Personal trading policies vary on crypto investing (IGNITES)

For the most part, firm personal trading policies for employees investing in crypto-related investments appear to be following standard policies on requiring disclosure of transactions that are considered “reportable securities.” But in the age of crypto and coin offerings, firms are having to deal with murky definitions when it comes to what employees need to disclose. Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, explains that coins and other digital assets could be considered covered securities since the SEC has pursued cases related to initial coin offerings (ICOs), with many managers prohibiting employees from investing in them. Other firms distinguish between a digital currency like Bitcoin and investments in digital security tokens, requiring employees to report the latter. Ms. Lynch further comments that Bitcoin-linked ETFs would likely fall under similar firm restrictions for other ETFs, while policies on personal trading of direct crypto-related investments are less likely to exist if the firm itself does not invest in similar assets. See IGNITES (subscription required), “Staff Trading Policies Draw Line Between Bitcoin, Other Crypto”