Acting SEC chair Uyeda directs staff to reexamine proposed crypto custody rule
Quick Take The custody rule, proposed under the former Biden administration and when Gary Gensler led the agency, would expand the current custody rule to include any client assets that an adviser has custody over. Acting Chair Uyeda’s move to revisit the rule marks the second time this month that the acting chair has asked the SEC staff to reconsider its rules.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is considering walking back a proposal to tighten cryptocurrency custody requirements, marking the acting chair's latest move under the Trump administration.
SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda said commenters had significant concerns over a rule proposed in February 2023 that would require registered investment advisers to keep crypto with a qualified custodian and require those custodians to abide by certain requirements.
"Given such concern, there may be significant challenges to proceeding with the original proposal," Uyeda said on Monday at the Investment Company Institute's 2025 Investment Management Conference in San Diego. "As such, I have asked the SEC staff to work closely with the crypto task force to consider appropriate alternatives."
Uyeda's speech on Monday primarily focused on the SEC's rulemaking process, including potentially withdrawing or re-proposing rules or delaying compliance dates.
The custody rule, proposed under the former Biden administration when Gary Gensler led the agency, would expand the current custody rule to include any client assets that an adviser has custody over and would also add more protections to those assets.
Registered investment advisers are subject to a custody rule, which requires them to maintain those assets with a qualified custodian, such as a bank or broker-dealer. The rule would extend those standards to the crypto industry, raising concerns about whether that would further limit the number of banks willing to do business with the sector.
Congressional Republicans, crypto firms and traditional finance companies pushed back against the rule when it was proposed. A coalition of bank and financial industry associations, including the American Bankers Association, said at the time that the proposal "could have a material impact on their business."
Uyeda's move to revisit the rule marks the second time this month that the acting chair has asked the SEC staff to reconsider its rules. Last week, Uyeda said he directed the agency's staff to review a proposed rule change that would expand the definition of an "exchange" in a way that could potentially loop in decentralized crypto projects.
Both actions signal a change in course for the SEC under the new Trump administration. During the previous Biden administration, former Chair Gensler said most cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin were securities.
Since the Trump administration's arrival, the SEC has rapidly changed direction on several key crypto policies. In a matter of just a few weeks, it has rescinded controversial crypto accounting guidance, dropped enforcement actions against major crypto industry players, created a crypto task force and issued a statement on memecoins . The crypto task force's first roundtable to discuss "defining security status" is on Friday.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
OracleX Global Public Beta: Restructuring Prediction Market Incentive Mechanisms with "Proof of Behavior Contribution"
OracleX is a decentralized prediction platform based on the POC protocol. It addresses pain points in the prediction market through a dual-token model and a contribution reward mechanism, aiming to build a collective intelligence decision-making ecosystem. Summary generated by Mars AI The content of this summary is produced by the Mars AI model, and its accuracy and completeness are still being iteratively improved.

Bitcoin is not "digital gold"—it is the global base currency of the AI era
The article refutes the argument that bitcoin will be replaced, highlighting bitcoin's unique value as a protocol layer, including its network effects, immutability, and potential as a global settlement layer. It also explores new opportunities for bitcoin in the AI era. Summary generated by Mars AI. This summary was produced by the Mars AI model, and the accuracy and completeness of its content are still being iteratively improved.

Bitcoin 2022 bear market correlation hits 98% as ETFs add $220M

Fed rate-cut bets surge: Can Bitcoin finally break $91K to go higher?

