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ARTICLE · 10 OCTOBER 2025

SEC Allows State-Chartered Trust Companies To Serve As Crypto Custodians

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On September 30, 2025, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (the Commission or SEC) Division of Investment Management (the Staff) issued...

United StatesTechnology
Peter I. Altman
Peter I. Altman
Jan-Paul Bruynes
Jan-Paul Bruynes
Jason M. Daniel
Jason M. Daniel
Adam Hilkemann
Adam Hilkemann
Barbara Niederkofler
Barbara Niederkofler
William K. Wetmore
William K. Wetmore
Herman A. Brown Jr.
Herman A. Brown Jr.
Brian P. Rafferty
Brian P. Rafferty
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On September 30, 2025, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (the Commission or SEC) Division of Investment Management (the Staff) issued a no-action letter (NAL) stating that it would not recommend enforcement action to the Commission against registered investment advisers (RIAs) or funds regulated (Regulated Funds) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Company Act) for maintaining crypto assets and related cash and cash equivalents with state-chartered trust companies that meet certain requirements. The Staff's NAL is a significant departure from the previous SEC position on crypto assets and the custody of such assets. In this regard, the NAL continues an extensive amount of staff-level activity at the SEC designed to unwind positions taken by the Commission under the leadership of former chair Gary Gensler and further the goal of current chair Paul Atkins—and the broader Trump Administration—to make the United States a

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