The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently advanced two new crypto asset regulatory efforts: first, it proposed a new crypto custody framework allowing conditional self-custody and state trust custody; second, it received a joint application from OKX and ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, to launch 63 tokenized U.S. stocks. The former concerns how investment advisers and regulated funds custody crypto assets, while the latter concerns whether tokenized equity products can enter the market. The two developments involve the custody process and product approval process, respectively, and both remain within the SEC's regulatory and approval channels, requiring corresponding procedural arrangements before they can move forward.
SEC's New Crypto Custody Framework: Conditional Self-Custody and State Trust Custody
The custody framework proposed by the SEC would include conditional self-custody and state trust custody within the permitted scope. According to the source information, the framework will directly affect how investment advisers and regulated funds custody crypto assets, making it a high-impact regulatory development with significant market attention. Custody is an essential part of regulated institutions holding crypto assets. Once custody methods are redefined, the operational room for investment advisers and regulated funds in asset safekeeping and compliance arrangements will also adjust accordingly. Based on the wording of the framework, self-custody is not being opened up unconditionally, but is permitted with conditions; state trust custody corresponds to a path in which state-level trust institutions assume custody functions. The pairing of the two methods means regulators are providing more than one compliant option for custody channels. After meeting the corresponding conditions, institutions may choose self-custody or custody services provided by state trust institutions. For investment advisers and regulated funds that prioritize compliance, whether custody options are clear directly determines whether they can advance crypto asset-related business under the existing regulatory framework. The framework's actual binding force on relevant entities also depends on how clearly subsequent detailed rules are defined.
OKX and ICE Joint Application: Plans to Launch 63 Tokenized U.S. Stocks
Another development directly related to the SEC comes from the trading and tokenization sector. OKX and ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, jointly submitted an application to the SEC to launch 63 tokenized U.S. stocks. Source information shows that tokenized stocks are an important direction for the integration of traditional finance and crypto. This application was jointly filed by a crypto trading platform and the parent company of a traditional exchange; if approved, it would expand the tokenized asset market. The core of the application points to 63 tokenized U.S. stock products, and whether they can ultimately launch depends on the SEC's approval outcome. The application moves tokenized products from directional discussion to a specific approval process: the number of underlying assets is clearly 63, the participants are OKX and ICE, and the approving authority is the SEC. For the tokenized asset market, whether the application is approved will directly affect the supply scale of tradable tokenized stocks; for the cooperation model between traditional financial institutions and crypto platforms, such an application jointly filed by an exchange parent company and a crypto trading platform also provides an observable sample.
What the Two Developments Have in Common: Custody and Tokenization
Although the custody framework and the tokenized stock application appear to belong to different areas, both sit at key interfaces connecting traditional finance and crypto markets. Custody addresses who holds the assets and in what compliant manner; it directly affects the feasibility of investment advisers and regulated funds participating in the crypto market. Tokenized stocks address the question of in what form traditional stocks are tokenized and through which channels they are brought to market, with the result being an expansion of the tokenized asset market. From a market structure perspective, custody is a precondition for crypto assets to be accepted by regulated institutions, while tokenization is an important form through which traditional assets are introduced into crypto channels. Both require the SEC to take a clear position: the former sets compliance boundaries through a framework, while the latter determines through approval whether products can be launched. For this reason, the two developments are seen as matters worth observing side by side within the same regulatory cycle, and their commonality lies in the fact that both involve the ways regulated institutions combine with crypto assets.
What to Watch Next
Going forward, the key areas to track are concentrated in two aspects. The first is the specific implementation of the SEC's new crypto custody framework, including the applicable conditions for conditional self-custody, the specific arrangements for state trust custody, and how investment advisers and regulated funds adjust their custody structures accordingly. The second is the approval progress of OKX and ICE's joint application for 63 tokenized U.S. stocks, as well as the actual impact on the tokenized asset market if the application is approved. Before both developments are finalized, market attention to changes in regulatory stance and approval outcomes is expected to continue.
