The digital asset trade lifecycle is the path an institutional trade in crypto-assets or tokenised instruments follows from start to finish. It begins before any order: the client is onboarded, wallet addresses are screened and approved, and cash or assets are usually pre-funded at the venue, because most crypto markets have no central counterparty and extend little credit. Orders are then executed on one of the cryptocurrency exchanges, through an over-the-counter desk or by request for quote.
After execution, the trade is confirmed and allocated to accounts, and digital asset settlement takes place on the venue's ledger or on-chain. Assets are moved to digital asset custody, with withdrawals subject to approval policies. The cycle ends with digital asset reconciliation, valuation, fee and tax accounting, and regulatory reporting, including travel rule data on transfers. Compared with securities, the exchange often combines the roles of broker, venue, custodian and clearer, and markets never close.