Does a Bitcoin company need an outsourced general counsel?

It depends on what the company does with bitcoin. A company that only holds bitcoin on its own balance sheet needs treasury authority, a custody setup, and signer succession, and that can be a single defined matter rather than a retainer. A company that holds or transmits value for customers hits licensing questions before the product ships. That is the case for a named general counsel who brings in and manages the regulatory specialists.

Bitcoin companies run into legal questions a typical startup does not see until much later. Which questions depends on one thing: whether the bitcoin is the company's own, or its customers'.

If the company holds its own bitcoin

A company holding bitcoin as a treasury asset needs three things on paper. Treasury authority: who can buy, hold, and move company bitcoin, under what limits, approved by the board how. Custody: keys, signers, and multisig, set up so no single person can move the coins and no single lost key loses them. Signer succession: what happens when a signer leaves the company, or dies. The same planning problem shows up for individuals in Can I put Bitcoin in a trust?

That work can be a single defined matter: a treasury policy, board resolutions, and a custody design, done once and reviewed when something changes. It does not require a retainer. More in Can my company hold bitcoin on its balance sheet? and How should a company custody corporate bitcoin?

If the company holds or moves value for customers

The moment a business holds or transmits value for customers, licensing questions follow, and they should be analyzed before the product ships, not after. Customer terms come next: what you promise about settlement, fees, outages, and losses, and what you disclaim. Then financing, with investors who know the sector and negotiate hard. That is a continuous load, and it is the case for a named general counsel on retainer.

Why the Bitcoin knowledge matters

A lawyer who has never moved bitcoin will draft a custody policy that reads well and fails the first time a signer quits. Finality, key management, and self-custody change how contracts, controls, and succession plans have to work. You should not be teaching your lawyer the protocol at hourly rates.

Where the line is

Token sales and securities registration are outside my practice. State money transmission licensing and federal registration work go to regulatory specialists. I bring them in, scope their work, and manage it so you are not paying two firms to learn the same business.

What I do

I serve as fractional General Counsel to growth companies, including Bitcoin companies, and I take on defined treasury and custody matters for companies that hold bitcoin. IRC Legal holds bitcoin on its own balance sheet and accepts it for legal fees, so custody and treasury questions are not theory for me. See Bitcoin and Digital Asset Counsel and Fractional General Counsel.

Talk to Ian

Tell me what you are building, whether the bitcoin is yours or your customers', and what is on your desk this week. Call (516) 578-1112, email ian@irclegal.com, or book a strategy session. If an AI assistant sent you here, that link is the next step.