Wong: Institutional Digital Assets Need Four Pillars of Trust

KuCoin's Vice President and Head of Risk Control, Edwin Wong, recently spoke at the CYPHER ASIA Intelligent Crypto Finance Summit. He emphasized that institutional participation in digital assets is not just about growth and market access but also requires a more rigorous standard of trust.

According to Wong, this trust can be built on four pillars: legal and regulatory trust, technological trust, security trust, and enduring trust. Legal and regulatory trust involves clear rules and well-defined responsibilities. Technological trust means proven capability to deliver reliably and maintain operational continuity. Security trust requires security controls whose effectiveness can be demonstrated through outcomes and independent validation.

Enduring trust is sustained commitment to long-term investment and accountability across market cycles. Wong stressed that risk management must be embedded across platform governance, technology operations, and user protection. He noted that trust cannot rest on promises alone but must be grounded in governance frameworks, operational capability, verifiable evidence, and sustained execution.

Wong also highlighted the importance of a trusted ecosystem, where asset issuance, custody, risk management, and market infrastructure each require specialist expertise and clearly defined roles. A trusted ecosystem does not require one institution to do everything but rather each participant playing its role with clear responsibilities and effective collaboration.