Custody is a system of responsibilities

A well-designed custody process begins with roles: who proposes a transfer, who reviews it, who can authorize it and who can restore operations after a loss of access? Those answers live partly in technical controls and partly in human procedures. A brand name or a reserve address cannot replace them.

For an institution, separation of duties can reduce the chance that one compromised person or device controls the entire process. Recovery procedures need testing, documented ownership and a way to remove access when staff change. Monitoring needs to distinguish an expected transfer from an unauthorized one.

For an individual, the same questions take a smaller form: where is the backup, who understands the recovery plan and what information should never be shared? This publication never asks readers to reveal keys or recovery words.

These are general operating principles, not a certification of any provider. Choosing a custody arrangement means choosing which responsibilities to perform directly and which to place under a contract.