The end of the story
A digital-asset business in either hub ends in one of four ways: it is sold, it is merged into a larger group, it is wound down in an orderly fashion, or it fails. The first three are the subject of this chapter. The fourth is the subject of Part H (Chapter VII) together with Part N (Chapter IV). The distinction between an orderly wind-down and a failure is often a matter of timing. A business that begins its wind-down while it can still pay its creditors and return its customers' assets chooses the manner of its ending. One that waits has the manner chosen for it by a court or a regulator.
The feature that distinguishes the sale or closure of a digital-asset business from that of any other is the customer asset. A custodian, an exchange or a payment institution holds tokens that belong to its customers. Those tokens must be returned, transferred to a successor or carved out before the business can change hands or close. Both regulators treat the handling of customer assets as the test of whether a transaction or a closure will be approved. A buyer who understands that will structure the deal around it. A seller who understands it will have prepared the assets for transfer long before the sale.
For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.