Professional Desk · Family offices
Govern Bitcoin the way the family governs everything else
A family office should choose a bitcoin setup where no one person can move the family's bitcoin alone, signing roles are written down, and control passes to trustees and heirs through a documented plan. With collaborative security, the family stays in a client-controlled 2-of-3 structure, we co-sign as key agent, and you keep the client relationship and the advice. Compare the options on family office bitcoin security.We stay with your client through the whole process: buying bitcoin, securing it with collaborative security, and planning how it passes on. You keep the advice; we handle the technical side.
The questions principals and trustees ask
- Can any one person move the family's Bitcoin alone?
- What happens if the principal can no longer sign?
- How do trustees act when authority passes to them?
- What does the investment committee need before it adopts Bitcoin?
A partner in the room, not a replacement
You know your client. We know Bitcoin security.
When Bitcoin comes up, bring us into the room. You keep the relationship and your advice. We look after the Bitcoin security: how it is held, who can sign, and how it passes on.
Tell us about your next Bitcoin-related client enquiry, and we will talk it through with you.
Peter Dunworth, Partner. Estate planning and generational wealth transfer. Guiding families since 2016.
Who controls the Bitcoin
- Only you can initiate a transaction through your secure vault account. Neither The Bitcoin Adviser nor the platform provider can initiate transactions through the normal platform workflow. Two of the three keys must approve it before Bitcoin can move.
- TBA is a co-signer within the client's structure, not a custodian. No single party, TBA included, can move Bitcoin alone.
- Recovery and succession follow the wallet configuration and the procedures the client has authorised.
The people you work with
Advisers who work with professionals and their clients.
- Peter Dunworth. Estate planning and generational wealth transfer. Guiding families since 2016.
- Dalia Platt. Bilingual bitcoin security and inheritance for families and their advisers across the Americas.
Generic crypto-services vendor vs TBA Bitcoin control layer
Many vendors package trading, reporting, and pooled crypto services. That is a different job from keeping a family in control of Bitcoin as a bearer asset.
Generic crypto-services vendor
Typically productises access, allocation, or a platform relationship. Control often sits with the vendor or a custodian. Inheritance is usually a brokerage-style transfer, not a signing structure.
TBA Bitcoin control layer
Collaborative security, key agent support, and inheritance continuity. The family stays in a client-controlled structure. We are not a custodian. Start at The Bitcoin Adviser.
Why Bitcoin Changes the Operating Model
Bitcoin is the first globally liquid bearer asset that can be controlled directly by individuals and families without institutional intermediaries.
Traditional family office assets rely on layers of institutional dependency: banks, brokers, custodians, registrars, trustees, fund administrators, courts, and jurisdictions. Bitcoin changes that model. It can reduce reliance on institutional control, but only if the family can manage private key control, succession, execution, and governance correctly.
The same stresses reach high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational families, trustees and fiduciaries, and long-horizon structures (retirement planning context →). The moment Bitcoin depends on more than one person, device, or event, control becomes the problem.
Custody Is Not Enough
Traditional wealth stacks assume custody plus advice covers the asset. Bitcoin breaks that assumption when execution and continuity cannot follow authority on paper.
Custody answers where the asset sits. Control answers who can act.
| Layer | Traditional System | Bitcoin Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Legal | Defines authority | Still required |
| Tax | Reporting | Still required |
| Investment | Allocation | Still required |
| Custody | Safekeeping | Not sufficient |
| Control | Often implicit | Critical and often missing |
The Bitcoin Adviser operates in this missing layer: control. We do not sell custody as a product. We help families and offices run Bitcoin as a governed sleeve: clear roles, documented approvals, and an Estate Plan Protocol so heirs and fiduciaries are not left guessing when stress hits.
Collaborative security vs ETF vs institutional custodian
Three ways family offices are typically offered Bitcoin exposure. Only one keeps the family inside a client-controlled signing structure.
Collaborative security
Client-controlled 2-of-3. The family remains in the signing quorum. TBA acts as key agent, not custodian. Detail: Collaborative Security.
ETF
Brokerage exposure. Heirs inherit a fund position, not keys. No on-chain control layer for the family.
Institutional custodian
An institution holds the asset. Useful for some mandates. The family typically authorises but does not hold a signing key.
Authority on paper is meaningless without the ability to execute.
The Four Family Office Bitcoin Failure Modes
For family offices, Bitcoin usually does not fail at the allocation memo. It fails at the control layer, when authority cannot execute. These are the four patterns we see most often, and each links to a deeper doctrine page.
Legal authority without technical control
Trustees hold authority on paper but cannot move Bitcoin. A court order cannot reset a blockchain. Why authority is not control →
The smartest-person failure mode
One technical family member becomes the undocumented operating system, and a single point of failure. The expert-dependent trap →
Incapacity before death
A living principal cannot sign, explain, or recover access after a stroke, dementia, or detention. Plan for living failure →
Instructions mistaken for a plan
Static documents fail when people, devices, or circumstances change. Why instructions are not a plan →
Family Office Bitcoin Hub
Six focused resources for the decisions family offices need to get right before Bitcoin becomes operationally critical.
