On January 18, 2018, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Division of Investment Management (the "IM staff") issued a letter to the Investment Company Institute ("ICI") and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA"). In the letter, the IM staff highlights significant investor protection issues presented by certain features of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related products that the IM staff believes must be addressed before funds investing in cryptoassets are offered to retail investors. In particular, the IM staff raised questions related to (1) valuation, (2) liquidity, (3) custody, (4) arbitrage and (5) market manipulation. The IM staff also formally announced its position that until the questions raised by the IM staff can be addressed satisfactorily, it does not believe that it is appropriate for fund sponsors to initiate registration of funds that intend to invest substantially in cryptocurrency and related products. In addition, the IM staff announced that it does not believe existing funds should file post-effective amendments under Rule 485(a) to register a fund that invests substantially in cryptocurrency or related products.