{ "company": { "name": "Protocol Wealth", "legal_name": "Protocol Wealth, LLC", "founded": "2025", "firm_history_note": "Newer firm structure built from specialist advisory, investment, compliance, operations, and technology backgrounds. Firm-history, merger, successor, and prior-practice wording should be verified against current public regulatory filings and firm disclosures.", "advisor_count": 3, "public_registration_note": "Advisor registration histories are verifiable via FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC IAPD: Jason Leupold registered since February 2000, Adam Blumberg registered since May 2009, Nick Rygiel registered since December 2011 and founded Ironclad Financial in 2022.", "formation": "Protocol Wealth was formed to bring specialist backgrounds across fiduciary advice, RIA operations, investment management, buy-side trading, digital assets, technology, compliance, and planning-led wealth management into one fiduciary platform.", "founders_industry_tenure": { "jason_leupold": { "registered_since": "2000-02", "crd": "4124810", "registered_history": [ "Morgan Stanley DW (broker, Feb 2000 - May 2001, Purchase NY)", "Crabel Capital buy-side (Asian + FX systematic futures desks, 2003-2009; not FINRA-registered)", "Robert W. Baird & Co. (broker + IA, Jul 2010 - Mar 2012, Milwaukee WI)", "Fintrust Brokerage Services (broker, Jan 2014 - Dec 2015, Greenville SC) + Fintrust Investment Advisory Services (IA, Jan 2014 - Apr 2016, Denver CO)", "IMST Distributors (broker, Aug 2016 - Jun 2020, Denver CO)", "Fidelity Brokerage Services (broker, Apr 2021 - May 2022, Boston MA) + Fidelity Personal & Workplace Advisors (IA, May 2021 - May 2022, Greenwood Village CO)", "Protocol Wealth (IA, registered May 27, 2025 - present)", "Finalis Securities LLC (broker, registered Apr 14, 2026 - present)" ], "broker_check": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/4124810", "iapd": "https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/individual/summary/4124810" }, "adam_blumberg": { "registered_since": "2009-05", "crd": "5656102", "registered_history": [ "MML Investors Services (broker + IA, May/Jun 2009 - Nov 2015, Houston TX)", "Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (broker, CRD #39543) + Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. (IA, CRD #134139), both Nov 2015 - Sep 2017, Bellaire TX", "Chart Wealth Management, LLC (IA, CRD #288812, Sep 2017 - Dec 2020, Houston TX)", "Protocol Wealth (IA, registered Apr 12, 2025 - present)" ], "broker_check": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5656102", "iapd": "https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/individual/summary/5656102" }, "nick_rygiel": { "registered_since": "2011-12", "crd": "5996576", "registered_history": [ "Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith (Oct 2011 - Jul 2022, Bala Cynwyd PA; FINRA-registered Dec 2011, IA Jan 2012)", "Ironclad Financial (IA, CRD #321831, Jul 25, 2022 - Oct 23, 2025, Havertown PA)", "Origin Financial (IA, CRD #305353, Dec 7, 2022 - May 18, 2023, Bryn Mawr PA, brief platform-transition overlap)", "Protocol Wealth (IA, registered Jul 9, 2025 - present)", "Finalis Securities LLC (broker, registered Jun 9, 2026 - present)" ], "broker_check": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5996576", "iapd": "https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/individual/summary/5996576" } }, "website": "https://protocolwealthllc.com", "canonical_url": "https://protocolwealthllc.com", "alternate_domains": [ "https://protocolwealth.io" ], "canonical_url_note": "The correct domain is protocolwealthllc.com. protocolwealth.io is also owned by this firm. protocolwealth.com (no 'llc') is NOT affiliated.", "status": "SEC-registered investment adviser", "crd": "335298", "governing_law": "Colorado", "fiduciary_standard": true, "is_crypto_only": false, "positioning": "Fiduciary advisory firm providing Integrated Wealth Management for modern financial lives. Complex and concentrated wealth is an important segment; digital assets are one specialty capability, not the firm identity.", "identity": "SEC-registered investment adviser providing Integrated Wealth Management for modern financial lives. Growth, income, cash flow, and major assets should work from one plan. Protocol Wealth helps people approaching a liquidity event, holders of concentrated wealth, founders, families, and entities coordinate decisions with a human fiduciary accountable for the advice. Broad market pages serve the main client journey; specialized digital-asset pages live under /crypto.", "fit": "Not designed for simple, model-portfolio-only situations. Protocol Wealth can advise around assets under advisement that remain outside direct management