How can Web3 investments allocate encryption assets through family offices?

In recent years, family offices have gradually evolved from being the "asset managers" of elite circles to becoming the "asset governance control panel" in the eyes of high-net-worth individuals. Especially after the rise of emerging investment fields such as Web3 and RWA, more and more investors are beginning to explore: Is it suitable to participate through family offices? How should they be structured? In the face of the high volatility and complexity of the encryption world, how should the structure and allocation paths be set?

This article will start from practice, dissecting how family offices can truly be established, utilized, and optimized as an investment pathway, aiming to answer three key questions:

• Who is suitable for entering Web3 through the family office path?
• How to build a "usable" family office structure?
• How should family offices set their Web3 investment strategies and execution methods?

Who is suitable for the "family office path"?

Not everyone needs a family office, as its essence is to serve "governance complexity."

If your assets are sufficiently concentrated, your trading frequency is low, and your investment path is relatively simple (such as fixed income products, real estate, domestic funds), then the governance capacity of a family office may far exceed your needs, resulting in structural bloating and higher costs.

But if you belong to the following categories of people, family offices are almost the only path that balances security, structure, and growth.

The asset volume is large and the structure is complex.

Your investable assets have exceeded 10 million RMB, spanning equity, real estate, overseas funds, digital assets, and even involving different currencies, accounts, and holding entities.

There is a demand for cross-border architecture.

Including but not limited to overseas immigration, offshore companies, non-Chinese tax resident status, as well as overseas investment, identity planning, family member distribution, and other scenarios.

Investment inclination towards structured products

Fund-type Tokens, convertible bonds, income certificates (Notes), tokenized equity, and other new structured products in Web3 are increasingly only available to "qualified investors" or legal entities.

requires long-term governance capability

You hope to utilize asset allocation services for intergenerational inheritance, continuation of family intentions, or to allocate long-term assets such as RWA that involve the "construction period + operation period + exit period."

The common point among these groups of people is that: assets are not for short-term gains, but to traverse cycles; investment is not about single-point speculation, but structural participation.

In this context, the governance structure of family offices is no longer an identity label, but a practical tool.

What to Focus on to Build a "Functional" Family Office?

The establishment of a family office structure is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Its core task is to "solve real problems". Many people understand family offices as starting from "buying a service package" from trusts, law firms, or FO companies. However, a truly useful family office must be "tailored" around your family structure, asset portfolio, and investment goals.

In the context of Web3, a "usable" family office needs to at least address the following four aspects:

The purpose is clear.

Are you looking for tax optimization, cross-border identity configuration? Or to obtain project investment qualifications? Or to allocate a set of encryption asset portfolios for the next generation? Clarifying the purpose is the starting point for structural design and resource allocation.

select the appropriate model

SFO (Single Family Office): For a capital scale of over 30 million RMB, it is recommended to consider establishing an independent team with autonomous operational capabilities;

MFO (Multi-Family Office): With funds of around 10 million RMB, consider collaborating with professional service institutions to provide management, compliance, investment research, and other services.

VFO (Virtual Family Office): Funds are not sufficient for independent establishment, and lightweight operation can be achieved through an outsourced network composed of law firms, trust institutions, and FAs.

Cross-border SFO (such as those established in Singapore): commonly used to solve issues related to identity, taxation, and investment channels, this is currently the most common option for Chinese families.

architecture and legal design

A typical family office structure usually includes:

• Offshore holding entities (such as BVI/Cayman/SPV) for holding and investment;
• Trust or fund structure for tax optimization and inheritance arrangements;
• Legal advisors and compliance teams for ongoing supervision and adjustments;
• "Investment vehicle accounts" interfacing with Web3 projects, such as enterprise-level wallets, dedicated custody accounts, etc.

Professional Resource Allocation

Having money alone is not enough to run a family office. It is also necessary to match roles such as legal, tax, financial, and technical advisors to ensure that the structure operates in compliance and investments are implemented smoothly. Many family offices choose to establish entities in Singapore, setting up financial collaboration teams domestically to create "internal and external linkage".

At the same time, building a family office can be roughly divided into three levels:

Layer One: Identity and Structural Framework

• Clarify tax residency status, family member structure, inheritance path;
• Establish domestic/foreign holding entities, trusts, or SPVs (depending on the type of assets and their location);
• Solve the compliance path for asset holding, tax declaration, and cross-border circulation.

This layer is the "legal identity credential" for all Web3 investment activities. Especially when you participate in overseas RWA projects, the lack of structure equals "no channel".

