SEC - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
12/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/17/2025 17:51
No Longer Special: Statement on the Division of Trading and Market’s Statement Related to the Custody of Crypto Asset Securities by Broker-Dealers
Today, the staff of the Division of Trading and Markets issued a statement providing its views on the application of Rule 15c3-3 to broker-dealers that custody crypto asset securities, including tokenized equity or debt securities, on behalf of customers (the "Statement"). The Statement provides that the Division will not object to a broker-dealer deeming itself to have "physical possession"[1] of a crypto asset security in the circumstances described in the Statement. The circumstances include that the broker-dealer maintains policies, procedures and controls that are reasonably designed and consistent with industry best practices to protect private keys.
This statement provides clarity about the Division's views to broker-dealers seeking to provide custody services to their customers. I would encourage the Division to swiftly develop recommendations for Commission consideration regarding amendments to Rule 15c3-3 that address the custody of crypto assets.
I would like to express my thanks to Director Jamie Selway and his staff in the Division of Trading and Markets for their hard work on this Statement.
[1] Rule 15c3-3 requires broker-dealers to maintain "physical possession or control" of securities carried for customers. The Statement indicates that it does not address the "control" prong of Rule 15c3-3, which was separately addressed by the Division in an FAQ published earlier this year. See Division of Trading and Markets: Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Crypto Asset Activities and Distributed Ledger Technology (Updated December 17, 2025), https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/staff-guidance/trading-markets-frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-relating-crypto-asset-activities-distributed-ledger-technology at Question 2 (clarifying that, in the staff's view, a broker-dealer may establish "control" of a crypto asset security by holding it through a control location specified in paragraph (c) of Rule 15c3-3).
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