Grayscale received a letter of opinion from the SEC team stating that Filecoin (FIL) meets the definition of a security under federal securities laws and therefore meets the definition of an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. SEC employees requested Grayscale’s immediate withdrawal of the registration statement.
Grayscale considers that it does not agree with the opinion of the SEC employees and intends to respond promptly with an explanation of the legal basis for Grayscale’s view that the FIL is not a security under federal securities laws.
Grayscale has a product called the Grayscale® Filecoin Trust (FIL) that allows users to buy and sell Filecoins.
Grayscale wanted to make this product more official and easier for investors to use, so on April 14, 2023, it requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the government agency that oversees exchanges, to approve its product.
But on May 16, 2023, Grayscale received a letter from the SEC stating that they thought Filecoin was not a digital currency but a security like stocks or bonds. The SEC said that this means that Grayscale’s product is not allowed to be approved as-is and Grayscale should stop trying to get approval.
*Not investment advice.