PANews, March 18 news, according to The Block report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering withdrawing a proposal aimed at tightening cryptocurrency custody requirements, the latest move by the acting chairman under the Trump administration. SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda said at the Investment Company Institute's 2025 Investment Management Conference in San Diego on Monday that commenters have expressed serious concerns about a rule proposed in February 2023 that would require registered investment advisers to place cryptocurrencies with qualified custodians and require those custodians to comply with certain requirements, "Given these concerns, it would be a significant challenge to move forward with the original proposal, so I have asked SEC staff to work closely with the Crypto Assets Working Group to consider appropriate alternatives".

Uyeda's speech on Monday focused mainly on the SEC's rulemaking process, including potentially withdrawing or re-proposing rules, or delaying compliance dates. The custody rule was proposed by the SEC under Gary Gensler's leadership in the previous Biden administration, aimed at extending the current custody rules to cover any client assets held by advisers and adding more protections for those assets. Uyeda's move to re-examine the rule marks the second time this month he has directed agency staff to reconsider their rules. Last week, Uyeda said he had instructed agency staff to review a proposed rule change that would expand the definition of "exchange" in a way that could potentially bring decentralized cryptocurrency projects within its scope.