The SEC sent a rewrite of its custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies to White House review on Aug. 25, building a crypto-specific framework after scrapping a broader 2023 safeguarding proposal. No public text exists yet, and the agency targets October 2026 for a formal proposal.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rewrite of custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies 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.
Agenda targets crypto custody gaps
SEC's 2026 regulatory agenda says 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 maintain them in separate client accounts or accounts held by an adviser as agent or trustee.
Both investment adviser client assets and investment-company fund assets fall under the new agenda, which says the SEC intends to remove burdens from provisions it considers outdated. It does not specify which entities would qualify to custody crypto, what controls would apply, or which existing provisions the agency would drop.
OIRA's current-review data lists RIN 3235-AN46, "Amendments to the Custody Rules," at the proposed-rule stage with an Aug. 25 date. Public records so far show only the review entry and the agenda description, not the draft's actual provisions.
A different path than the withdrawn 2023 plan
The earlier safeguarding proposal, issued in February 2023 under a different regulatory identifier, would have retained qualified custodians while broadening the adviser rule beyond funds and securities to all client assets, including crypto. It also proposed protections intended to segregate client assets and protect them if a custodian became insolvent, alongside updated recordkeeping requirements.
In June 2025, the Commission formally withdrew that proposal and said any future regulatory action in the area would require a new proposed rule. The current agenda targets October 2026 for a notice of proposed rulemaking and lists no legal deadline for finishing the process.
Source: The Defiant
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