In an unpredictable business environment, investments in both traditional and emerging markets can strengthen a company’s portfolio and reduce risk. As digital assets like cryptocurrency and blockchain are increasingly adopted by individuals, businesses and even governments, a growing number of business leaders are looking to also explore digital opportunities for their own organizations.
However, before fully committing to these investments, it’s important for leaders, as well as trading and treasury team members, to collaboratively form a concrete plan and strategy to confidently join digital assets markets and effectively overcome any issues with the potential to harm the business long term. Below, 20 Forbes Business Council members discuss actions trading and treasury teams should focus on first when entering digital asset markets.
1. Define The ‘Why’
Treasury teams should first define their digital asset thesis. Why are they entering? Is it for yield, hedging, payments, or diversification? This strategic clarity dictates risk appetite, asset selection, and infrastructure. Without a clear “why,” they risk chasing trends, not value. It’s about strategic intent rather than just technical entry. Focus on the “what for,” not just the “how.” – Oleg Levitas, Pravda SEO Inc, Real Results SEO Inc.
2. Adopt A Different Mindset
These teams must change their entire mindset first. Instruments like ETFs trade within relatively stable ranges, while crypto markets are much more volatile. A 15% stop-loss that makes sense for an ETF could be triggered weekly or daily with Bitcoin, for example. They need to rethink their risk tolerance, strategies, and expectations in accordance. Getting used to volatility is essential before investing. – Ohad Ben Artzi, Ai Brokers LLC
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3. Seek Education And Internal Alignment
Begin with education and internal alignment. Ensure the team deeply understands the technology, market dynamics, and regulatory landscape. Digital assets move fast, so clarity on strategy and shared knowledge across legal, finance, and operations is key before placing a single trade. – Michael Shribman, APS Global Partners Inc.
4. Build A Strong Understanding Of Risk And Custody
Trading and treasury teams entering digital assets should start by building a strong understanding of risk and custody. Knowing how to securely store, move, and account for digital assets is essential. Without the right safeguards and controls, even promising strategies can quickly lead to losses or compliance issues. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush
5. Start With The System
Don’t start with the assets. Instead, start with the system. Trading teams entering digital markets must build with intention. They should focus on securing custody, clean compliance, and total clarity. It’s not about moving fast but about getting it right. Simplicity, precision, and trust come first. Only then do you trade, and only then do you lead. – Reid Rasner, Omnivest Financial
6. Construct Digital Infrastructure
On-chain collateral, tokenized equities, and decentralized credit rails are no longer just concepts. These items are in real portfolios, but traditional finance prime brokers, fund admins, and tech stacks are not built for digital requirements like 24/7 trading, tokenized collateral, stablecoins, and on-chain asset servicing. Trading and treasury teams must prioritize digital infrastructure from the start. – Chris Lawn, Elwood Technologies
7. Build Foundational Trust Infrastructure
Start with custody and counterparty risk before yield and before execution. In digital assets, operational failure is more common than market failure. Build a foundational trust infrastructure first, then layer on a trading strategy. – Haokun Qin, Gale
8. Create A Comprehensive Governance Framework
Before diving into digital assets, both trading and treasury teams must first establish a comprehensive governance framework. Define clear policies for risk tolerance, asset custody, and compliance from the outset. Don’t get distracted by the allure of specific assets or high returns. A strong strategy for security and regulatory adherence protects your reputation and ensures long-term success. – Victoria Marshall, Erase.com
9. Build For Around-The-Clock Operations
Build operational processes for a 24/7 market from day one. Your settlement, reconciliation, and reporting systems need to handle weekend trading and holiday volatility. Traditional back-office systems will break under cryptocurrency’s operational demands. For example, you could lose millions if your risk systems went offline during a Sunday crash. Digital assets don’t respect business hours. – Sabeer Nelliparamban, Tyler Petroleum Inc.
10. Establish Risk Management And Custody Solutions
Start with robust risk management and custody solutions. Before chasing returns, trading and treasury teams must ensure secure storage, clear compliance protocols, and real-time visibility into asset flows. This foundation builds trust, protects capital, and sets the stage for strategic growth in volatile digital markets. – Miriam Groom, Mindful Career
11. Undergo Proper Training
These teams need to undergo training on security, risk management, and compliance. There is still a lot of fraud in this sphere, and team members need to understand the actual regulations. In their further work with digital assets, they will also need to focus on the liquidity aspect. Taxes still need to be paid in fiat currency, and counterparties will only accept the most liquid assets. – Anton Alikov, Arctic Ventures
12. Outline A Trading Strategy And Risk Management Plan
Their focus should be on the trading strategy and risk management plan. If you have a solid strategy, that’s 60% of the battle. A well-structured risk management plan is the other 40%. If you manage risks and allocate, say 1% of your deposit per trade, you’d need to be wrong 100 times in a row to lose the entire sum. With a good trading strategy, this is simply not realistic. – Arthur Azizov, B2BROKER
13. Be Flexible
Focus on mindset before mechanics. Teams coming from traditional finance often underestimate how fast narratives shift in cryptocurrency. Build adaptive decision loops, not fixed theses. In digital assets, speed of reaction is as critical as strategy. – Maksym Blazhkun, Cronika
14. Implement Clear Compliance Policies
The absolute first focus should be compliance. This includes anti-money laundering, know your customer, as well as understanding the regulatory landscape. It’s not glamorous, but without it, nothing else matters. I’ve seen teams get excited about yield and liquidity, only to hit a wall when banks or regulators step in. In this space, you’re basically building on sand if you don’t build with compliance at the core. – Lissele Pratt, Capitalixe
15. Ensure Regulatory Clarity And Secure Custody
When entering digital asset markets, trading and treasury teams must first ensure regulatory clarity and secure custody. Without a solid legal and operational foundation, any strategy is exposed to unnecessary risk. Technology is powerful, but governance and compliance come first. – Juan Arroyo, SG CONSULTING GROUP
16. Stress-Test Your Systems
Hire ethical hackers to stress-test your custody and trading systems. Crypto’s security risks are unique, and smart contract bugs or wallet hacks can wipe out funds. Start by contracting a blockchain security firm, and if active, schedule quarterly hackathons to uncover new risks to keep your setup protected. – Ran Ronen, Equally AI
17. Learn How To Safely Store And Manage Assets
Trading teams should start by learning how to safely store and manage digital assets, as they’re much riskier than traditional investments. They need to follow strict rules and regulations that are still changing in this new market. It’s best to start small with well-known cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to gain experience before investing big money. – Vikrant Shaurya, Authors On Mission
18. Design Your Kill Switch
Before you think of a strategy, design your kill switch. Determine what triggers a halt, who pulls it, and how fast. Cryptocurrency markets run 24/7 and punish indecision. We’ve built hypergrowth systems, and this is no different. Your architecture is what will save you when emotion takes over. – Samuel Darwin, Sparkle
19. Build Emotional Resilience
I recommend building emotional resilience before entering the market. Establish psychological frameworks for decision making under extreme volatility. Digital assets create emotional amplification that traditional markets don’t. Teams need structured protocols for managing fear and greed cycles before they learn technical analysis. Mental discipline determines long-term success more than market knowledge. – Archer Chiang, Giftpack
20. Remain Mission-Centric
Teams entering digital assets markets must avoid any distractions from the primary mission, which impact a stable income. Regardless of the asset class, the focus is on finding and exploiting opportunities with robust risk-adjusted returns. Everything should be subject to consideration of compliance and proper risk management within a new market environment. – Jekaterina Beljankova, WALLACE s.r.o
