Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management, through its at-the-market (ATM) stock issuance program, purchased approximately 4.77 million shares of BitMine stock through three funds, valued at $182 million, with a cost of $38.13 per share. Ark's founder and CEO Cathie Wood publicly endorsed the investment, stating that Ark's investment in BMNR demonstrates confidence in Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, believing they will be among the winners, and claiming that winners will take it all.
(Ark's Cathie Wood Sells Coinbase, Robinhood, and Block, Adds $175 Million to Buy Bitmine)
[Rest of the translation continues in the same manner, maintaining the original structure and translating all text except content within <> tags] According to the Bloomberg report, Wall Street market maker Citadel Securities sent an open letter this week to the SEC's cryptocurrency working group, strongly urging regulators not to provide exemptions for tokenized securities and to maintain regulatory standards consistent with traditional securities markets. The letter clearly states: In short, while we strongly support genuine technological innovations that solve market inefficiencies, attempting to use regulatory arbitrage to issue "similar" securities is not innovation.Citadel states that they are concerned that tokenized assets will drain liquidity from traditional markets, fragment them, and confuse investors about the origin of such products. The company also mentioned: "This may provide another funding option for private companies, potentially further shrinking the already sluggish IPO market."
As one of the world's largest market makers, Citadel's statement not only carries weight but also represents the traditional financial sector's tough stance on asset tokenization.
SEC Likely to Grant Exemption: Tokenized Equity - Innovation or Regulatory Loophole?
Citadel's concerns are not unfounded. Crypto-friendly SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce recently stated that tokenized securities still fall under the securities category and should be bound by existing securities laws, suggesting that market participants discuss with the SEC to explore potential "appropriate exemption clauses".
On the other hand, SEC Chair Paul Atkins has repeatedly expressed support for researching "innovation exemptions" for tokenized securities, emphasizing that the SEC should not hinder market innovation through enforcement instead of rules, and hopes to revive the IPO market.
Crypto Enterprises Rush In: Who Can Stand Shoulder to Shoulder with Traditional Brokers?
Stock tokenization refers to issuing traditional stocks as digital tokens through blockchain, allowing users to trade 24/7 with advantages like rapid settlement and fractional investment. Platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood have successively expressed support or launched such services, with some even focusing on private companies like OpenAI or SpaceX's private token offerings.
Once approved, this would enable crypto enterprises to offer blockchain-based traditional stock trading, directly competing with traditional financial brokers, inevitably raising Wall Street giants' vigilance about traditional market liquidity being diluted and concerns over the rigor of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) processes in tokenized markets.
Last month, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) also warned the SEC not to hastily approve crypto companies' requests to issue tokenized securities. Citadel also suggested holding an open roundtable forum to include industry perspectives and carefully assess the policy's costs and benefits.
The Next Step in On-Chain Finance: How Can Innovation and Regulation Coexist?
Despite the rising opposition from Wall Street, the development of on-chain finance seems difficult to stop.
A few days ago, as crypto giants like Circle and Ripple actively applied for trust bank licenses, several US banks and credit union associations jointly requested the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to pump the brakes, arguing that crypto enterprises lack the capability and experience to operate trust businesses, highlighting TradFi giants' concerns about crypto enterprises' rapid advancement.
Now, the decision on how to balance financial innovation and system stability rests with the SEC.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investment carries high risk, and prices may fluctuate dramatically. You may lose all of your principal. Please carefully assess the risks.
