Whether you hold assets for customers or rely on a custodian to hold your own, the custody agreement decides who owns the assets and how fast they can move. We draft and negotiate custody and wallet services agreements covering segregation, key management, withdrawals and liability. Whether a custody model triggers money transmission, trust or other licensing is fact-dependent, and we flag it; each engagement is a flat fee, quoted before we start.
At a glance
- Practice
- Crypto
- Pricing
- Flat fee, quoted before we start
- Included
- 6 deliverables
- Process
- 3 steps, one named attorney
- Where we work
- Slack, email or a call
When founders call us
The moments that usually bring a company to us for this work.
- 01
You are choosing a qualified custodian and need its custody agreement reviewed
- 02
You are building a wallet product and need terms for custodial or non-custodial users
- 03
A fund or institutional client asks how its assets are segregated on your platform
- 04
You use an MPC or wallet-as-a-service provider and need its terms negotiated
What you get
Scoped in writing before we start. One flat fee for all of it.
- Custody or wallet services agreement drafted or redlined
- Title, segregation and omnibus versus segregated wallet provisions
- Key management, authorization and withdrawal procedures
- Liability, loss allocation and insurance terms
- Supported assets, forks and delisting provisions
- Issues memo on licensing and insolvency questions, flagged as fact-dependent
How it works
- 1
Map custody
We confirm who holds keys, how assets are pooled and which entities are involved.
- 2
Draft or redline
We prepare or mark up the custody agreement around that structure.
- 3
Negotiate and finalize
We handle counterparty comments and deliver execution-ready terms.
Mistakes we help you avoid
The ones we see most often, and catch before they cost you.
- Avoided
Using language that transfers title to the custodian when customers expect to remain owners
- Avoided
Accepting liability caps that are tiny relative to assets under custody
- Avoided
Leaving withdrawal timing and suspension rights open to the custodian's discretion
- Avoided
Describing a wallet as non-custodial when your system actually controls the keys
Custody & Wallet Services Agreement: questions founders ask
At a minimum, it should cover ownership of the assets, segregation, how withdrawals are authorized, liability for loss and what happens in insolvency. It should also address forks, airdrops and unsupported assets. The specific terms depend on whether you are the custodian or the client.
In a custodial wallet, the provider controls the private keys and can move assets on the user's behalf. In a non-custodial wallet, only the user controls the keys. The distinction affects your contract terms and can affect regulatory analysis, which is fact-dependent.
It depends on the custody agreement, how assets were held and the law that applies to the custodian. Clear title and segregation language helps, but it does not by itself determine the outcome in a bankruptcy. We draft with insolvency risk in mind and explain where uncertainty remains.
Custody can raise state money transmission, trust charter or other licensing questions depending on your activities, your customers and where they are located. The analysis is fact-dependent. We flag those questions in your structure and draft the contracts; we do not issue licenses.
Get a flat-fee quote for Custody & Wallet Services Agreement.
A short call with an attorney. You leave with a written scope and one fixed price.
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