The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold its second roundtable on April 25, focusing on the custody of crypto assets. The meeting will address the comparison of the roles of broker-dealers with investment advisors and companies in the context of digital asset custody.
This is reported by Finway
Key Participants in the Discussion
The event is expected to feature experts from crypto companies, lawyers, and academics who will collaboratively analyze regulatory gaps and provide feedback on existing regulations. The event will be opened by the new SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, who recently took his oath and promised to clarify issues surrounding crypto regulation.
The agenda includes two panel discussions dedicated to:
- custody of crypto assets through broker-dealers;
- the involvement of investment advisors and companies.
Regulatory Issues in Asset Custody
Among the companies participating in the discussion will be Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital Bank, Fidelity Digital Assets, Kraken, BitGo, and Exodus Movement. Under current SEC rules, investment advisors are required to custody client assets with “qualified custodians,” typically banks or broker-dealers. However, these requirements do not account for the specifics of the crypto market, where new technologies and 24/7 access to assets are necessary.
“Custodians are one of the most challenging issues for participants in the crypto market. Investors want both access and security—both aspects are difficult to reconcile in the current regulatory environment,” noted Dechert LLP partner Neil Maitra.
Another panelist, Justin Brauder from Simpson Thacher, emphasized that the SEC forces advisors to choose between client needs and compliance with regulatory requirements.
It is worth noting that this event is the second of four planned. The first session took place on April 11 and focused on crypto trading, while the upcoming discussions are scheduled for May 12 and June 6, addressing tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi).