Key Takeaways
- • The SEC Crypto Task Force convened a third roundtable on April 25, 2025, focused on custody standards and regulatory frameworks for digital assets, addressing gaps between traditional finance custody rules and emerging crypto custody challenges.
- • Key panelists included Jason Allegrante (Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Fireblocks) and Rachel Anderika (COO, Anchorage Digital Bank), both bringing deep expertise spanning Federal Reserve supervision, bank examination, fintech compliance, and digital asset regulation.
- • The roundtable examined fundamental questions around custody trust standards, investor protection requirements, and the need for regulatory clarity in an uncertain crypto custody environment, with emphasis on distinguishing crypto custody risks from traditional asset custody.
- • Rachel Anderika, drawing on nearly a decade at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and experience guiding digital asset custodians through state and federal licensing, stressed the importance of maintaining investor protections and clarifying custody risk profiles specific to crypto assets.
- • The discussion represents ongoing SEC oversight of crypto asset regulation through structured stakeholder engagement, building on previous roundtables and signaling continued regulatory focus on custody infrastructure as foundational to market participant safety and compliance.
Summary
The SEC Crypto Task Force hosted its third roundtable on April 25, 2025, titled "Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody," convening regulatory experts and industry practitioners to address custody standards and investor protections in digital asset markets. The roundtable examined fundamental questions about what custody standards should apply to crypto assets and whether existing frameworks—designed for traditional financial custodians—require modification to account for the unique risks and operational characteristics of digital asset custody.
The panel featured experienced voices at the intersection of banking regulation and digital assets. Jason Allegrante, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Fireblocks, brought credentials spanning the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Financial Institution Supervision Group, international law practices at Linklaters and Davis Polk & Wardwell, and advisory experience on fintech and blockchain infrastructure since 2018. Rachel Anderika, COO of Anchorage Digital Bank and Global Head of Operations, contributed nearly a decade of experience as a National Bank Examiner and Large Bank Examiner at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, followed by eight years in private regulatory consulting at Promontory Financial Group. Notably, Anderika helped establish Promontory's Digital Assets Risk and Compliance Team and guided multiple digital asset custodians through state and federal regulatory licensing processes.
Anderika emphasized the critical need to maintain investor protections while establishing regulatory clarity around crypto custody, underscoring the importance of distinguishing custody risks specific to digital assets from traditional custody frameworks. The roundtable discussion centered on challenges institutions face when taking custody of crypto assets for customers within an uncertain regulatory environment—a foundational issue as institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates and custody infrastructure becomes central to market infrastructure and retail investor access.
The roundtable reflects the SEC's broader strategy of structured stakeholder engagement through the Crypto Task Force, building incrementally on previous regulatory discussions to develop informed policy guidance. By bringing regulators, custodians, and legal experts into dialogue on specific custody topics, the SEC is signaling sustained focus on digital asset market structure while gathering real-time intelligence on compliance barriers and operational realities facing qualified custodians.
The panel featured experienced voices at the intersection of banking regulation and digital assets. Jason Allegrante, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Fireblocks, brought credentials spanning the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Financial Institution Supervision Group, international law practices at Linklaters and Davis Polk & Wardwell, and advisory experience on fintech and blockchain infrastructure since 2018. Rachel Anderika, COO of Anchorage Digital Bank and Global Head of Operations, contributed nearly a decade of experience as a National Bank Examiner and Large Bank Examiner at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, followed by eight years in private regulatory consulting at Promontory Financial Group. Notably, Anderika helped establish Promontory's Digital Assets Risk and Compliance Team and guided multiple digital asset custodians through state and federal regulatory licensing processes.
Anderika emphasized the critical need to maintain investor protections while establishing regulatory clarity around crypto custody, underscoring the importance of distinguishing custody risks specific to digital assets from traditional custody frameworks. The roundtable discussion centered on challenges institutions face when taking custody of crypto assets for customers within an uncertain regulatory environment—a foundational issue as institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates and custody infrastructure becomes central to market infrastructure and retail investor access.
The roundtable reflects the SEC's broader strategy of structured stakeholder engagement through the Crypto Task Force, building incrementally on previous regulatory discussions to develop informed policy guidance. By bringing regulators, custodians, and legal experts into dialogue on specific custody topics, the SEC is signaling sustained focus on digital asset market structure while gathering real-time intelligence on compliance barriers and operational realities facing qualified custodians.
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