The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may revise or abandon former chair Gary Gensler’s controversial proposal that would tighten crypto custody standards for investment advisers.
Under Gensler’s two-year-old proposal, the SEC sought to expand federal custody rules to include assets like crypto, requiring investment advisers to hold client assets with qualified custodians, such as federal- or state-chartered banks.
In his remarks at an investment conference in San Diego on Monday, acting SEC chair Mark Uyeda acknowledged “significant concerns” raised by industry commenters over the “broad scope” of Gensler’s proposal.
“Given such concern, there may be significant challenges to proceeding with the original proposal,” Uyeda said.
The regulator mentioned he had directed the SEC staff to work with the agency’s crypto task force to explore alternatives, including withdrawing the rule altogether.
The former SEC chair’s leadership was defined by stringent crypto oversight, but his
