🔐 Custody

For digital assets like AUDD, custody refers to how and where your funds are held. Custodial solutions store assets on your behalf, providing convenience but requiring trust in a third party. Non-custodial solutions give you direct control, meaning you alone hold the keys to your funds.

For businesses and institutions, understanding custody is essential when evaluating risk, compliance, and operational efficiency. Some organisations may prefer non-custodial models for maximum control, while others may prioritise the simplicity and integrated services that custodial platforms provide.

⚖️ Custodial vs. Non-Custodial Products

AUDD offers both custodial and non-custodial products. The table below outlines the custody model of each product and explains what that means for how your funds are held and managed:

Product	Custody Model	Description
AUDD Mint	Non-Custodial	AUDD is minted and burned directly from the distributor’s external wallet. The platform never holds your assets.
AUDD Gateway	Custodial/Non-Custodial	By default, the Gateway is provided with a Wallet-as-a-Service solution, but it can also be configured as a non-custodial setup if required.
AUDD Digital	Custodial	AUDD is bought, sold, and stored within our internally managed interface.

When choosing between custodial and non-custodial models, consider both convenience and responsibility. Non-custodial products, such as AUDD Mint, give you full control of your holdings, but they also make you solely responsible for managing keys and safeguarding funds. Custodial products, like AUDD Gateway and AUDD Digital, simplify operations with integrated treasury management and compliance features, but they place asset custody with a third party. This shifts the liability and risk profile - reducing your operational burden but requiring trust in the custodian’s security and governance.

🔑 External Custody Providers

Whether you are an institution managing treasury operations or a developer testing integrations, AUDD can be held through both institutional custodians and dApp-based wallets. The right choice depends on your operational requirements, regulatory obligations, and risk tolerance.

It is also important to note that custodians may not support all blockchains where AUDD is issued, so you should select a provider that supports the chains most relevant to your use case.

🏦 Institutional Custodians

Several leading custody providers support AUDD for secure, large-scale storage and treasury management including:

Using a custodial solution shifts responsibility for security and key management to the provider, which can reduce operational risk but introduces counterparty reliance. This model may be preferred by regulated institutions that prioritise compliance, liability management, and insurance-backed custody.

🧪 Wallets for Testing and Small-Scale Use

For testing, integration, and smaller-scale use cases, AUDD can also be held in common non-custodial dApp wallets such as:

These wallets provide flexibility and full user control, but also place the responsibility of key management and asset security entirely on you. dApp wallets come in a variety of forms, including web browser extensions, mobile applications, and desktop clients. For additional security, private keys can also be stored offline using hardware wallets such as Trezor or Ledger, providing a cold storage option that reduces exposure to online threats.

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Cant Find AUDD?
If AUDD is not listed by your chosen custodian or wallet provider, it can usually be added by importing the contract address or issuing wallet address. You can find these on the Supported Blockchains page.