The new rules will make it difficult to obtain the status of “qualified custodian” (qualified custodians), that is, the responsible custodian of cryptoassets. Hedge funds in the US are now required to use qualified custodians to hold clients’ assets.. Bloomberg sources believe that in the event of the introduction of new SEC rules, funds that work with cryptocurrencies will have to transfer the assets of their clients to some other place.
In addition to hedge funds, private investment companies and pension funds may be subject to restrictions.. According to sources, these entities may face sudden scrutiny that is linked to their custodial relationships.
According to HedgewithСrypto, the number of SEC lawsuits against crypto companies grew by more than 40% by the end of last year.. The main claim of the regulator is a violation of the law on securities.
The number of claims is steadily growing year by year. If in 2018 the SEC filed 30 lawsuits against crypto market participants, then in 2022 the regulator filed 41 lawsuits. 19 of them were filed by the Commission alone, and 22 – in the form of class actions of several regulators and supervisory authorities.