SEC Proposes Allowing Investment Advisers to Use Crypto Self-Custody

WHY IT MATTERS

When you invest through a financial adviser, your money and assets are usually held by a separate company called a custodian — think of it like a bank vault that keeps your valuables safe. In the crypto world, "self-custody" means holding your own digital assets directly, using a private key (essentially a secret password that proves ownership). Until now, the SEC has generally required advisers to use traditional custodians, which made it harder for them to manage crypto for clients. This proposal could change that by letting advisers hold crypto themselves under certain conditions. For people new to crypto, this matters because it could make it easier for traditional financial advisers to include crypto in the portfolios they manage, potentially broadening access to digital assets through regulated channels.