Glossary
Custody
Safekeeping and record control for assets or keys.
Reviewed as part of Tokenized Funds and Treasury Product Vocabulary, using the primary references listed below. Updated 2026-07-19.
Plain-English meaning
Custody is used here to describe safekeeping and record control for assets or keys. In the daily board, the word is grouped by the role it performs rather than by spelling or market popularity.
You may encounter it in a product interface, technical document, risk report, policy paper, or market dashboard. The term is included for recognition and comparison, not as a product recommendation.
Important boundary
Asset custody and token-key custody may be handled by different parties.
When this word appears in a report, identify the mechanism being described before treating the label as a conclusion. Similar terms can point to different causes, controls, or outcomes.
Why it belongs with Settlement and Custody
These words describe handoff, record keeping, and the point where a transfer becomes difficult to reverse.
When solving the puzzle, compare the job this term performs with nearby cards. A correct group usually shares a function, risk type, workflow, or market structure rather than simply sharing similar wording.
Where you might see it
You might encounter this term while reading educational explainers, product documentation, risk disclosures, market dashboards, or beginner guides. Always separate vocabulary learning from financial decision-making.
Reading cue
Looking past the token to the legal and settlement layers
Use the full guide's applied scenario to ask where Custody enters the process, what evidence supports it, and which nearby concept it could be confused with.
Read the complete applied scenarioNearby concepts
Compare before you memorize
Tokenized fund share
A digital representation of an interest in a pooled investment vehicle.
It is not automatically direct ownership of each underlying security.Transfer agent
An entity that maintains ownership records and processes changes.
An on-chain transfer may still need to match an official off-chain register.Redemption window
The timing and conditions for converting a fund interest back to cash.
Continuous token trading does not guarantee continuous fund redemption.Knowledge check
Check the distinction
What should a reader compare between token transfer and fund settlement?
Finality, cut-off times, identity checks, official records, fees, and when cash becomes available.
Source trail
References behind this explanation
These references support the surrounding guide and concept boundaries. Open the full source when you need the original technical or policy context.
Primary cross-border analysis of token arrangements, settlement, governance, and risk.
Bank for International SettlementsThe next-generation monetary and financial systemInstitutional discussion of tokenised platforms, unified ledgers, and financial-market structure.