Cryptocurrency Regulatory Daily Observation: Forward Industries released the "Digital Asset Custody Framework," defining management responsibilities in a three-tier classification to address SEC concerns

Proactive Breakthrough: Dividing the Three-Tier Vault Model Based on Actual Management Authority

In the process of decentralized finance (DeFi) evolving towards institutionalization, the mix of code automation and manual operation has always posed challenges for traditional securities regulators.

The "Digital Asset Vault Framework" released by Forward Industries directly addresses the pain points, suggesting that regulatory agencies abandon a one-size-fits-all rigid classification and instead scientifically categorize on-chain vaults into three progressive categories based on the "depth of real management authority" exercised by the operators in actual operations:

Type I (Use): Purely a code tool attribute. The investment and lending parameters of the vault are entirely chosen and set by the end users, with smart contract developers only responsible for maintaining and upgrading the underlying code, having no discretion;

Type II (Follow): Semi-automated strategy following. The operator sets predetermined automated execution strategies, and users independently decide whether to authorize following. To bind interests, the framework requires operators to make a certain proportion of co-investment (Skin in the game) to ensure shared risk;

Type III (Advisor): A typical active management model. Managers exercise actual independent decision-making authority over the asset allocation, position rebalancing, or specific asset trading of the vault, thus must be strictly incorporated into the current investment advisory and higher-level prudent financial regulatory system.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration: SEC and CFTC Join Forces to Solve the Mixed Asset Regulatory Dilemma

In addition to horizontally defining management authority, the framework also provides practical solutions for defining the attributes of the underlying collateral assets of the vault.

In response to the reality of many on-chain vaults simultaneously accommodating "mixed holdings" of security tokens and commodity-like digital assets (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), Forward Industries clearly recommends implementing cross-agency collaborative regulation between the SEC and CFTC. By establishing a bilateral information sharing and joint filing mechanism, it avoids companies falling into compliance tug-of-war and jurisdictional vacuum due to subtle changes in the attributes of underlying tokens.

Bottom-Line Thinking: Code Audits, Anti-Fraud, and Prohibition of Disqualified Personnel Become Industry Norms

Regardless of which category the vault falls into, the framework establishes an inviolable "compliance firewall" to ensure basic market order and protection of retail investor rights.

The framework calls for all digital asset vaults operating within compliance to strictly adhere to four fundamental universal rules:

Full Disclosure of Related Party Transactions: Mandatory public disclosure of any internal capital financing and matching transactions that may lead to conflicts of interest;

Public Audit of Smart Contracts: Core underlying logic code must undergo continuous public security audits by authoritative independent third parties;

Bad Apple Exclusion Mechanism: Strictly adhere to statutory anti-money laundering and executive admission requirements, resolutely excluding disqualified personnel (Bad Actors) from management and operational levels;

Anti-Fraud and Penetrating Risk Control: Fully align with mature financial market anti-manipulation and anti-fraud red lines.

DeFi Lending Moves from "Primitive Code" to "Institutional Embedding"

Based on the interactions in mid-September between Washington and Wall Street, the framework proposed by Forward Industries reflects the mature stance of publicly listed Web3 treasury companies in responding to regulatory uncertainties. Rather than passively waiting for regulatory agencies to initiate surprise enforcement, it is better to proactively reconstruct decentralized tools using the legal logic of traditional securities law. By legally decoupling "self-custody tools" from "trust asset management," this framework not only provides a practical legislative draft reference for moderate regulators like Hester Peirce but also clears the largest institutional barriers for future large-scale institutional capital access to on-chain vault clearing.

Data Source: https://bbx.com/ Cryptocurrency Concept Stock Information Database, compiled based on yesterday's announcements from global listed companies and SEC/TSE disclosure documents.