Custody controls are the policies and technical safeguards that determine who can move digital assets, under what conditions, and with what approvals. In crypto environments, they govern transfers from hot, warm, and reserve wallets, so they are a core part of operational security rather than just an accounting rule.
They matter because assets that are easy to move are also easy to steal if authorization is weak. Strong custody controls can include multi-party approval, role separation, transfer limits, time delays, and withdrawal monitoring. In attacks, criminals often try to bypass signing workflows, steal credentials, or exploit overly broad permissions to trigger unauthorized transfers. In defense, good custody controls reduce the chance that one compromised account, machine, or insider can drain large balances quickly.