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In Episode 4 of our Podcast Series, Todd Zerega and Andrew Cross discuss the use of derivatives on cryptocurrencies by institutional investors. Specific attention is given to regulatory and product development considerations for registered investment advisors and fund sponsors, as well as technical considerations related to exchange-traded futures on bitcoin and other similar listed…

Every Friday afternoon the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) publishes its Commitments of Traders Report (“COT Reports”).

As explained at the CFTC’s website, these reports “provide a breakdown of each Tuesday’s open interest for futures and options on futures markets in which 20 or more traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels established by the CFTC.”  The data in respect of these Friday afternoon reports is provided to the CFTC by regulated market participants (futures commission merchants, clearing members, and foreign brokers and exchanges) on Wednesday morning of each week, with adjustments to the publication and reporting schedules to account for holidays.
Continue Reading Bitcoin Futures Contracts: A Look at CFTC Reports About the Types and Volume of Trading on U.S. Futures Exchanges

By Andrew Cross and Kari Larsen

Original post is from 12/18 in the Virtual Currency Report.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently released a Digital Assets Primer that provides updated information to the public about emerging concepts in digital assets. The primer is part of a series issued by the CFTC’s innovation office, LabCFTC,…

This post builds upon an idea presented in Part 4 of current series of posts on considerations for investment funds and advisers related to cryptocurrency derivatives.

In particular, this post provides additional perspectives on the relationship of leverage, margin, and financing to two commodity interests: “retail commodity transactions” and a “swaps”.  We decided to present these comments separate from the current multi-part series on cryptocurrency derivatives, since the topic may appeal to a broader audience than funds and advisers.

This post was co-authored with Michael Selig, an associate attorney in the New York office of Perkins Coie.…

Continue Reading Swaps and Retail Commodity Transactions (Leverage, Margin or Financing: Will We Know It When We See It or Only After It Has Been Identified As Such?)

This post is the fourth in a series that outlines key considerations for investment funds and their advisers regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to cryptocurrency derivatives.  This post is intended to be a primer on the topic and is not legal advice.  You should consult with your counsel regarding the application of the U.S. Commodity laws to your particular facts and circumstances.

In this Part 4, we discuss the commodity interests that are likely to be of greatest interest to crypto funds and advisers: futures contracts, swaps and retail commodity transactions.

At the outset, a sincere thanks goes out to Conor O’Hanlon and Michael Selig for their invaluable assistance and time spent thinking through many of the issues that are at this heart of this post and, more generally, this series.…

Continue Reading Cryptocurrency Derivatives, Funds and Advisers: Key Considerations Under U.S. Commodity Laws (Part 4: About the Interests of Interest)

This post is the third in a series that outlines key considerations for investment funds and their advisers regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to cryptocurrency derivatives. This post is intended to be a primer on the topic and is not legal advice. You should consult with your counsel regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to your particular facts and circumstances.

In Part 1, we focused on the status of cryptocurrencies as commodities and how that status relates to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”). In Part 2, we provided an overview of the regulation of commodities and the commodity markets under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”), explaining in particular that while the authority to prevent fraud and manipulation may apply to any transaction in interstate commerce that involves a commodity, the CFTC’s “substantive regulation” applies only if a transaction involves a “commodity interest“.

Here, in Part 3, we explain why the concept of a commodity interest can be described as a “linchpin” to the substantive regulation  of CPOs and CTAs.…

Continue Reading Cryptocurrency Derivatives, Funds and Advisers: Key Considerations Under U.S. Commodity Laws (Part 3: Why Commodity Interests Are of Interest)

This post is the second in a series that outlines key considerations for investment funds and their advisers regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to cryptocurrency derivatives. This posting is intended to be a primer on the topic and is not legal advice. You should consult with your counsel regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to your particular facts and circumstances.

In Part 1, we focused on the status of cryptocurrencies as commodities and how that status relates to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”). Here, in Part 2, we provide an overview of the regulation of commodities and the commodity markets under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”).…

Continue Reading Cryptocurrency Derivatives, Funds and Advisers: Key Considerations Under U.S. Commodity Laws (Part 2: The Regulation of Commodities – Quite Substantial, Even If Not Substantive)

In this multi-part posting, we outline key considerations for investment funds and their advisers regarding the application of the U.S commodity laws to cryptocurrency derivatives.  This posting is intended to be a primer on the topic and is not legal advice.  You should consult with your counsel regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to your particular facts and circumstances.

First, a few words about our use of the word “cryptocurrency”… In this series of postings, we use the word cryptocurrency (and often the term “crypto”) to refer to traditional virtual currencies, like BTC and ETH, as well as tokens related to a particular software product development initiative (i.e., “coins” sold in an initial coin offering or “ICO”).  We recognize that there are different classifications of cryptos among different groups of market participants; however, when we say “crypto,” we mean cryptocurrency in the broadest sense (inclusive of virtual currencies and tokens).

Having dealt with the initial definitional matter, we now turn to the substance of this Part 1 – Cryptos are Commodities (Except When They Are Not).…

Continue Reading Cryptocurrency Derivatives, Funds and Advisers: Key Considerations Under U.S. Commodity Laws (Part 1 – Cryptos Are Commodities (Except When They Are Not))

For those of you who have been following along thus far, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets (“SEC Staff”) have been wrestling since December 2017 with whether to approve or disapprove exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that invest in bitcoin futures contracts.  On August 22, 2018, the SEC Staff decided to reject three proposals that included a total of nine bitcoin futures ETFs, possibly.  Just one day later, the SEC issued stays of all three rejections and elected to review the SEC Staff’s decisions.  With no clear decision, it is worth looking at the reasons for the SEC Staff’s rejection of the three proposals, particularly in light of the SEC’s recent split decision on the rejection of a bitcoin ETF (the “Bitcoin ETF”).

The three rejection orders came against two proposals by NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) and one by Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (“Cboe BZX”).  The ETFs themselves would predominantly hold bitcoin futures contracts in lieu of holding “physical” bitcoin.  The result would create exposure to the price fluctuations of bitcoin, but the futures-based ETFs would seek to invest in a more “traditional” asset (i.e., a futures contract) that is traded on established futures markets such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) and Cboe Options Exchange, Inc. (“Cboe”).
Continue Reading SEC Staff Rejects Bitcoin Futures Based ETFs – Commission Stays Rejections Pending Its Review

On July 26, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) issued an order disapproving a proposed rule change that would have allowed for a bitcoin exchange-traded product (“ETP”) (the “Order”).  However, the Order was not unanimous amongst the SEC’s Commissioners.  Commissioner Hester M. Peirce issued a stand-alone dissent against the Order, arguing that the SEC mischaracterized their worries with the ETP and that the Commission was teetering on stifling the innovation of new investment products in the United States (in this context-bitcoin).

The Order Satisfies the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

First, Commissioner Peirce disagreed with the Commission and argued that the proposal for a rule change to allow for the bitcoin ETP (the “Proposal”) satisfies certain requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).  The Exchange Act requires the SEC to evaluate whether the rules of a national securities exchange (such as Bats BZX Exchange, Inc. (“BZX”)) are designed to prevent fraud and protect investors.  Commissioner Pierce argued that the SEC erroneously focuses on the characteristics underlying the spot market for bitcoin rather than whether the rules of BZX are designed to prevent fraud and protect investors.  For Commissioner Pierce, BZX and its rules could adequately play the role of watch dog over the underlying bitcoin spot markets.
Continue Reading Dissent on the SEC’s Re-Disapproval of a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product