SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule that would effectively require registered investment advisors (RIA) to go outside the crypto industry for storing digital assets, according to its first formal policy push that leans heavily into the cryptocurrency sector. From a report: The rule, approved in a 4-1 vote by the SEC on Wednesday, would expand the agency's existing regulations that say an investment adviser needs to keep customers' money and securities with a 'qualified custodian.' The new version, if approved, would grow that safeguarding requirement to any assets that investment advisers are entrusted with -- including crypto.

Right now, crypto trading and lending platforms routinely offer custody for crypto customers, but they're not 'qualified custodians' under this rule. An appropriate custodian under SEC's regulations would generally mean a chartered bank or trust company, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC or a futures commission merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). While officials said the rule wasn't specific to crypto, the industry featured heavily in formal remarks previewing it. 'Make no mistake: Based upon how crypto platforms generally operate, investment advisers cannot rely on them as qualified custodians,' SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. 'Though some crypto trading and lending platforms may claim to custody investors' crypto, that does not mean they are qualified custodians.'

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