The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent planned changes to its crypto custody rules to the White House for regulatory review, marking another step in the agency's effort to clarify how investment advisers and investment companies can hold digital assets for clients.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the proposal on August 25 and lists the review as pending. The submission does not change existing custody requirements and does not create a new rule. Investment firms have asked the SEC for clearer guidance on how to hold crypto assets while meeting current custody requirements, and the proposal seeks to modernize rules under the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act for crypto custody.

What the Filing Covers

The White House review covers the SEC's planned "Amendments to the Custody Rules," which are listed under regulatory identification number 3235-AN46. OIRA, which operates under the Office of Management and Budget, reviews federal regulatory actions before agencies move further through the rulemaking process.

The filing labels the initiative as deregulatory, consistent with the SEC's plan to remove custody provisions it now considers unnecessary.

According to the agency, investment advisers and investment companies have raised questions about holding crypto assets under current custody requirements. The SEC plans to consider amendments to existing rules and may introduce new rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. The initiative also seeks to modernize provisions the agency considers outdated as trading, settlement, and asset-holding practices evolve. Under the current adviser custody rule, client funds and securities must be held with a qualified custodian, such as a bank, registered broker-dealer, or futures commission merchant, and firms have sought clarity on how digital assets, and the private keys that control them, fit within that structure.

No Change to Current Rules

The White House review does not amount to final approval, and the submission should not be treated as a new custody standard. OIRA must first complete its review process. The SEC would then need to advance a formal proposal through its own rulemaking procedures before any new requirements can take effect. The agency's regulatory agenda targets October 2026 for a notice of proposed rulemaking. OIRA reviews generally run up to 90 days under Executive Order 12866, with extensions possible, and any SEC proposal that follows would typically be opened to public comment before final rules could be adopted.

That distinction is relevant for advisers, funds, and custodians operating today. Existing SEC custody rules continue to govern client and fund assets while the new framework moves through review. Custody is also a threshold question for advisers seeking to offer clients digital asset exposure, because it determines which institutions can lawfully hold those assets. The current process may set rules for how registered firms can store crypto, and it may also define eligible custodians and the safeguards they must meet.

SEC Reopens the Custody Debate After 2025 Withdrawal

The filing follows the SEC's June 2025 decision to withdraw an earlier safeguarding plan that the agency had introduced in 2023. That proposal sought to expand the investment adviser custody framework beyond funds and securities, covering a wider range of client assets and extending qualified-custodian requirements to them. The Commission withdrew it before adoption and said any future action in the area would require a new proposal. The withdrawal kept the older custody rules intact while SEC staff continued to issue narrower guidance for specific crypto arrangements.

Since then, the SEC has taken several separate steps on digital asset custody. In 2025, SEC staff issued guidance on crypto custody that allowed certain firms to use qualifying state trust companies, subject to specific conditions. In December 2025, staff also outlined crypto custody rules for broker-dealers, including protections for private keys.

Atkins Places Custody Within a Broader Program

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who took office in 2025, has placed crypto custody within a wider regulatory program focused on digital assets and tokenized securities. In the agency's 2026 regulatory agenda, Atkins said the Commission wants clearer rules for capital raising, on-chain securities trading, and custody. He has also supported giving registered firms more options when choosing compliant methods for safeguarding crypto assets.

The custody proposal now under White House review could provide the market with its clearest view yet of how the Commission plans to turn that approach into formal rules. Until OIRA completes its review and the SEC publishes the proposal, key details will remain unavailable.

Primary sources:

• OIRA review entry, RIN 3235-AN46
• https://x.com/BullTheoryio/status/2092612423110803856?s=20
• https://x.com/paulbarron/status/2092724762938347766?s=20