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Custody: who actually holds your assets, and how
For institutions, custody is a first-class concern. A qualified custodian is a regulated entity (often a trust company) legally responsible for client assets, with segregation, insurance, and audit duties. Leaving funds on an exchange is not the same as using a qualified custodian — in an exchange failure you may be an unsecured creditor. Segregation of client assets from corporate assets is central to bankruptcy remoteness.
If the custodian fails
Holding your own keys (self-custody) is legal in most jurisdictions, but it shifts all operational risk to the holder and can complicate institutional controls, insurance, and succession. Many organizations use a mix: qualified custodians for most assets, multi-sig for treasury, and hardware wallets for cold reserves.
Stablecoins: what's backing them, and how you'd know
Stablecoins are under intense regulatory focus. Issuers increasingly publish reserve attestations — independent reports that reserves match the outstanding token supply. In the US, the GENIUS Act — signed July 18, 2025 — establishes the first federal payment-stablecoin framework: 1:1 backing with cash or high-quality liquid assets, redemption rights, and regular reporting. The EU’s MiCA already imposes comparable reserve and redemption rules. For users, the credibility and frequency of these attestations is a key due-diligence input.
Tax & record-keeping: the unglamorous part that matters
In most jurisdictions, selling, swapping, or spending crypto is a taxable event, and the characterization (capital gain, income, self-employment) varies by activity and country. Professionals should assume that every transaction may need a record — cost basis, fair market value at the time, date, counterparty — and that good record-keeping from day one is far cheaper than reconstructing it later. This is true for individuals and doubly true for organizations facing audit.