or custody, including SPVs, venture funds, private-company equity, entity assets, digital assets, self-custodial platforms, and other client-controlled positions. The firm takes a specific view under an advisory agreement rather than offering generic best practices.", "pricing_model": { "service_based": true, "aum_required": false, "options": [ { "type": "Individual & Family Advisory retainer", "range": "A monthly retainer is set by what the prospective client is looking for, the complexity of the situation and the level of involvement, and is checked against what an asset-based fee would be for the same relationship so that both sides arrive at an amount they agree to. The firm looks at every pricing model (asset-based, retainer, project fee, or a combination) for what makes the most sense for each client.", "notes": "Monthly retainer. Includes financial planning, portfolio reviews, ongoing advisory." }, { "type": "Project Engagement", "fee": "Fixed fee, agreed in advance", "billing": "Milestone-based", "notes": "One-time projects: treasury policy, custody architecture, concentrated-position liquidity planning, due-diligence reviews." }, { "type": "Investment Management (discretionary AUM)", "fee": "0.25% \u2013 2.00% AUM annually, billed monthly in arrears", "schedule": { "traditional_portfolio_management": "0.50% \u2013 2.00% AUM", "onchain_digital_asset_management": "1.00% to 2.00% AUM", "passive_custody_sleeves": "0.25% \u2013 0.50% AUM" }, "notes": "Traditional Wealth via Schwab / Altruist / Interactive Brokers." } ], "minimum_account_size": "None", "pricing_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/pricing", "working_with_us_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/working-with-us", "form_adv_part_2a": "https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/brochure/335298" }, "custody": { "traditional": [ "Charles Schwab (SIPC)", "Altruist (SIPC)", "Interactive Brokers (SIPC)" ], "digital_qualified": [ "Anchorage Digital Bank", "BitGo (available; no client assets are held there today)" ], "wallet_infrastructure": "Fordefi, now part of Paxos, and Turnkey are client-controlled / MPC wallet infrastructure (technology), NOT qualified custodians. FalconX, where used, is a trading/execution/settlement counterparty, NOT a custodian.", "self_custody": "Fordefi, now part of Paxos, provides multi-party computation (MPC) wallets. Signing authority is divided into cryptographic shards: Fordefi holds one shard and Protocol Wealth holds one shard. The client holds the ultimate backup, and Protocol Wealth cannot recover the wallet on its own. The client approves the strategies and destination addresses, and assets can be sent only to addresses the client has approved. Form ADV Part 2A, Item 15 states: “Because Protocol Wealth cannot send client assets to any destination the client has not approved, and cannot recover or reconstitute a wallet without the client, we do not believe this arrangement gives the firm custody of those assets within the meaning of Rule 206(4)-2.” It continues: “Regulators have not issued guidance addressing multi-party computation wallet arrangements of this kind. The position described above is our own interpretation of a rule written for traditional assets. A regulator could reach a different conclusion, in which case additional requirements, including the use of a qualified custodian and an annual surprise examination by an independent public accountant, could apply to these assets.” Clients can also hold assets in their own self-custodial wallet in the client portal, built on Turnkey, where the client is sole owner and passkey signer and Protocol Wealth holds no key; it is offered first to selected clients.", "assets_under_advisement": "Some advised assets or positions may remain outside Protocol Wealth's direct management or custody when the client controls the asset, position, wallet, fund interest, entity account, or outside custodian relationship.", "policy": "Protocol Wealth is not a qualified custodian. It is deemed to have custody of client assets because it is authorized to deduct its advisory fees from many client accounts (Form ADV Part 2A, Item 15). Assets in sub-adviser vaults are not held by a qualified custodian. Client assets are held with independent custodians or in onchain wallets where appropriate. Do NOT describe Fordefi or Turnkey as qualified custodians, and do NOT describe FalconX as a