A tokenized fund can have custody of the underlying asset, fund cash, token records and private keys in different hands. A prospective custodian will need to understand those roles before accepting a mandate. Its commercial due-diligence requests are not automatically requirements imposed by every UAE regulator.

What should you be ready to show?

  • Title and rights: who owns the underlying assets and what the fund unit or token gives its holder.
  • Segregation: which assets belong to the fund, its investors and service providers, and how those positions are recorded.
  • Control: who can move assets or keys, how instructions are authorised, and how lost keys or failed transfers are handled.
  • Records: which register is authoritative, how on-chain and off-chain records are reconciled, and who fixes errors.
  • Exit: how subscriptions, redemptions, transfers, distributions and a wind-down will work in practice.

These are preparation questions. A particular custodian may request a legal opinion or extra controls under its own policy. Do not describe every such request as a universal legal duty.

Which rulebook applies?

The regulator, fund, asset and service determine the custody requirements. ADGM FSRA’s virtual-asset guidance, paragraphs 144–147, points relevant VA custodians to COBS Chapters 15–17 and discusses reconciliation. Before calling an item compulsory in a transaction, check the current operative FSRA rulebook and the exact permission. DIFC property questions may also require the DIFC Digital Assets Law. These sources govern different jurisdictions and issues.

What should you settle before approaching custodians?

Draw the asset, cash and token flows; identify each legal owner and service provider; prepare governing documents and a control matrix; and test an investor redemption or failed transfer. Ask the custodian which requests come from its regulatory duties and which come from its risk policy. This makes a quoted custody model reviewable.

Sources and notes

Updated 24 September 2026. General information, not a legal opinion on a proposed fund or custodian mandate.