SEC Rescinds SAB 121, Permitting Banks to Custody Bitcoin

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 121, a controversial rule that had long hindered banks from offering bitcoin and crypto custody services. This move, announced on Thursday, signals a significant shift in the SEC's approach to regulating bitcoin and crypto and paves the way for greater financial integration.

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 SEC OFFICIALLY RESCINDS SAB 121, WHICH PREVENTED BANKS FROM CUSTODYING #BITCOIN pic.twitter.com/VCnggkCGmL

Introduced in March 2022 under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, SAB 121 required institutions holding bitcoin and crypto assets for customers to record those holdings as liabilities on their balance sheets. This accounting standard created significant operational and financial burdens for banks and custodians, effectively discouraging them from providing bitcoin-related services. The rule was widely criticized by the crypto industry and lawmakers, with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce famously calling it a "pernicious weed" in April 2023.

"Bye, bye SAB 121! It's not been fun," Peirce wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, following the SEC's issuance of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 122, which formally rescinds the guidance.

The SEC's move to rescind SAB 121 comes just days after Gensler's resignation and marks the start of a new era under Republican leadership. Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda, who assumed the role on Monday, quickly announced the formation of a crypto task force led by Peirce to craft clearer and more practical regulatory frameworks for the industry.

"To date, the SEC has relied primarily on enforcement actions to regulate crypto retroactively and reactively, often adopting novel and untested legal interpretations along the way," the agency acknowledged in a statement on Tuesday.

With the removal of SAB 121, major banks are now expected to move swiftly to integrate bitcoin and crypto custody services into their offerings. This is a significant milestone in the financialization of bitcoin, bringing it closer to mainstream adoption.