Fusang Investment Office, an asset management firm serving private Asian family businesses, will reportedly launch cryptocurrency custodial services for in Hong Kong. The service will be called Fusang Vault, and it’s expected to be introduced in Q4 2018.
Fusang Investment CEO Henry Chong stated that partnering with an independent third party specializing in the crypto sector was required in order to offer the crypto-custody services, as it will need to hold and periodically audit clients’ digital assets.
The University of Oxford graduate noted that his company was planning on providing insurance services for its customers’ crypto assets. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Chong said:
Digital assets are akin to bearer bonds, whereby whoever that is holding the security is presumed to be the owner and there is no registration of ownership information of the security. Hence, the way we keep digital asset secured is of paramount importance.
Meanwhile, Jolyon Ellwood-Russell, partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons, said that crypto-custody services were not yet regulated. This means that if a user’s crypto funds are lost or stolen, then they will have to rely on only the terms and conditions of their custodian services contract.
He also stated that there were several issues not addressed in the custodial services contract:
For example, in what capacity are the custodians holding the assets? Are they holding them as a bailment, that is, a trust, so the assets are outside the estate of the custodian on an insolvency. Just having segregated accounts does not automatically mean that on an insolvency the investors assets will be protected or recoverable from a receiver or liquidator.”
Institutional Investor Demand
Despite Jolyon’s skepticism regarding custodial services for digital assets, several crypto companies already offer them. Notably, institutional investors have been “waiting on the sidelines” when it comes to cryptos, partly because of a lack of custodial services.
San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recently launched custodial services for cryptocurrencies in an attempt to tackle the problem. The company revealed their new service helps safeguard their clients’ assets by requiring multiple signers for all transactions.
The exchange’s crypto custody services also help customers keep their digital funds safe by setting withdrawal limits and providing audit trails. As recently covered, billionaire investor Mike Novogratz believes a “herd of institutional investors” is starting to move into crypto.
