The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will organize the second of four planned discussion rounds on key cryptocurrency regulation issues on April 25. This meeting will focus on the topic of digital asset custody, which is generating increasing discussion within the crypto community.
This is reported by Business • Media
The goal of the event is to gather representatives from crypto companies, lawyers, and industry experts to collaboratively analyze regulatory gaps and gather feedback on existing rules. The event will be opened by the new SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, who recently took his oath and has already promised to make crypto asset regulation clearer and more transparent.
Discussion on Crypto Asset Custody and Regulatory Challenges
As part of the event, there will be two panel discussions focused on issues related to the custody of digital assets:
- through broker-dealers and other models;
- involving investment advisors and crypto companies.
Participants in the discussions will include representatives from leading companies such as Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital Bank, Fidelity Digital Assets, Kraken, BitGo, Exodus Movement, and other experts from the legal and academic fields.
“Custodianship is one of the most complex issues for participants in the crypto market. Investors want both access and security — both aspects are difficult to reconcile in the current regulatory environment,” said Dechert LLP partner Neil Maitra.
According to current SEC rules, investment advisors are required to keep client assets with “qualified custodians” — typically banks or broker-dealers. However, these regulations are not well-suited to the realities of the crypto market, where modern technology and 24/7 access to assets are needed.
Panelist Justin Brauder from Simpson Thacher added: “The SEC forces advisors to choose between client needs and compliance with regulatory requirements”.
This session will be the second of four in the series. The first took place on April 11 and was dedicated to crypto trading, while the next discussions are scheduled for May 12 and June 6, focusing on tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi).