U.S. ETF manager F/m Investments has formally asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for permission to tokenize shares of its U.S. Treasury 3-Month Bill ETF (TBIL). The firm submitted the request in early 2025 and is seeking relief to record share ownership on a permissioned blockchain rather than to create a new financial product. The filing emphasizes that tokenized shares would retain the same characteristics and investor protections as their traditional counterparts.
Overview of F/m Investments' Proposal
The core of F/m’s proposal is straightforward: maintain the ETF as an SEC-registered product while using distributed ledger technology to record ownership. The submission positions blockchain as an alternative infrastructure for settlement and record-keeping, not as the basis for a new underlying asset. By asking for regulatory relief, F/m aims to make the permissioned ledger an accepted method for tracking ETF share ownership within the current legal framework.
Details of the Tokenization Plan
F/m’s detailed filing describes a permissioned blockchain ledger where authorized participants validate ownership changes and transfers. The company states each tokenized share will have identical legal and economic characteristics to its traditional share, preserving board oversight, transparency, and custody structures. The permissioned model limits participation to approved entities, which the filing presents as a way to meet regulatory controls such as AML and KYC requirements.
Regulatory and Industry Context
The request follows the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and appears to test whether distributed ledger technology can be integrated into regulated securities markets. Major financial firms have explored blockchain for various uses, and this filing brings that exploration into the realm of an SEC-registered ETF. For background on tokenization concepts, see what is tokenization, which explains how digital representations of assets work.
Expert Analysis and Potential Impacts
Legal commentary included in coverage stresses that F/m is not proposing a new product but rather a new technical method for recording ownership of an existing fund. That framing highlights blockchain as a utility for infrastructure, leaving the ETF’s substance unchanged. The filing argues the approach could preserve investor protections while changing only the ledger used to record shares.
- Potential operational benefits mentioned include reduced back-office steps and lower settlement friction.
- Possible investor-facing improvements cited are greater accessibility and the technical potential for fractional ownership.
- Regulatory scrutiny will center on cybersecurity, node governance, custody arrangements, and how the ledger interoperates with existing market systems.
Implications for the ETF and Digital Asset Industries
If the SEC grants relief, the filing would create a regulatory reference point for other issuers considering tokenized shares. Approval could encourage issuers to submit similar proposals for funds across asset classes, while a refusal or major changes to the request would clarify current regulatory limits. For more on tokenized equity concepts, see tokenized shares, which discusses how digital shares compare to traditional ones.
Why this matters (short and practical)
The proposal affects how ETF share ownership could be recorded and transferred, not the economic nature of the ETF’s underlying asset. For most people who operate mining hardware, this is an infrastructure change in securities markets rather than a development that directly alters mining operations or coin economics. At the same time, the SEC’s decision could signal broader regulatory openness to blockchain used as market plumbing, which has indirect relevance to the wider crypto ecosystem.
What to do? (advice for miners in Russia, 1–1,000 devices)
If you run mining equipment and do not hold TBIL ETF shares, no operational changes to your rigs are required because the filing concerns ETF record-keeping. Continue routine checks on power, cooling, and software updates as usual, since those remain the primary determinants of mining uptime and costs. If you also invest in ETFs or other regulated products, consider following the SEC’s response to understand possible changes in access or settlement; for related product developments, see new ETFs and tokenization.
More generally, keep monitoring official filings and reputable coverage rather than acting on speculation. The SEC’s review will determine whether tokenized ETFs become a regulated option; until a decision is published, the filing itself does not change existing rules or investor protections.