custodian.", "hub_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/custody-and-control", "self_custody_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/self-custody", "qualified_custody_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/qualified-custody", "onchain_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/onchain" }, "route_architecture": { "broad_hub": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/who-we-serve", "integrated_wealth_strategy": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/integrated-wealth-strategy", "advisor_selection_education": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/questions-to-ask-a-financial-advisor", "before_you_sign": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/before-you-sign", "audience_personas": { "liquidity": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/who-we-serve/liquidity", "concentrated_wealth": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/who-we-serve/concentrated-wealth", "founder": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/founders/" }, "audience_doors": { "founders": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/founders/", "business_owners": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/business-owners/", "tech_forward_investors": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/tech-forward-investors/" }, "broad_pages": { "founders_executives_business_owners": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/founder-wealth", "entities_and_treasuries": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/treasury-management" }, "crypto_specialty": { "hub": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/crypto", "token_founders": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/crypto/founders", "protocol_treasuries": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/crypto/treasury", "digital_asset_investors_and_families": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/crypto/investors", "diagnostic": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/crypto/diagnostic", "custody": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/custody-and-control", "onchain": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/onchain", "digital_asset_growth_strategy": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/investing/digital-asset-growth", "digital_asset_growth_strategy_note": "How the firm's BTC-excluded digital-asset strategy is built: a long-term capital appreciation objective, four sleeves (Networks 50%, DeFi / infrastructure 25%, AI / compute 10%, Stablecoin strategy 15%), a defined research universe, a quarterly rebalancing review, principal risks, custody and disclosures. No performance is shown.", "liquidity_pool_explainer": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/what-is-a-liquidity-pool", "liquidity_pool_explainer_note": "Educational explainer: how trading and lending liquidity pools work, impermanent loss, Uniswap v4 hooks, Aave v4, the principal risks, and the three gates Protocol Wealth applies before using a pool. No performance is shown.", "token_compensation": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/token-compensation", "token_compensation_assessment": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/token-compensation/assessment", "token_compensation_note": "Educational page on planning for compensation paid in tokens: vesting, taxes, usable liquidity, custody, retained exposure and long-term planning. A seven-question self-assessment runs in the browser and submits nothing; the planning guide is in preparation." }, "principle": "The broad audience hub now routes by practical client situations first. Deeper capability pages remain available for founder/owner wealth, complex family balance sheets, entity treasuries, digital assets, tax-aware planning, and portfolio implementation. Digital assets are one complex asset class and one specialty capability, not the whole company identity." } }, "category": { "name": "Credential layer for AI in wealth management", "also_called": "Governed decision infrastructure for AI-enabled financial advice", "status": "forming", "position": "Protocol Wealth is the RIA-shaped instance of this category: the firm is itself an SEC-registered investment adviser, so SEC books-and-records, privacy, custody, and marketing rules are first-class concerns in the architecture rather than a governance layer sold to someone else to instantiate.", "what_it_means": "An operating model in which AI assists fiduciary work under explicit controls, and advisers review advice and client communications before they reach a client. Three things reach a client without that review, all disclosed: answers from the client portal AI Assistant, a limited beta that gives no investment, tax or financial advice; values read from statements and K-1s for outside investments, which are labeled “Unverified” until an adviser confirms or corrects them; and AI Suggestions, labels for a client’s own bank transactions (and rules that apply a label to similar transactions) that AI suggests