SEC Nears New Crypto Custody Rule for Broker-Dealers, Investment Advisers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to unveil a new rule to clarify crypto-asset custody standards for broker-dealers and investment advisers.

Taylor Lindemann, senior adviser to the SEC’s crypto task force, told a policy and regulatory event in Washington on September 22 that the proposed custody rule is under White House review, CoinDesk reported.

The proposal is aimed at clarifying how broker-dealers can hold non-security crypto assets without separate special registration. It would also define the range of institutions that investment advisers may use to lawfully custody client assets. That includes state-chartered trust companies.

“The broad direction is to make sure traditional securities intermediaries and market participants can use blockchain and hold and trade crypto assets without friction,” Lindemann said. The framework would cover both crypto assets that qualify as securities and those that do not, he added.

The proposal will be formally released after clearing review by the White House Office of Management and Budget. It will then go through a public comment process.

The SEC has also put in place interim guidance ahead of formal rulemaking. In December 2025, the agency issued a staff statement on crypto custody by broker-dealers. In September 2025, it allowed investment advisers to use state-chartered trust companies as qualified custodians for crypto assets.

That would mark a different approach from the custody framework pursued by the SEC’s previous leadership. In 2023, under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the agency advanced a proposal that would not have recognized crypto firms themselves as qualified custodians, but the rule was never finalized. That proposal was scrapped after President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The SEC has recently stepped up efforts to build its own regulatory framework for digital assets after Congress failed to advance the Clarity Act. Those efforts include a proposed rule on crypto issuance and an innovation exemption that would allow trading in tokenized securities.

Lindemann described the effort as “foundational” to building a long-term crypto regulatory framework. The goal is to clarify how regulators will treat stablecoins and non-security crypto assets and bring them into a framework that can evolve over generations, he said. Regulators also need an approach that reflects market realities, he added.