The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has moved a crypto custody proposal into White House review, a procedural step that could reopen one of the agency's most important rulemaking questions for investment advisers and funds.

The item, listed as "Amendments to the Custody Rules" under RIN 3235-AN46, was sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Aug. 25, according to reporting that linked the Reginfo entry. OIRA review does not make the rule public or final. It means the White House budget office can review the draft before the SEC decides whether to vote on releasing it for public comment.

The proposal is expected to address how investment advisers and investment companies safeguard client assets, including crypto assets. That makes the scope significant for asset managers, qualified custodians, crypto exchanges, and fund administrators that have been waiting for clearer federal expectations around digital-asset custody.

For now, the most important caveat is timing. The market has a regulatory signal, not a rule text. The SEC could still revise the proposal before publication, and any released version would likely face comments before adoption. Still, sending the item to OIRA suggests the agency is preparing to shift at least part of crypto custody policy from enforcement and staff interpretation into formal rulemaking.