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SEC sends crypto broker-dealer rule to White House for review
The SEC has submitted a draft rule covering capital, custody and recordkeeping for crypto broker-dealers to the White House, as Democrats prepare to take both chambers of Congress.
Why it matters: Formal SEC rules would set binding capital, custody and recordkeeping standards for broker-dealers handling crypto, shaping how firms structure those services.
Key points
- The proposal, RIN 3235-AN48, was filed with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on 3 Nov 2026 and has no public release date.
- Democrats won both chambers in the 3 Nov midterms and take control on 3 Jan 2027, though Trump retains veto power.
The SEC has sent a proposed crypto broker-dealer rule to the White House for regulatory review, Bitcoin.com News reports. The draft, filed with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on 3 Nov 2026, covers four securities rules on broker-dealer capital, customer protection and recordkeeping. No public release date has been set.
The proposal, identified as RIN 3235-AN48, would amend Rules 15c3-1, 15c3-3, 17a-3 and 17a-4. These set net capital requirements, safeguards for customer assets and the records intermediaries must keep. Applying them to crypto raises questions about distributed ledgers, private-key management and digital assets held for clients. The draft itself has not been published, so its actual requirements are unknown.
The filing follows December 2025 staff guidance that let broker-dealers meet some possession requirements through direct access to assets on distributed ledger networks. Separate guidance set a 20% capital haircut on certain Bitcoin and ether holdings and 2% on qualifying stablecoins. Formal rulemaking would bind firms in a way staff statements do not.
Overriding a Trump veto would need two-thirds support in both chambers. On 5 Nov, Senator Cynthia Lummis pressed her case for the CLARITY Act, saying Democrats had wanted retail crypto trades routed through registered intermediaries.
What to watch: The White House review must conclude before the SEC can publish the draft, seek public comment and weigh final rules; no deadline is set.
Live updates on NewsFeeds:RegulationDesk editor: Keshav Aggarwal (accountable for this page; this summary was not edited by hand)
How this was produced: an AI model wrote this summary of Bitcoin.com News’s report, which we credit and link above. Read our Editorial and AI policy. Spotted a mistake? See Corrections.
Not investment advice. Read the risk disclaimer.