The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rewrite of custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies entered White House review on Aug. 25, opening a new crypto-focused regulatory track after the agency withdrew a separate 2023 safeguarding proposal.
The SEC’s 2026 regulatory agenda says the planned rule is intended to clarify how investment advisers and investment companies can custody crypto assets under Commission requirements. Under the current adviser rule, client funds and securities generally must be maintained by a qualified custodian in separate client accounts or in accounts held by an adviser acting as agent or trustee.
The new agenda covers adviser and fund assets
The new agenda covers both investment adviser client assets and investment-company fund assets. It also says the SEC plans to remove burdens from provisions it considers outdated.
That approach differs from a separate 2023 proposal focused on registered investment advisers. That earlier measure would have expanded the custody rule beyond funds and securities to all client assets, while also adding protections tied to segregation and custodian insolvency.
OIRA review entry shows the rule at the proposal stage
Current-review data from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs lists RIN 3235-AN46, titled “Amendments to the Custody Rules,” at the proposed-rule stage with an Aug. 25 date. The SEC agenda identifies the same RIN as an SEC action under the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act.
No public rule text is available yet
Neither the OIRA entry nor the SEC agenda includes the proposed rule text. A 2025 White House order says agencies must continue following Executive Order 12866 when submitting regulations to OIRA for review.
For this SEC action, public records currently show the review entry and the agenda description, but not the draft provisions themselves. The agenda says advisers and investment companies have raised questions about how to hold crypto assets while complying with current custody requirements.
It does not say which entities would qualify to custody crypto, what controls would apply, or which existing provisions the SEC intends to remove.
The 2023 safeguarding proposal was withdrawn in June 2025
The earlier safeguarding proposal was issued in February 2023 under a different regulatory identifier. It would have kept the qualified-custodian framework while broadening the adviser rule from funds and securities to all client assets, including crypto.
That proposal also included protections intended to segregate client assets and protect them if a custodian became insolvent, along with updated recordkeeping requirements.
The Commission formally withdrew that proposal in June 2025 and said any future regulatory action in this area would require a new proposed rule. The current agenda targets October 2026 for a notice of proposed rulemaking and does not list a legal deadline.