Field Note #002: The Custody Audit
01 // THE REALIZATION
The scenario is standard. You attempt to wire a significant sum for a real estate closing on a Thursday afternoon. You hit “Send.” The funds leave the ledger immediately.
But the money does not arrive.
Instead, a “Pending Review” flag appears. For 72 hours, the capital is in limbo: gone from your control, yet not received by the seller. The duration is irrelevant. Once movement requires permission, trajectory is no longer yours. When you call the “Private Client” line, you meet a polite, scripted wall.
In that moment, the illusion of ownership collapses. You do not have a vault. You have a request line.
02 // THE MECHANIC: CREDITOR VS. OWNER
That friction is not a glitch; it is the Terms of Service.
When you deposit money, you are not storing it. You are lending it. Legally, you become an unsecured creditor to the bank. The bank becomes the owner of the capital.
They owe you a debt, payable on demand, unless:
Their risk model flags the transaction.
The regulator restricts the outflow.
The liquidity window closes.
The Friction
You feel this power imbalance in specific, humiliating ways:
The teller asking, “What is the purpose of this withdrawal?”
The inability to move more than $50,000 online without a biometric interrogation.
The vague threat of “Suspicious Activity Reports” for purchasing bearer assets.
03 // THE FAILURE MODE COUNTER PARTY CAPTURE
Most successful operators are 90% exposed to this dynamic. “Net Worth” is often just a list of IOUs from institutions leveraged 10:1.
The Failure Mode is not that the money disappears. It is that the money stops moving. In a crisis, the bank protects its solvency before it protects your liquidity. The door locks from the inside.
04 // THE STANDARD: Utility vs. Sovereignty.
The Standard is not to exit the grid, but to recognize the distinction between Operating Capital and Store of Value.
Utility Capital (The Float): Keep 3–6 months of expenses in the banking system for friction-free operations. Play the game.
Settlement Capital (The Anchor): Move the core store of value into Bearer Assets—value that settles instantly without a liability on the other side.
Physical Gold: The analog standard.
Bitcoin: The digital standard (Self-Custodied).
Unencumbered Real Estate: The utility standard.
Note: These are not held for “Yield” or “Alpha.” They are held because they allow final settlement without a counterparty. Not allocation advice. A settlement taxonomy.
The Protocol
Log in today. Look at the number. Remind yourself: “This is a loan.”
Then, decide how much of your life’s work you are willing to leave in the hands of a counterparty who can say “No.”
- AZIMUTH