In Asia, the ongoing legitimization of crypto and tokenization goes hand in hand with regulation, bringing crypto closer to TradFi norms. But custody, the safekeeping of assets with a service level on top, is still unregulated. Custody is even more critical in crypto than in TradFi, argues Alessio Quaglini, founder of Hex Trust, a third-party custodian of digital assets. He explains how custody differs in the two worlds, lingering questions about regulation, and the impact this year from the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Alessio also tells DigFin‘s Jame DiBiasio about how he’s growing the Hex Trust business, DeFi, asset management, and other initiatives. Timecodes: 0:00 – Alessio Quaglini, Hex Trust 1:35 – Custody in traditional finance and in digital assets 4:27 – Regulation questions and conflicts of interest 11:56 – Differences of regulation and token definitions around Asia 15:54 – Impact of ETFs on the crypto industry 22:00 – Diversifying business lines and revenue sources 25:43 – DeFi trends, staking assets, and where the money’s going 28:35 – Alessio’s other business interests 31:06 – Asset management 31:55 – The funding landscape 33:20 – Goals for the next 12 months