SEC Clears Way for ARK Venture Fund's Tokenized Share Classes
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted ARK Venture Fund an amended exemptive relief order, allowing the fund to create two new share classes.
The first is an Exchange Class, designed for listing on a national securities exchange. The second is a Tokenized Class, where ownership records can be maintained using distributed-ledger technology and potentially traded through alternative trading systems.
This is significant because it gives ARK the ability to test whether blockchain-based ownership records can coexist with transfer, custody, and investor-protection requirements under existing securities law.
The order does not mean that these new share classes are already available for trading. The SEC has only granted permission for ARK to build them, and it is unclear when or if they will be launched.