ASC Advisors August 2025 Newsletter
ASC Advisors August 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to ASC Advisors’ monthly newsletter, where we provide thoughts around recent developments affecting the alternative investment management industry, as well as provide updates on our firm and team.
Crypto’s Regulatory Breakthrough
Crypto had a defining month as regulation, innovation, and market growth came together. The GENIUS Act, the first major U.S. crypto law, focused on stablecoin regulation, was enacted. It provides a “seal of approval” for the crypto industry, assigns oversight to agencies like the OCC and Fed, and has prompted traditional banks to explore stablecoin issuance.
With regulatory clarity and institutional uptake and inflows serving as catalysts, the crypto market cap hit $4 trillion. Specifically, Bitcoin is outperforming traditional assets like U.S. bonds and the dollar, fueled by institutional demand, inflation concerns, and President Trump's crypto-friendly policies. Looking ahead, Stablecoins are expected to reshape payments, offering faster and cheaper transactions. Major platforms like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Gemini are also gaining traction, signaling a maturing market where big money leads and retail follows.
Robinhood and OpenAI are also exploring tokenization technologies that blend AI and blockchain to digitize real-world assets. With that said, the SEC is ramping up scrutiny of these efforts, raising concerns about unregistered securities and investor protections. Meanwhile, Citadel Securities wants the US Securities and Exchange Commission to proceed more slowly on allowing "tokenized" securities, citing potential investor confusion and an uneven playing field.
Changes at the SEC
Following the elimination of the proposal from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority regarding their name and shame proposal, the SEC is looking to make their own changes in regards to Wells notices. The most notable change is granting defense counsel a meeting with top SEC enforcement officials before an enforcement action recommendation is made to the commission, as well as sharing more information and evidence associated with cases. This is a large departure from Gensler's strategy, which did not offer advance meetings.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins also plans to work alongside the Labor Department to develop “good guardrails” enabling individual investors to include private market assets in their retirement plans.
On the crypto front, Atkins unveiled a crypto framework prioritizing tokenization and stablecoin regulation to enhance investor protection and market stability. Those Stablecoins will now fall under banking regulators for the first time.
In terms of staffing updates, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Chair Erica Williams has stepped down from the U.S. audit watchdog at the request of Atkins, so there will be a new role at the agency to fill.
As the staff and priorities of the SEC change week to week, we continue to be available for clients to discuss new areas of focus and how they can impact their businesses.
401K Investing in Private Markets
Momentum to open the private market to the $12.5 trillion 401(k) market industry has gained significant momentum, with the White House preparing an expected executive order that would allow 401(k)s to tap into those investments.
Large asset managers, including Blackrock, Blackstone and KKR, are advocating to bring private markets to these plans and have already set up partnerships with 401(k) managers to be ready if and when it happens. Apollo and State Street have also already rolled out target-date funds with private market components, andBlue Owl Capital is also working with Voya, a retirement-services provider, to bring private markets to 401(k)s.
There is some pushback, especially from corporate administration, who argue these investments are risky, expensive, illiquid and complex, which may expose them to lawsuits from retail investors. However, industry leaders believe that actual performance shows strong returns with low volatility and that the higher fees may come with higher quality investments, especially given the long-time table of retirement accounts.
Amidst an ongoing slowdown in M&A and deal activity, how access to this massive pool of capital might impact the fundraising and PE deal environment remains to be seen, but how GPs and other managers look to raise capital could shift towards more mainstream channels and provide increased liquidity across the industry.
Firm News
Our Associate Cassandra travelled to Kolkata, India for nearly three weeks, with the nonprofit, Finding Calcutta. There, she volunteered at the Missionaries of Charity care homes and provided hands-on support to individuals in critical health, those with physical, developmental or psychological disabilities, and the elderly. She assisted with daily care routines such as physical therapy, hygiene, educational activities and household tasks.
Cassandra greatly appreciated the time she spent, as she was fully immersed in the culture. Each morning, she would take the public bus through the noisy, colorful, crowded city to where she cared for the same patients daily. Even with language barriers, she got to know who liked and disliked what, what made each person laugh, their individual care routines and their stories, forming relationships she'll never forget. She not only learned how to care for patients from local staff, but about their worldviews, daily lives and values.
Working in Kolkata broadened her global perspective by exposing her to an unfamiliar environment, strengthening her ability to communicate cross-culturally and teaching her the importance of our role as global citizens. It instilled in her a deep appreciation for diversity of culture, background and circumstance and how that influences people's experiences and perspectives. Overall, Cassandra's experience was incredibly humbling and eye-opening and left her with the desire to continue to give back in our own communities.