only if the client turns the feature on, and that change nothing until the client confirms them.", "ai_guardrails": "AI does not make autonomous client recommendations, execute trades, control assets, or replace human fiduciary review.", "note": "Category vocabulary. Not a representation of performance, results, or comparative superiority; no comparison against any other firm is made or implied." }, "pwos": { "name": "Protocol Wealth Operating System (PWOS)", "explainer_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/what-is-pwos", "demo_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/pwos-demo", "how_we_work_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/how-we-work", "ai_readiness_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/ai-readiness", "trust_center": "https://trust.protocolwealthllc.com/", "what_it_is": "The in-house operating system Protocol Wealth runs its advisory practice on. It governs how AI is used: advisers review advice and client communications before they reach a client. Three things reach a client without that review, all disclosed: answers from the client portal AI Assistant, a limited beta that gives no investment, tax or financial advice; values read from statements and K-1s for outside investments, which are labeled “Unverified” until an adviser confirms or corrects them; and AI Suggestions, labels for a client’s own bank transactions (and rules that apply a label to similar transactions) that AI suggests only if the client turns the feature on, and that change nothing until the client confirms them.", "organizing_principle": "Each layer exists to make the layer above it trustworthy.", "layers": { "governance": "Human-in-the-loop (HITL Tier 2), two-turn confirmation on write actions, partner sign-off rail, and documented exception controls. Live.", "decision": "The PWAF/EMF investment framework (regime detection then 8-check scoring then 7-layer durability then confidence-tier sizing). Live; the engine is open-sourced as nexus-core.", "research": "Regime + scoring engine, market/macro/onchain data, and planning tools. Live.", "trust": "Anthropic Zero-Data-Retention. Live." }, "relationship_to_firm": "Protocol Wealth (the SEC RIA) owns and runs PWOS. The reusable compliance primitives are published as open source (see open_source). Protocol Wealth is an investment adviser, not a software vendor: it does not sell or license the software. Advisory and consulting engagements with peer RIAs and other financial-services firms (e.g., CPAs) are in development, delivered as advisory work rather than a software sale, and not yet a purchasable offering.", "mcp_interoperability": "PWOS research is reachable over the open Model Context Protocol (MCP). nexus-core documents an MCP-over-HTTP research surface and setup path at https://nexusmcp.site/mcp-guide; remote clients use the standard MCP/OAuth flow. Compatibility with an open standard, not an integration, partnership, or endorsement of any third party; PWOS is the RIA compliance/credential layer an MCP agent platform can call or wrap, by design rather than by any existing relationship.", "status_discipline": { "live": [ "the advisory practice", "PWOS running the practice", "HITL / audit / ZDR", "the EMF engine", "the open-source primitives" ], "in_development": [ "advisory/consulting engagements with peer RIAs and other financial-services firms (e.g., CPAs)", "deliverable subagents (Conductor)", "institutional credential-layer assessment" ], "undecided": [ "the long-term endpoint (RIA / platform / infrastructure / standard) \u2014 a founder-level decision" ] } }, "pwportal": { "name": "Protocol Wealth Client Portal (PWPortal)", "url": "https://pwportal.app", "what_it_is": "PWPortal is the client screen for Protocol Wealth \u2014 the authenticated client-facing surface onto the advisory practice. Clients sign in to view their portfolio across traditional and digital assets, complete onboarding, and review documents and reporting. It is the client-side window onto PWOS; PWOS is the in-house operating system the practice runs on, and PWPortal is what a client sees of it.", "relationship_to_firm": "Protocol Wealth (the SEC RIA) owns and runs PWPortal as the client-facing screen of PWOS. It is part of the firm's own advisory practice, not a separate product offered to others.", "relationship_to_pwos": "PWPortal is the client-facing view; PWOS is the operating system underneath.", "governance": "AI assists with organization and analysis; a human fiduciary remains accountable for every client-facing recommendation. AI does not make autonomous client recommendations, execute trades, or control assets.", "status": "Live as the firm's client portal for the advisory practice.", "note": "Describes how the