The SEC's rewritten custody rule for investment advisers and investment companies entered White House review on Aug. 25, replacing a 2023 proposal the agency withdrew in June 2025. The new framework aims to clarify how firms can hold crypto assets, but the draft text is not yet public.
A New Custody Framework Enters Review
The Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rewrite of custody rules entered White House review on Aug. 25, placing a crypto-focused framework in front of regulators after the agency withdrew a separate 2023 safeguarding proposal. The rule targets both investment adviser client assets and investment-company fund assets.
Per the SEC's 2026 regulatory agenda, the planned rule would clarify how advisers and investment companies can custody crypto assets under Commission requirements. Currently, a qualified custodian must hold client funds and securities in separate accounts under the existing adviser rule.
Regulators intend to remove burdens from provisions they consider outdated, according to the agenda. Advisers and investment companies have raised questions about holding crypto assets under existing custody requirements, though the agenda does not specify which entities would qualify as custodians or what controls would apply.
Draft Text Remains Undisclosed
OIRA's current-review data lists the rule under RIN 3235-AN46, "Amendments to the Custody Rules," at the proposed-rule stage. Public records show only the review entry and the agenda description; no proposed rule text is available yet.
An earlier 2023 safeguarding proposal would have broadened the adviser rule beyond funds and securities to all client assets, including crypto, while adding protections for asset segregation and custodian insolvency. Regulators formally withdrew that proposal in June 2025 and said any future action in the area would require a new proposed rule.
Currently, the agenda targets October 2026 for a notice of proposed rulemaking, though the SEC lists no legal deadline for the process.
Source: The Defiant
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