Digital asset custody means that custodians manage the wallets and private keys on behalf of the owner of the digital assets.

With external custodian offerings, the owner may not know or have direct access to the private keys. If the owner forgets their password, the custodian can verify their identity and help them regain access to their assets.

• Custodial wallets to store and manage cryptographic keys
• Multi-signature processing
• Approval workflows requiring multiple parties to authorize a transaction

Self-custody is the practice of organizations storing and managing their own digital assets without relying on a third-party exchange or custodian.

Financial institutions provide digital asset custody as an additional service.

Crypto exchanges also provide digital asset custody as an additional service.

Specialized custodians provide only custody-focused services.