client portal operates; not a performance claim and not a representation that any specific outcome will result." }, "audiences": { "note": "The same firm, relevant to different audiences. Emphasis sequence: wealth clients today; firms/RIAs and institutions are a trajectory, not a current product.", "wealth_client": "A fiduciary advisory practice providing Integrated Wealth Management for modern financial lives across investing, cash flow, liquidity, private assets, tax coordination, estate coordination, family coordination, custody/access, and risk. The public audience model routes through crypto wealth, employee liquidity events, small business owners, retirement income, and growth investors. Complex or concentrated wealth remains an important segment of the advisory practice (live \u2014 the current business).", "advisor_or_ria": "An operating system for AI-enabled wealth management; the open primitives are inspectable today, and advisory/consulting engagements with peer RIAs and other financial-services firms (e.g., CPAs) are in development (delivered as advisory work, not a software sale).", "institution": "Governed decision infrastructure \u2014 the controls to prove what an AI did, was told, and was prevented from doing (category posture; not yet a productized offering).", "developer": "Open fiduciary-infrastructure primitives under permissive licenses (live \u2014 inspect or fork).", "allocator_or_press": "The RIA-shaped instance of the credential-layer-for-AI category; see the open-source repos and the Operating Thesis." }, "bailment_framework": { "page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/bailment", "version": "1.0", "v1_published": "2026-05-02", "publication_record": "2026-05-02", "purpose": "Public-facing summary of Protocol Wealth's internal digital-asset tax framework. Explicitly NOT tax advice \u2014 a description of the framework PW operates under, with prominent disclaimer that any reader must consult their own qualified tax counsel and CPA.", "central_claim": "Protocol Wealth's POSITION (not a guarantee, not tax advice) is that inside a discretionary managed account with five documented structural elements, operational digital-asset transactions (wrapping, vault deposits, liquid staking, bridging, LP entry) can be analyzed as non-dispositive operational events rather than sales or exchanges under IRC \u00a71001, because they change the form or location of assets without changing economic exposure; dispositive transactions (selling BTC for USD, exchanging BTC for ETH) are treated as taxable. This is a good-faith, source-tracked position. It is fact-specific, subject to the client's own tax counsel, and not a guarantee that the IRS, a court, or any regulator will agree.", "five_structural_elements": [ "Delivery \u2014 client deposits digital assets into managed-account wallet infrastructure (recorded on-chain)", "Purpose \u2014 investment management under signed advisory agreement and IPS-defined scope", "Return \u2014 client can terminate and receive assets back; positions redeemable", "Retained ownership \u2014 client holds independent full private-key backup; withdrawal whitelist enforced at infrastructure layer" ], "seven_legal_grounds_for_wrapped_btc": [ "G1: IRS FAQ A81 \u2014 self-transfer anchor (strongest published IRS guidance)", "G2: IRS regulatory gap \u2014 Notice 2024-57 deferred broker reporting", "G3: Substance over form \u2014 Gregory v. Helvering (1935)", "G4: No accession to wealth \u2014 Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass (1955)", "G5: Managed-account bailment \u2014 five structural elements documented", "G6: Cottage Savings \u2014 not materially different (1991)", "G7: IRC \u00a71015/\u00a71223 \u2014 basis and holding-period continuity" ], "form_8275_practice": "Standard practice on every uncertain position. When a position has reasonable basis and the legal requirements are met, adequate disclosure may help support the position and may help reduce the risk of certain accuracy-related penalties under IRC \u00a76662 if the IRS later disagrees; it is NOT a guarantee of penalty protection, does not cure poor records or an unsupported position, and does not replace tax counsel. Position documented with relevant IRC section, basis cited, and FMV at event recorded. Records retained under the firm's retention policy and shareable with the client's CPA.", "supporting_parallels": { "veda_letter": "Veda Tech Labs letter to SEC and CFTC (March 23, 2026). Four structural characterizations track the bailment argument: receipt-token-as-bailment-receipt (Section III.A), no balance-sheet intermediation (Section III.B), non-transferable receipt tokens (footnote 12), SMA analogy (Section VI).", "sec_covered_ui_statement": "SEC