SEC Sends Crypto Broker-Dealer Rule Revision to White House for Review

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent a proposal to revise US broker-dealer rules for crypto assets to the White House for review, according to a Bloomberg report first disclosing the filing.

The SEC submitted the planned amendments to the Office of Management and Budget earlier this week. The move kicks off the interagency review that any significant federal rulemaking must clear before it can move toward adoption and public comment.

What would the amendments change?

The changes would address how existing broker-dealer requirements for financial responsibility, recordkeeping, and reporting apply to crypto assets. In plain terms, the SEC is trying to answer which capital cushions, audit trails and disclosure obligations follow a firm that custody trades tokenized or crypto instruments.

The SEC described the effort as part of its broader work to deliver regulatory clarity and craft rules for digital asset markets, rather than a narrow patch to a single rulebook section.

For broker-dealers, the operational stakes are concrete. Firms that today face ambiguity over whether crypto positions count toward net-capital tests, or how long they must retain records of on-chain settlement, would get binding answers instead of staff guidance.

Why now, and why without Congress?

The timing aligns with President Donald Trump's stated ambition to position the US as the "crypto capital of the world." Trump signed an executive order in 2025 directing agencies to pursue regulatory clarity for digital financial technology.

Crypto market structure legislation stalled in the Senate earlier this year, and the SEC is pressing ahead through its own rulemaking authority rather than waiting for Congress to act. The agency is expected to move quickly on remaining proposals in its digital asset agenda, which makes the OMB review a meaningful bottleneck: proposals that clear it can reach publication and a comment window in weeks.

Is the SEC acting alone?

No. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sent a separate proposal to the OMB focused on consumer protections for prediction market participants.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said in August that the amendments would address concerns raised by the public about retail safeguards and clarify expectations for product governance, market design, and incentive programs. That language signals the CFTC is targeting the mechanics of event-contract platforms — how products are built, how markets are structured, and how referral or reward programs are run — rather than a blanket restriction on the asset class.

What happens next?

Two agencies, two proposals, one review queue. The OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs typically has up to 90 days to review significant rules, though agencies can request extensions.

If the SEC's package clears, expect a Federal Register publication and a formal comment period — the first chance for brokers, exchanges and custody providers to shape the exact text before it binds them.