SEC Custody Proposal Can Give Advisors More Room to Hold XRP

Stevenson describes an October 1 proposal that would clarify custody arrangements for advisors and regulated funds. The transcript does not specify the year, and the changes she discusses remain a proposal rather than a final rule.

According to Dr. Stevenson, the framework would clarify that state trust companies can serve as crypto custodians, permit limited advisor self-custody when no qualified custodian can hold an asset, and allow regulated funds to use brokerage firms for crypto custody. It would also update audit requirements.

That could matter for firms whose compliance teams have resisted direct crypto holdings. Stevenson says SEC-registered advisors manage more than $100 trillion, though that figure describes their overall business—not money expected to enter XRP or other digital assets.

“An ETF gives a client the price of XRP and holding the asset gives a client the asset,” she says. The distinction matters for separately managed accounts and strategies requiring direct ownership, although custody permission alone would not establish that those strategies are suitable for a client.

Dr. Kamilah Stevenson also cites a 60-day public comment period. Final requirements could differ, and firms would still need their own operational reviews and investment approvals.

The YouTube video connects the proposed changes to Ripple’s custody software business, arguing that providers already serving financial institutions could benefit from clearer rules. That is a potential business opportunity, not evidence of automatic demand for XRP.

Dr. Stevenson also points to Ripple’s litigation history.

Her description of the July 2023 ruling is broad: the court distinguished between categories of XRP sales, rather than granting every XRP transaction an unconditional exemption from securities law.

A clearer custody route could expand access, but neither adoption nor fresh buying would follow on a fixed timetable.

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