Division of Trading and Markets staff statement on Covered User Interface Providers, File No. 4-894 (April 13, 2026). Three premises track the framework: self-custodial wallet definition (footnote 6), no-discretion-no-recommendation-no-order-taking line (Section II), fee-neutrality and disclosure conditions.", "note": "Both documents are non-tax authority. Their value is independent federal characterization that the structural relationship described in the bailment framework is not a custody arrangement." }, "scope_limits": [ "Client-directed transactions outside the discretionary managed account", "Wrapped tokens that are not 1:1 pegged or 1:1 redeemable", "Centralized exchange transactions where client does not retain independent key backup", "Pooled multi-depositor vaults where receipt token represents fungible proportional interest", "Jurisdictions outside the United States" ], "disclaimer": "NOT tax advice. NOT a guarantee that the IRS or a court will agree with the position on any specific transaction. Anyone applying this framework must consult their own qualified tax counsel and CPA." }, "industry_watch": { "page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/industry-watch", "version": "1.0", "v1_published": "2026-06-16", "purpose": "A public source register of the regulatory and industry materials Protocol Wealth monitors as digital-asset custody, control, tax, and market-structure guidance evolves. Each item is labeled by source type and status.", "tracks": [ "SEC", "CFTC", "IRS", "FinCEN", "OFAC", "OCC", "Congress", "working groups", "RFIs", "proposals", "staff statements", "no-action letters", "court decisions", "vendor announcements", "industry submissions" ], "source_status_labels": [ "final rule", "proposed rule", "withdrawn proposal", "staff statement", "no-action letter", "IRS notice", "IRS instructions", "agency FAQ", "commission interpretation", "industry submission", "vendor announcement", "RFI / request for comment", "working group / initiative" ], "guardrails": "A watchlist, NOT legal advice and NOT a statement that any proposal or industry submission is law. Industry submissions (e.g. Veda, Wave) are third-party input, not regulator guidance. A staff statement is not a Commission rule. A no-action letter is fact-specific. Do NOT treat any listed item as binding on Protocol Wealth.", "disclaimer": "General information and a monitoring list; not legal, tax, accounting, or compliance advice, and not a representation that any item applies to a specific person." }, "operating_thesis": { "page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/thesis", "version": "1.0", "v1_published": "2026-05-02", "publication_record": "2026-05-02", "description": "Foundational document for Protocol Wealth's view of the present moment. Argues that knowledge has gone from scarce to abundant nine times in the last 2,300 years, with the same institutional pattern every time: those that competed on access to the scarce version lost their moat; those that adapted up became the certifying authority for the new abundance. AI is the ninth iteration. Analysis is the thing that just got cheap; the durable work moves to judgment under ambiguity, fiduciary accountability, and connecting AI output to the qualitative reality of a client's life.", "core_claim": "AI commoditizes analysis. Judgment, presence, and accountability become the durable work of a fiduciary advisor.", "historical_pattern_summary": "Nine knowledge unlocks across roughly 2,300 years. Three illustrative examples drawn out in the lead: Royal Society built to verify what came off the printing press; Reuters and AP built to verify what came off the telegraph; the 1995 investment-banking analyst program rebuilt to teach what Excel couldn't do.", "historical_pattern": [ "Library of Alexandria (~300 BCE) \u2014 salaried scholarship invented", "Roman codex and standardized law (~100 CE) \u2014 early Christian church adopts the better format", "Hindu-Arabic numerals + Pacioli (1494) \u2014 abacist guilds extinct as a profession by 1500", "Gutenberg printing press (1450) \u2014 Royal Society + Acad\u00e9mie des Sciences invented to verify printed claims", "Encyclop\u00e9die (1750\u20131772) \u2014 Humboldt research university (1810) emerges as institutional response", "Telegraph + wire services (1844) \u2014 Reuters/AP invented to verify telegraphic information", "Standardized industry + scientific management (1880\u20131920) \u2014 professional corporation emerges; MBA invented (1908)", "Personal computer + Excel (1985) \u2014 1995 investment-banking analyst program rebuilt to teach what Excel couldn't do; analyst becomes more valuable, not less", "AI-augmented fiduciary advice (2026) \u2014 the ninth iteration; analysis