The SEC's rewrite of custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies entered White House review on Aug. 25, introducing a crypto-focused framework after the agency withdrew a broader 2023 safeguarding proposal. The new agenda targets an October 2026 notice of proposed rulemaking, though the rule's text is not yet public.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rewrite of custody rules entered White House review on Aug. 25, placing a new crypto-focused framework in front of regulators after the agency withdrew a separate 2023 safeguarding proposal.
What the New Rule Would Cover
According to the SEC's 2026 regulatory agenda, the planned rule would clarify how investment advisers and investment companies can custody crypto assets under Commission requirements. The current adviser rule covers client funds and securities and generally requires a qualified custodian to hold them in separate client accounts, or in accounts held by an adviser as agent or trustee. The new agenda covers both investment-adviser client assets and investment-company fund assets, and the SEC says it intends to remove burdens from provisions it considers outdated.
Regulatory filings list the measure as RIN 3235-AN46, "Amendments to the Custody Rules," at the proposed-rule stage with an Aug. 25 review date. The SEC agenda identifies the same RIN as an action under the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act. However, the public record currently shows only the review entry and the agenda description — no draft rule text is available. The agenda notes that advisers and investment companies have raised questions about holding crypto assets in compliance with current custody requirements, but it does not specify which entities would qualify as custodians or which existing provisions the SEC would remove.
A Second Attempt After a Withdrawn Proposal
The current effort follows an earlier safeguarding proposal issued in February 2023 under a different regulatory identifier. That proposal would have retained qualified custodians while broadening the adviser rule beyond funds and securities to all client assets, including crypto, and it also proposed protections to segregate client assets and shield them if a custodian became insolvent, alongside updated recordkeeping requirements. The Commission formally withdrew that proposal in June 2025 and said any future action in the area would require a new proposed rule.
The current agenda targets October 2026 for a notice of proposed rulemaking, though it lists no legal deadline for finalizing the measure.
Source: The Defiant
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