[Forward Industries Releases White Paper on Crypto Vault Regulatory Framework in Response to SEC Commissioner Peirce's Statement] Deep Tide TechFlow reports that on September 11, Forward Industries (NASDAQ: FWDI) published an open letter in which the company's General Counsel, Georgia Quinn, formally responded to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce's July 22, 2026, statement titled 'Headstands and Summervaults.' The letter proposes a three-tiered vault regulatory framework centered on the core variable of 'management freedom': - **Type I - Use**: Developers provide only out-of-the-box software, allowing users to configure parameters themselves without requiring registration. - **Type II - Follow**: Modeled after the SEC's 2013 AngelList no-action letter, where Angel sets strategies for others to follow, subject to conditions such as co-investment and information disclosure, without requiring registration as an investment advisor. - **Type III - Advised**: Involves active management, requiring registration or applicable exemptions, with a recommendation for joint regulation by the SEC and CFTC to avoid dual compliance conflicts. The article also outlines five baseline requirements applicable to all vaults, including conflict of interest disclosures, open code audits, exclusion of disqualified individuals, application of anti-fraud rules, and federal preemption over state laws. The article specifically highlights that Peirce's statement did not address the CFTC, emphasizing the urgent need for the SEC and CFTC to resolve cross-agency regulatory issues for hybrid asset vaults through joint guidance, rather than waiting for Congressional legislation.