Bitcoin sees cautious uptake as family offices refine IPS

Prioritize governance and controlled digital assets integration now

Family offices are moving governance from a background function to a front-line discipline as wealth transfers accelerate across generations. The immediate priority is to lock down decision rights, risk parameters, and reporting before making any allocation to volatile digital assets.

According to Ocorian, most family office professionals report clear generational differences, with digital assets emerging as the largest source of divergence and NextGen showing notably stronger interest. These differences tend to surface in debates over allocation, oversight, and the speed of digitalization, underscoring why formal frameworks matter.

At the same time, the vast majority of family offices still do not hold cryptocurrency in their portfolios, according to JPMorgan Private Bank’s 2026 global findings. That gap between interest and implementation points to a need for professionalized processes that can translate appetite into controlled, auditable exposure.

Generational shifts demand professionalized oversight and digitalization

According to the IMD-FBN Global Family Office Report, offices are expanding their remit from asset protection to broader stewardship that spans human, social, and reputational capital, with governance and professionalism as strategic anchors. The report also notes that many families still lack basics such as a formal investment policy statement or a fully functioning investment committee, creating execution risk when preferences diverge across generations.

Digitalization has become the operational backbone for preserving institutional memory, aligning decision rights, and consolidating financial, legal, and governance records. Systems that unify reporting and succession workflows reduce ambiguity and make accountability observable.

“Assemble the tech and process foundation before the wealth transition accelerates,” said Chelsea Smith, senior national director of family office advisory at Bernstein Private Wealth Management. She characterized digitalisation as “the glue that holds multi-generation wealth together,” warning that offices without it “will struggle to survive, let alone thrive.”

Immediate moves: IPS, committees, custody, consolidated reporting

First, finalize or refresh the investment policy statement (IPS) to encode objectives, risk limits, and escalation paths, including specific language for digital assets. In parallel, constitute an investment committee with clear voting thresholds and a risk committee that sets control standards for valuation, liquidity, counterparty exposure, and conflicts management.

For digital assets, separate custody from trading and from any staking or tokenisation activity to avoid commingling risk. Implement bank-grade KYC/AML onboarding, dual (or multi) approvals for transfers, independent price verification, reconciliations against blockchain records, and incident logs for any key, wallet, or systems events.

Family offices frequently opt for tighter oversight when engaging with crypto markets. “Family offices were one of the first investor groups interested in digital assets. However, they tend to invest in the more stable digital assets like Bitcoin and ETH, bring all trading expertise in house, and want more oversight of assets allocated to what is considered immature markets with the potential for parabolic volatility,” said Melissa Lim of Walkers Global Investment Funds.

As contextual background, at the time of this writing Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) closed at $141.09, down 7.90% on the day, with after-hours trading at $144.28 (+2.26%), based on NasdaqGS delayed quotes. Such fluctuations illustrate why governance, segregation of duties, and consolidated reporting are prerequisites rather than afterthoughts when integrating digital assets.

Family office governance: investment policy statement (IPS) essentials

A credible IPS articulates purpose, investment beliefs, and risk tolerance, then translates those into strategic allocation ranges, drawdown and liquidity guardrails, and rebalancing rules. It should specify decision rights, voting thresholds, and escalation procedures for exceptions or breaches, alongside documentation standards for minutes and resolutions.

Where digital assets are in scope, the IPS should define eligible instruments (for example, spot Bitcoin), maximum exposure caps, approved execution venues, and the custody model (such as qualified custodian with segregated accounts). It should also set wallet and key management standards, price and valuation sources, transfer controls, fee transparency, and audit trails for tax and financial reporting.

An effective IPS embeds reporting frequency, content, and assurance, including independent valuation checks and reconciliations to on-chain data where relevant. It also lays out periodic stress testing, incident response workflows, and a review cadence so that governance adapts as family objectives and market structures evolve.