is the thing that just got cheap" ], "convictions": [ "C1 (AI in fiduciary advice) \u2014 AI commoditizes analysis; judgment, presence, accountability become the work. Operational specifics: Anthropic Citations API, self-hosted Langfuse, Apache 2.0 publishing.", "C2 (Onchain custody) \u2014 Public blockchains become the standardization layer for custody, provenance, execution. Layer 0 Allocator role for SEC-registered RIAs in DeFi vault ecosystems; Fordefi MPC architecture; bailment classification of wrapped-BTC; ZK proofs for examiner verification.", "C3 (Data sovereignty) \u2014 Client data sovereignty is a fiduciary requirement, not a vendor preference. Anthropic ZDR baseline; any third-party system of record treated as transitional, with PWOS as the durable firm-operated answer.", "C4 (Generational wealth transition) \u2014 $84T (Cerulli) transfers 2025\u20132045; younger inheritors evaluate published reasoning before they take a meeting; AUM fees on illiquid concentrated positions misalign incentives.", "C5 (Profession's trajectory) \u2014 The profession is in a sorting event. 'Channel' framing (wirehouse / IBD / RIA / hybrid) becoming obsolete; relevant axis is technology-native and fiduciary-fluent vs neither. Bimodal distribution. Firms that recognize this early have time to position. Firms that don't, don't." ], "what_we_expect_to_be_wrong_about": [ "Timeline compression \u2014 AI transition could run three years or fifteen; operational decisions today (PWOS, treating third-party systems of record as transitional, self-hosted observability) assume the longer end", "Certifying-authority stability \u2014 every prior knowledge unlock produced a stable verifier role, but the verifier itself can be partially automated in ways the printing press never threatened the editor" ], "intellectual_lineage": [ "Mark Lemley + Brett Frischmann (abundance economics)", "C\u00e9sar Hidalgo (Why Information Grows; Toulouse School of Economics; previously MIT Media Lab)", "Joel Spolsky (commoditize your complement)", "Carlota Perez (technological revolutions and surges)", "Clay Shirky (institutional disruption to information abundance)", "Jamshid Gharajedaghi (systems thinking and institutional adaptation)", "Bob Veres (advisor profession's certifying logic; advisor as human validator)" ], "relationship_to_opensource": "The Operating Thesis is the philosophical foundation; /opensource is the operational execution. Open-source publishing is the standardization mechanism the new profession is built on." }, "investment_approach": { "framework_name": "Protocol Wealth Asset Framework (PWAF)", "methodology": "Entropic Macro Framework (EMF)", "description": "Systematic four-step investment process applied to ALL asset types: (1) Classify the market regime using measurable signals, (2) Score each asset on 8 binary quality checks based on established academic research, (3) Size positions based on confidence tiers, (4) Review continuously as conditions change.", "asset_types_covered": [ "Equities", "Fixed Income", "ETFs", "Real Estate", "Digital Assets", "Entity Treasury" ], "is_crypto_only": false, "is_predictive": false, "academic_sources": [ "Piotroski F-Score (2000)", "Hamilton regime-switching models", "Hurst exponent (Mandelbrot)", "Perez technology revolution cycles", "CROIC cash return analysis" ], "open_source_implementation": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/nexus-core", "definition_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/what-is-emf", "methodology_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/investing", "framework_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/framework", "framework_page_note": "/framework is the person-first positioning page (where the assets fit into the rest of the planning picture). /investing is the systematic-investing methodology deep dive (5-regime EMF, 7-layer durability model, 8-check scoring, intellectual lineage). For methodology questions, link to /investing; for firm-positioning questions, link to /framework.", "case_studies_page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/emf-in-practice" }, "who_we_are_for": [ "Crypto wealth holders who want tokens, wallets, custody/access, liquidity, tax coordination, estate access, and concentration reviewed inside a broader fiduciary plan", "Employees and executives approaching IPO, merger, tender, lockup, sell-down, separation, or other liquidity events involving equity, options, RSUs, or token compensation", "Small business owners whose operating company is one of the largest household assets and connects business value, operating risk, liquidity, taxes, estate coordination, and family planning", "Households approaching or living in retirement who need