SEC Crypto Custody Rules Head to White House, Proposal Due by October 2026

The Securities and Exchange Commission has quietly reopened one of crypto’s oldest headaches: who exactly gets to hold digital assets on behalf of clients, and under what rules. On August 25, the agency sent its long-awaited proposal to rewrite the SEC crypto custody rules to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the White House office that vets economically significant regulations before they ever reach the public. It’s a technical, bureaucratic step. But for an industry that has spent years lobbying for clearer custody standards, it’s also the closest thing to real movement they’ve seen.

Key takeaways

• The SEC submitted proposed amendments to its Custody Rule to OIRA on August 25, following a White House meeting between President Donald J. Trump and crypto industry executives.
• OIRA is treating the proposal as an economically significant regulation, which means SEC Commissioners cannot vote on it or discuss its contents until that review wraps up.
• The SEC expects to publish the proposed rulemaking by October 2026, opening at least a 60-day public comment window.
• Even after publication, a second commission vote and further analysis are required, meaning full implementation could take several years.
• Institutional Bitcoin ETF holdings rose 7.5% to 535,723 BTC in the second quarter of 2026, even as Bitcoin’s price fell 14.2%, pushing institutional ownership of ETF shares to 44.2% from 38.4%.

SEC Proposes Amendments to Crypto Custody Rule

The SEC’s proposal aims to clarify exactly how investment advisers and investment companies are allowed to hold crypto assets for clients, replacing years of ambiguity with something closer to a defined framework. According to The Block, the agency said the rulemaking would “clarify the framework for the custody of crypto assets for investment adviser and investment companies, as well as make other modernizations needed to remove burdens from certain outdated provisions that are no longer needed to provide investor protection given the evolution in the markets and security trading and holding practices.” In plain terms: the current rulebook was written before crypto existed, and advisers have been asking the SEC for years how they’re supposed to comply with it.

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