Jeff paused-not out of doubt-but calculation.

“Alright,” he said. “So how do you even hold this stuff?”

I nodded.

“That’s the question most people don’t ask… until after they’ve made the wrong move.”

Everyone Talks About Price. Almost No One Talks About This.

“The biggest mistake I see family offices make is assuming that holding Bitcoin is just like opening a brokerage account,” I said.

“They buy on Coinbase or Binance and let it sit. But here’s the reality:

If someone else holds the keys, they hold the Bitcoin.
That’s not ownership. It’s a liability.”

Jeff sat back. His brow furrowed. Not in confusion, but in realization.

“Even if it’s in my name?,” he asked. “Even if it’s in a verified account?”

“Yes,” I said. “Because you don’t control the keys. You’re trusting that the exchange doesn’t get hacked, doesn’t go under, and doesn’t lock your access.”

And that’s happened before?” he asked.

“Oh, absolutely,” I said.

“Binance was hacked and 7,000 Bitcoins were stolen. They recovered them, but it was something of an ordeal.

We've also seen governments freeze exchange access. During the Covid protests in Canada, truckers had their crypto wallets shut down by the government, just by pressuring the exchanges.

And some platforms have collapsed entirely. Mt. Gox. FTX. Gone. Billions lost.

Now, I’m not saying Binance or Coinbase are going under, or that they’re fraudulent. They take security seriously. But still-why hand over control of your assets to a platform where you don’t personally know or trust any individual involved?

It’s true that people recognize names like Binance or Coinbase. But reputation isn’t the same as relationship. You’d never wire millions to someone you’ve never met just because you’ve heard of their firm. So why treat something as volatile and nontraditional as Bitcoin with less caution?

If anything, your Bitcoin should demand more scrutiny. Not less.”

He nodded slowly, almost irritated. Not at me, but at the system.

“That feels like the kind of thing no one tells you… until after the fact.”

“Exactly.”

I let it hang for a beat.

“It’s an easy mistake to make. In traditional finance, we’re trained to hand over custody. That’s normal. Expected. But in Bitcoin, unless you take intentional, well-designed custody steps, you’re exposed.”

So How Should You Hold It?

There are two primary options — and both matter.

On-Chain, Direct Ownership (True Control)

This is real Bitcoin ownership-held outside the banking system, on-chain, under your own custody.

But to do it right, it takes more than buying and downloading a wallet.

“This is where you need an advisor,” I told Jeff. “Because the stakes are high, and the structure matters.” Hot wallets can be as vulnerable as exchanges. Cold storage is the gold standard, but not all cold storage is created equal.

Best practice for cold storage is a 2-of-3 multisignature setup:

• 3 cryptographic keys in cold storage

• Any 2 are required to move funds

• Each key stored in a different secure location

“What exactly is cold storage?” Jeff asked.

“It’s where your private keys never touch the internet,” I said. “With a hot wallet, your keys are exposed, and someone could potentially access them. That’s fine if you’re playing with a few hundred bucks. But for legacy-sized allocations you need something built to last.”

Jeff rubbed his temples and laughed.

“This is making my head hurt.”

I smiled.

“I get it. I love this stuff, but for most people it feels as tedious as what my mom used to call pulling hen’s teeth. Don’t stress about getting it perfect, that’s what I’m here for.”

I paused, then added:

“But if you want something that feels more familiar, you should know about a Bitcoin SMA. It’s far more traditional.”

That got his attention.

“Tell me about that,” he said.

I smiled.

“That’s where it gets interesting, because for once, Bitcoin fits inside the world you already know.”

Up next: How the Bitcoin SMA is redefining ownership for family offices