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More acquisitions now have a digital asset leg. Part of the consideration, part of the target's treasury, or a founder position that has to move as part of the deal.
The position
The trade side of these deals is well covered. Lawyers, bankers and diligence teams all understand the acquisition. The part that gets missed is the conversion leg, the moment a digital asset has to change form, jurisdiction or custody so the deal can actually settle. That is where value quietly leaks and timelines slip.
The conversion side deserves the same discipline as the rest of the deal:
Acquisition flow. Identify, evaluate and align the digital asset element alongside the main transaction from the start, not as an afterthought once heads of terms are signed.
Conversion side. Assess how the asset converts, structure the route, and de-risk it. A large position moved through a retail venue at the wrong moment flags compliance and takes a haircut on spread. Neither is acceptable inside a deal.
What to consider
Settlement certainty. Control, verify and settle. The receiving side, whether a bank or a wallet, has to be onboarded and ready, with documentation that survives the buyer's and seller's advisers.
Deal execution. Integrate, close and realise. The conversion has to land in step with the wider completion, not on its own schedule.
The sequence runs from sourcing and screening, to due diligence on the deal and the digital asset leg together, to structuring the conversion and settlement path, to executing and integrating, to closing and realising the value.
Preparing the file
I run the conversion and settlement side through an institutional desk, non-custodial and principal-to-principal, clearing over five billion in monthly volume across banking corridors in the US, UK, Mexico, BVI and Brazil, backed by VanEck, Valor Capital and Hack VC. Fixed price at signing, no slippage on a large clear, documentation the deal advisers can accept.
No leased wallets. No borrowed wallets.