Beyond safekeeping: Why Custody is Foundational to Australia’s Digital Asset Growth

If trust is the currency of the digital economy, custody is the vault, the infrastructure, and the invisible engine room behind it all.

At Australia’s Digital Economy Conference 2025, discussions about custody weren’t theoretical — they were essential. In every panel, from SMSFs to staking to stablecoins, one thing was clear: you can’t have adoption without trusted custody.

We’re entering a new phase of market development. Speculation is giving way to structured products. Retail dominance is giving way to institutional participation. But with that comes an expectation of institutional-grade standards — in security, governance, operations, and insurance.

That’s where digital asset custody plays a critical role.

Custody isn’t just about safekeeping

Traditionally, custody has been viewed as a static function. But in digital assets, custody is dynamic. It supports the ecosystem and participants by governing access, integrating clear risk and compliance management frameworks and acting as an enabler to value added services such as staking and settlement.

The expectations are changing:

• Clients want more than a vault — they want infrastructure that can support capital efficiency and utility.
• Regulators want more than assurances — they want demonstrable governance, auditability, and alignment with existing financial frameworks
• Institutions want optionality — multi-custodian models, SaaS custody solutions, and operational controls that mirror TradFi.

At the conference, speakers emphasised that custody is not just a back-office function — it’s a trust layer.

Setting a global standard for digital asset custodians

One theme was the absence of a globally understood definition or standard for a digital asset custodian. We don’t yet have that level of clarity on standards for digital asset custodians globally. This lack of consistency creates confusion — especially for traditional institutions trying to navigate unfamiliar territory.

What security standards should digital asset custodians maintain? Who insures the assets? How are governance rights handled? What protections are in place for clients?

These are the questions that institutional-grade custody providers like Zodia are built to answer and develop in collaboration with the industry.

As the market matures, we expect to see growing recognition — from regulators and clients alike — of the need for clearly defined custody standards across jurisdictions.

Custody and staking: where trust meets yield

One of the most active areas of interest at the Digital Economy conference was staking. ETH and SOL in particular are attracting institutional attention across APAC — but institutional participation hinges on custody design.

Without safe, auditable custody, institutions simply won’t stake – no matter how attractive the yield. The same applies to any products involving delegation, re-staking, or cross-chain execution.

Custodians that can support multi-chain staking, governance integration, and regulatory reporting will be key to unlocking this next phase of digital asset activity.

Custody enables capital to move safely

Whether it’s through tokenisation, yield generation, or efficient settlement, the digital economy runs on movement — and custody is what makes that movement safe.

This is especially important in a market like Australia, where SMSFs, asset managers and advisors are starting to take a closer look. For those groups, the first question isn’t “What’s the opportunity?” It’s “Can I trust the infrastructure?”

By working with trusted custodians, institutional clients gain confidence not just in the assets, but in the systems that support them.

Looking ahead: Building from the middle

Custody isn’t the front-end of the digital economy — but it might be the most important layer in getting it right. It connects TradFi to DeFi, integrates compliance into innovation, and gives regulators the assurance they need to support responsible growth.

The future won’t be won by the loudest platforms — it’ll be won by the safest hands.