Crypto strategies have a distribution problem. A manager can run an excellent digital-asset book, but getting professional investors into it is hard: many cannot or will not hold tokens and private keys directly, their custody and compliance frameworks are not built for on-chain assets, and a wallet is not something they can settle through their bank. An actively managed certificate (AMC) removes that friction. It wraps a crypto or digital-asset strategy inside a bankable security with an ISIN, so professional investors can buy the exposure the same way they buy any other listed instrument — through their bank, into custody — while the manager keeps full discretion over the underlying digital assets.
The problem an AMC solves for digital assets
Direct crypto exposure asks a professional investor to do things their operating model often cannot accommodate: custody tokens securely, manage keys, onboard with crypto exchanges, and fit all of it into compliance and reporting frameworks designed for traditional securities. That operational gap keeps a lot of institutional and professional capital on the sidelines of otherwise attractive strategies.
An actively managed certificate closes the gap by changing the format, not the strategy. The investor never touches a token — they hold a security with an ISIN, in their normal custody account, with standard security-level reporting. The digital-asset complexity sits inside the structure, handled by the manager and the platform.
How it works
An actively managed certificate is a debt security issued from a securitisation vehicle. Behind it sits a reference portfolio — here, the digital-asset book the manager runs. The manager has discretion to trade that portfolio within the rules set at issuance, and the certificate's value tracks it. Valuation references recognised crypto benchmarks and pricing sources, and the operational set-up addresses custody of the digital assets behind the certificate. Investors simply buy and settle the certificate by its ISIN.
What kind of crypto strategies fit
Spot baskets — a managed basket of major tokens, rebalanced at the manager's discretion.
Thematic or index-style portfolios — exposure to a defined slice of the digital-asset market.
Staking strategies — capturing staking yield within a managed portfolio.
Discretionary / active trading — a manager actively trading digital assets with conviction.
In each case, the investor's experience is identical: a single ISIN, held in custody, tracking the strategy.
Why managers and investors use it
For the manager, an actively managed certificate turns a crypto strategy that was hard to distribute into a bankable product that professional investors can actually access — and produces an audited, independently administered track record under an ISIN. For the investor, it delivers digital-asset exposure without the custody, key-management and onboarding burden of holding tokens directly, inside their existing bank and reporting framework. Issued from an established platform, the certificate can typically reach the market in 4 to 8 weeks.
The risks, stated plainly
A crypto AMC carries the risk of its underlying: digital-asset markets are volatile, and the certificate's value moves with them. Investors also carry the issuing platform's credit standing, and liquidity is typically lower than a listed corporate bond, so these are generally hold-to-maturity or medium-term positions. Custody and operational arrangements for the digital assets must be sound — which is exactly why the quality of the structuring and the platform matters as much as the strategy. These certificates are built for professional and qualified investors, not retail.
Is it right for your strategy?
An actively managed certificate fits when you run a digital-asset strategy, you want professional investors to access it as a bankable security rather than by holding tokens, and you value speed and a familiar custody-settled format. If your plan depends on retail distribution or on investors self-custodying, the wrapper is less relevant.
How Noray helps
Noray Capital is a Swiss-based structuring coordinator that issues actively managed certificates, ETPs, CLNs and Tracker Certificates across Luxembourg, Guernsey, Cayman and Switzerland. For a digital-asset strategy we set up the compartment, solve valuation and the custody arrangements for the underlying, obtain the ISIN and run the lifecycle — so your crypto strategy reaches professional investors as a clean, bankable security.
This article is for informational purposes only and is intended for professional investors. It does not constitute legal, tax, financial or investment advice, nor an offer of any security.