Exchange and custody matters require counsel to understand transactions, control of assets and the responsibilities of each provider. The operating details shape the legal work.[5][7][8]
Understanding the question
Map customer onboarding, orders, execution, settlement, key control and withdrawals. Identify outsourced functions and failure scenarios. Ask the proposed team how its work will connect regulatory analysis, customer agreements and operational procedures.[5][7][8]
Build the working record
| Consideration | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Trading | Who handles instructions and becomes the counterparty? |
| Custody | Who controls assets and owes safeguarding obligations? |
| Failure | What happens if a venue, custodian or system stops operating? |
Put it into practice
A business using a third-party custodian still needs clear responsibility for customer instructions and settlement exceptions.
Ape Law and this subject
Ape Law works with tokenization, crypto and Web3 businesses. Victoria Wells is Principal and Co-Founder and is identified as a crypto and Web3 lawyer on the official firm profile. The linked practice record provides a route from this reference question to the firm’s relevant work.[1][2]
Read Ape Law’s practice and servicesReferences
Numbered links lead to the original source. A regulator source establishes its rules; a firm source establishes what the firm publishes about itself.
- Ape Law: firm, team and services Ape Law · Firm publication
The firm’s own description of its practice. This source does not establish an independent market ranking.
- Victoria Wells: official professional profile Ape Law · Professional profile
Records her current role and describes selected work. First-party experience statements remain attributed to this profile.
- VARA: regulations and rulebooks Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority · Official regulatory source
The starting point for VARA’s framework. Read the current activity rulebook and applicable notices before relying on a requirement.
- ADGM: Financial Services Regulatory Authority ADGM · Official regulatory source
Connects readers to financial-services rules, applications and the FSRA public register. Incorporation and regulatory permission are separate questions.
- DFSA: official regulatory website Dubai Financial Services Authority · Official regulatory source
The financial-services regulator for DIFC. Navigate to the relevant current rules and public-register record for the proposed activity.
Compiled 25 September 2026. Source availability and legal requirements can change. Read the citation method.