BNY Mellon Will Act As Transfer Agent For Bitwise’s ETF

The proposed Bitwise Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) is all over the latest cryptocurrency news. As today’s updates show, BNY Mellon is the name of the company which will act as the transfer agent and administrator of the fund.

When Bitwise amended the S-1 form application which has been submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 11, it was clear that BNY Mellon was listed as the new transfer agent. The amendment also lists the major accounting firm Cohen & Company as the official auditor, while the Boston-based legal firm Foreside Fund Services is listed as the official marketing agent for Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF.

We don’t know whether any of these firms will act in their appointed regard. It really depends on an eventual decision to allow the listing by US financial regulators. What’s interesting is the fact that in January 2019, Bitwise filed its proposed rule change to the Securities Act of 1933 – which was a main topic on many best cryptocurrency news sites back then – listing its Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca.

Since the filing, the ETF has experienced a circuitous series of delays from the regulators who are still nervous about the potential manipulation in the crypto markets and the subsequent effect on a hypothetical Bitcoin ETF. In the recent news, we also saw that the SEC delayed its decision on the Bitwise ETF and moved the dat to October 13.

Despite the setbacks put by regulators, BNY Mellon is listed as the new transfer agent and the CEO of Bitwise Hunter Horsley remains optimistic about the listing. As he said in an interview in August this year, the SEC has been open regarding its concerns about a Bitcoin ETF, which include issues related to proof of custody.

Meanwhile, the SEC Chairman Jay Clayton recently said that a lot of progress is being made with the Bitcoin ETF application. However, he also pointed that the agency still has pressing concerns which need to be addressed. He said that “There is work left to be done.”

BNY Mellon has more than $33 trillion in assets under custody as of December 2018 and has previously been involved in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. The company has also partnered with Bakkt to work on a Bitcoin futures trading platform and has been active in the field blockchain since 2015.