselves, at least financial…

Notwithstanding the somewhat exotic nature of the relevant asset (i.e., the virtual currency), the SEC's finding that an asset that represents an ownership interest in a profit-making venture (or that depends on the management expertise of others) is a completely unsurprising result and well within the bounds of existing law.

While this should shorten the registration process somewhat, it does not reduce the burden on firms to produce and maintain compliance procedures. Further, firms will lose whatever benefit they might have received from having the NFA conduct a compliance documentation review and confirm (or at least not deny) the adequacy of their compliance processes.