美国证券交易委员会针对注册投资顾问的加密资产托管障碍展开调查

The U.S. SEC proposes relaxing crypto asset custody rules to ease compliance bottlenecks for investment advisers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed a draft rule amendment aimed at reducing the threshold for investment advisers and regulated funds to provide clients with exposure to crypto assets. The initiative, announced on Thursday, mainly solves a custody problem that has long restricted the industry: Many institutions that want to allocate specific tokens often have difficulty finding suitable qualified custodians.

According to the SEC, in the absence of qualified custodians, the proposal allows investment advisers to hold clients 'crypto assets on their own if strict conditions are met. In addition, the proposal also opens up a new compliance path for some state trust companies to act as custodians of crypto assets.

Core Points

• Addressing practical bottlenecks: Due to limited resources of qualified custodians, investment advisers may not be able to provide custody services for certain crypto assets. The proposal aims to address this practical obstacle.
• Prerequisites for self-custody: Investment advisers can only self-custody if they prove that there is no licensed custodian available, and this conclusion needs to be re-evaluated quarterly.
• Security and control requirements: Self-custody must be equipped with strong key management, network security measures, and strict transfer approval control processes.
• Introducing State Trust Companies: Allow State Trust Companies to provide crypto asset custody services provided they are authorized and meet security and asset isolation requirements.
• Public solicitation of comments: The rules will be open for a 60-day public comment period after publication in the Federal Register.

Filling the gap in "per-token" custody

The SEC's proposal is based on the reality that currently "qualified" custody options are not balanced among different crypto assets. Regulators note that while the crypto asset market has expanded into a mainstream category in the eyes of investors seeking exposure, existing rules have failed to keep pace with the actual acquisition and custody of digital assets by investment advisers.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in a statement that existing rules lag behind market growth and the SEC is trying to remove this operational obstacle. The proposal aims to reduce situations in which investment advisers have to refuse allocation requests or require portfolio companies to temporarily hold assets due to the inability to arrange custody of specific tokens through qualified custodians.

Such concerns are not new. Previously, the Digital Chamber raised similar issues in a May 2025 filing with the SEC, pointing out that some investment advisers were forced to delay or reject token allocation while waiting for custody resources to be in place.

Specific requirements for self-custody

Under the framework of this proposal, investment advisers seeking to directly custody clients 'crypto assets need to demonstrate that no licensed custodian is available for the relevant crypto assets, and this conclusion must be re-evaluated quarterly. If a qualified custodian subsequently appears, the investment adviser needs to transfer the position within the shortest reasonably practicable time.

Self-custody is not universally licensed, and the SEC's plan includes a series of operational and governance requirements designed to reduce custody risks:

• Private key protection and cybersecurity: Advisers must implement controls to reduce the risk of asset loss or tampering.
• Separation of client positions: It is necessary to ensure that each client's crypto assets are handled independently to prevent confusion with other client assets or advisers 'own assets.
• Transfer approval mechanism: Transfers of self-custodial crypto assets require approval by at least two authorized persons.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce described the uncertainty facing advisers as a continuing regulatory "roller coaster", arguing that companies have been "grit their teeth" while waiting for feasible custody rules. At the same time, Commissioner Mark Uyeda said the proposal recognizes "inherent conflicts of interest" in consultant custody, while emphasizing that consultants still need to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities when holding clients 'crypto assets.

In addition, the SEC is proposing to allow regulated funds to self-custody with their investment advisers, provided the adviser meets self-custody requirements and the fund's board of directors oversees the arrangement.

State Trust Companies as Custody Alternative

In addition to consultant self-custody, the SEC proposal also allows state trust companies to serve as custodians of crypto assets, subject to specific requirements. The move aims to expand the range of regulated entities eligible to hold digital assets for others.

According to the SEC, eligible state trust companies need to be authorized by relevant state authorities to provide crypto custody services and must maintain "reasonable procedures" to prevent the loss, theft or misappropriation of crypto assets. The proposal also requires the provision of audited financial statements and internal control reports, and a clear distinction between customer assets and company-owned assets.

The plan also includes proposed updates to audit, record-keeping and disclosure obligations, all of which are associated with custody arrangements.

Integrate into broader crypto rulemaking actions by the SEC and CFTC

This custody move comes against the larger context of U.S. regulators using existing authority to provide more clarity to crypto activities. As the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act last month, both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are pushing for clearer rules for digital assets.

Relevant developments include the CFTC's submission of a crypto market regulatory plan for review by the White House, and another action by the SEC that opens a path for trading tokenized stocks under the SEC framework.

Next steps for investors and compliance teams

For investment advisers and funds, the key question is how regulators and industry participants can interpret in practice the "no licensed custodian available" for each token and how the proposed security guarantees and transfer controls are actually implemented. The ultimate impact on market access will depend on the details of the rules-as comments are solicited and whether there is enough qualified custody capacity to expand rapidly to reduce the need for self-custody.