Law of Code #170 - The future of crypto custody with Sarah Helena Brennan and Jay Stolkin
Jan 28, 2026
Sarah Helena Brennan, General Counsel at Delphi Ventures and co-author of a custody modernization whitepaper. Jay Stolkin, Deputy General Counsel at Multicoin Capital and co-author of the same paper. They discuss why current custody rules strain digital-asset realities. Conversations cover on-chain verification, flexible principles-based safeguards, optionality between third-party custody and self-custody, and practical implementation notes.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Legacy Custody Rules Need Reconsideration
- The SEC's 2023 safeguarding proposal doubled down on legacy custody rules without accounting for crypto's on-chain nature.
- Jay Stolkin and Sarah Brennan wrote a framework urging principle-based modernization that fits digital-asset realities.
Crypto's Design Undermines Vault Mentality
- Crypto's utility and on-chain design make traditional custodial assumptions (bank vault analogies) break down.
- Sarah Helena Brennan argues self-custody, staking, and 24/7 access can be essential and sometimes safer than third-party custody.
Offer Custody Options, Not One Rule
- Keep third-party custody as an available option for advisors lacking internal technical capability.
- Use a mix: custodians for some assets and reasoned self-custody programs for others based on needs and capabilities.