Layer Two: Governance Mechanism and Authorization System

• Establish family decision-making mechanisms (such as investment committees, wills, equity agreements);
• Establish an internal and external consultant system (division of roles such as legal, tax, investment, management, etc.);
• Establish an authorization mechanism and supervision process to ensure "someone is responsible, someone executes, and someone corrects."

This layer determines whether the family office is "operational". If everything relies on your personal decisions, the family office becomes virtually non-existent in the event of an accident or exit.

Layer Three: Asset Allocation Strategy

• Set long-term allocation ratios (e.g., RWA 40%, VC category 30%, digital assets 10%, cash and liquidity 20%);
• Match the lifecycle rhythm of various assets (construction period, lock-up period, exit period);
• Set stop-loss and take-profit mechanisms, risk adjustment mechanisms.

This layer is the key to whether family offices can "survive" in the market.

How can family offices participate in Web3 investment?

When we say "participating in Web3 through family offices", it's not about switching accounts to invest in projects, but rather about reconstructing your role, path, and strategy. Clarifying the structure is just the starting point; the real core is "how to invest".

Web3 investment is characterized by high volatility, high technical barriers, and changing regulations, which must be addressed through "structured design".

Set Investment Identity

Web3 project identity integration usually includes:

• Direct legal person (company): Offshore company established by SFO to connect investment agreement;
• SPV Holdings: Holding assets through a third-party SPV and controlling voting rights;
• Trust Beneficiary: Establish a trust through a family office to hold Tokens or equity, facilitating tax optimization and intergenerational planning.

It is recommended that family offices collaborate with law firms and compliance institutions to establish identity based on the legal system of the project's location, in order to avoid missing investment opportunities due to "lack of qualified entities."

match asset type

The types of Web3 assets suitable for family offices include:

• RWA (Real World Assets): such as tokenized bonds, real estate, income sharing agreements, etc;
• Structured Funds: such as yield Tokens, re-staking protocols, yield certificates, etc;
• Equity-like assets: such as convertible bond-type Tokens, dividend tokens, DAO governance Tokens, etc.;

It is not recommended to participate in purely speculative projects that have "no real asset support, no governance structure, and no exit mechanism" in large proportions.

set investment rhythm and risk management mechanism

The biggest difference between Web3 investment and traditional PE/VC lies in the uncertain rhythm. Family offices should refer to the following mechanisms for allocation:

• Set the "acceptable lock-up period" and exit window;
• Design a "staged investment" mechanism that binds project progress to fund release;
• Configure the "Yield Reinvestment" pool to increase investment in quality projects;
• Clarify the rhythm of tax reporting and establish a reporting and auditing mechanism.

Governance Participation and Deep Collaboration

High-level family office, not just investors.

• In RWA projects, family offices can serve roles such as auditor, governance representative, custodian, etc.;
• In the DAO, family offices can participate in governance through token staking and configure a "strategy wallet" for voting;
• In on-chain protocols, family offices can be embedded into collaborative processes as long-term LPs, clients, and ecosystem collaborators.

This type of "embedded investment" not only enhances the certainty of returns but also makes it easier to form informational advantages and reinvestment opportunities.

Common Misconceptions and Pitfalls to Avoid

As Web3 enters a deep water phase, investment is no longer about "whether to invest" but rather "in what capacity and how to invest."

Family offices are structural vehicles capable of carrying long-term governance capabilities, legal identity allocation, and asset flow paths.

It allows investors to be not just bettors, but also structural designers, governance participants, and value depositors.

However, many newly established family offices tend to fall into the following misconceptions when engaging with Web3:

Misunderstanding 1: Treating a family office as a disguise

Established a company but with no compliance path, no financial flow, and no tax disclosure, ultimately making it difficult to gain recognition from banks and regulators.

Misunderstanding 2: Lack of investment governance ability

Only one legal entity account is set up, but there is no budget or redistribution mechanism, making it impossible to effectively track and adjust the final investment.

Misunderstanding 3: Blindly pursuing profits while ignoring compliance boundaries.

Participated in "unlicensed dividend-type projects"; once regulatory intervention occurs, it will lead to fund freezing or fines.

Therefore, it is recommended that after establishing a family office, at least the following mechanisms should be formed:

• Annual Investment Plan + Analysis Review;
• Clear compliance review + audit mechanism;
• Professional team equipped + Continuous legal advisory.

At the same time, it is reiterated that family offices are not suitable for everyone. They require matching capital size, long-term commitment, and collaborative resources to truly be effective.

Whether to adopt a family office approach, the key question is not "Do I have money?" but rather: "Do I need a structure to undertake governance tasks across cycles?"

If the answer is affirmative, then family offices are not just wealth containers but also your long-term base for structural investment in Web3.