Bitcoin Custody Models
ETF, institutional custodian, self-custody, and collaborative multisig compared.
Governance & Controls
Roles, approvals, signing thresholds, and change control for ICs and trustees.
Legal Authority vs Technical Control
Why trustees need more than authority on paper to act on-chain.
Custody Under Incapacity
Planning for living failure modes, not only death.
The Smartest Person Failure Mode
Why expert-dependent custody breaks when one person is unavailable.
Structures Explorer
Decision tree checklist for holding structure, custody model, and counterparty questions.
Open Structures Explorer →
New to this? Start with the short Family Office Bitcoin Governance Checklist → For accumulation strategy and custody readiness, see Bitcoin accumulation strategies →
TBA's Control-Layer Model
The Bitcoin Adviser does not replace your legal, tax, or investment advisers. We sit in the operational control layer: the part of the system that determines whether Bitcoin can actually be secured, moved, recovered, and inherited when required. No one person should be able to move Bitcoin alone, approvals should match how you already govern, and recovery has to work when the usual people are unavailable.
How the stack runs
Execution control
Authorized co-signing in your multisig. The family holds keys; we are not a custodian.
Operational capability
What people actually do under pressure, reviewed as stakeholders change.
No unilateral control Role-based approvals Verified signing events Continuity and recovery Adviser-led co-signing
Investment Committee-Ready Outputs
You are not buying a one-off setup. You are implementing a repeatable control system your IC can actually adopt: something heirs and trustees can follow when the moment is hard, not only when the slide deck is fresh.
Bitcoin Sleeve Policy Memo
Clear objectives, role responsibilities, and governance gates so Bitcoin is managed as a real sleeve, not an orphaned asset.
Implementation Plan
Phasing approach, clear order of steps, and stakeholder alignment, built to reduce timing stress and internal friction.
Execution & Control Framework
Quorum approvals, signing workflow, change-control, and verification steps, documented so responsibility stays unambiguous.
Estate Plan Protocol Integration
Bitcoin inheritance continuity: trustees/executors get an actionable playbook, not a technical puzzle.
Fiduciary Runbooks
A step-by-step signing manual for non-technical fiduciaries. Demonstrates to the Investment Committee that they are buying a repeatable system, not just a one-time setup. Unlike paper instructions that fail under stress, these are functional protocols with professional support. Learn why instructions alone aren't enough →
What Good Looks Like
A well-run family office Bitcoin system is recognisable. When the control layer is in place:
The family can verify holdings on-chain.
No single person can move funds alone.
Trustees know exactly who to contact.
Signing events follow written authority.
Recovery steps are documented and rehearsed.
Beneficiaries receive education before a crisis.
Common Family Office Questions
Is this “custody” or advisory?
Our focus is the Bitcoin control layer: governance-controlled implementation, documented controls, inheritance continuity, and ongoing support.
Custody answers who holds the asset; we address who can execute under policy when it matters. Key Agent support is execution control within your structure, not pooled custody. Read Key Agent, not custodian and our Scope, Risks & Important Information.
How do you prevent one person from becoming the point of failure?
Collaborative security removes unilateral control.
Roles and approvals are mapped to your governance model, with documented authorization workflows and recovery steps that remain valid even when key people change.
What happens if a trustee/executor needs to act during incapacity or death?
This is precisely what the Estate Plan Protocol is built for: clear instructions, stakeholder alignment, and practical readiness, so fiduciaries can execute without technical paralysis.
Do you support US and other jurisdictions?
Yes.
Security is global; risk is jurisdictional. We coordinate with your legal and tax advisors to ensure governance and documentation match your jurisdictional requirements.
U.S. families, IRAs, and probate: start with USA Bitcoin solutions.
What if our Trustee doesn't know how to use a hardware wallet?
This is precisely why we provide Fiduciary Runbooks: step-by-step signing manuals for non-technical fiduciaries.
Our "Guided Handover" and "MVK" (Minimum Viable Knowledge) approach means Trustees receive clear, actionable procedures, not technical training requirements. Collaborative security removes technical barriers: fiduciaries work with our professional team during recovery events, ensuring they're never alone. The Fiduciary Runbooks demonstrate to your Investment Committee that you're buying a repeatable system, not a one-time setup that depends on technical expertise.
Practical help
Print a one-page collaboration note from the explorer for your file. It records each party's role for the situation you chose.
- Family Office Bitcoin Governance ChecklistTen questions for the family's control model.
- Bitcoin Custody Models for Family OfficesETF, custodian, self-custody and collaborative multisig compared.
- Generational Bitcoin PlaybookContinuity across generations.
- Scope, risks and important informationWhat TBA does and does not do.
Professional Desk
Talk to the desk
Tell us about the family's structure or the question in front of you, and we will talk it through with you.
Scope, risks and important information