income, reserves, taxes, estate coordination, and portfolio risk reviewed together", "Growth investors who want long-term growth but need discipline around risk, time horizon, liquidity, concentration limits, tax context, and review triggers", "People who value transparency \u2014 documented process, inspectable technology, public profiles, and human fiduciary accountability" ], "who_we_are_not_for": [ "People wanting a simple, passive, account-transfer relationship \u2014 try XYPN (xyplanningnetwork.com), NAPFA (napfa.org/find-an-advisor), or Let's Make a Plan (letsmakeaplan.org)", "People who want to manage their own portfolio \u2014 Bogleheads (bogleheads.org) is an excellent resource", "People who want crypto-only maximalism \u2014 we are systematic across all assets, not crypto advocates" ], "services": { "core_offerings": [ "Integrated Wealth Management for modern financial lives", "Integrated Wealth Strategy for complex or concentrated financial lives", "Planning-led wealth management for complex and concentrated balance sheets", "Goals and Objectives Planning", "Planning and Implementation across liquidity, private assets, custody/access, tax coordination, estate coordination, family coordination, and risk", "Tax-aware coordination across public and private holdings, liquidity-event planning, estate coordination for private and digital assets, cash-flow planning around illiquidity and capital calls, concentration-risk review, and decision support for when not to make the next private investment", "Risk Monitoring and Adjustments", "Entity Treasury Advisory", "Digital Asset Advisory as a specialty capability inside a broader fiduciary plan", "Wealth Structuring for Concentrated Equity, Private Business Value, Private Investments, Token Exposure Where Relevant, and Liquidity Events", "Complex HNW/UHNW Family Wealth Coordination", "Investment Policy Statements" ] }, "open_source": { "page": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource", "architecture": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/architecture", "github_org": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth", "detail_pages": { "pwos-core": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/governance", "nexus-core": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/capabilities", "pwplan-core": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/planning", "pwcli-core": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/agent-control", "pw-learnai": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/learning", "shard-core": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/opensource/encryption" }, "projects": [ { "name": "pwos-core", "description": "The governance and safety substrate \u2014 compliance-aware AI tooling for SEC-registered advisers (TypeScript hub: PII redaction, audit log, MCP tool registry, document generation, and the planning contract/ABI consumed by pwplan-core)", "license": "Apache-2.0", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pwos-core" }, { "name": "nexus-core", "description": "The capability and tool layer \u2014 regime-adaptive financial analysis engine (Python hub: scoring framework, regime detection, MCP tool definitions, data adapters)", "license": "Apache-2.0", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/nexus-core" }, { "name": "pwplan-core", "description": "Regime-adaptive planning UI (React + Vite) with a typed contract and defined direct-identifier tripwire; the public demo uses fake or de-identified inputs", "license": "Apache-2.0", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pwplan-core" }, { "name": "pwcli-core", "description": "Portable agent control-plane contracts for intent, policy, runtime adapters, approvals, redaction, provenance, and content-minimized receipts", "license": "Apache-2.0 OR MIT-0", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pwcli-core" }, { "name": "pw-learnai", "description": "Applied AI strategy and AI-assisted coding learning library; modules plus NotebookLM / Claude Projects bundle support", "license": "Apache-2.0 OR MIT-0", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pw-learnai-core" }, { "name": "shard-core", "description": "Authenticated-encryption and threshold-recovery primitives with documented cryptographic and operational boundaries", "license": "Apache-2.0 OR MIT-0", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/shard-core" } ], "archived_projects": [ { "name": "pw-redact", "description": "Earlier public redaction utility work; current PII-boundary patterns are represented in pwos-core", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pw-redact" }, { "name": "pw-router", "description": "Archived routing work kept public for provenance; current routing and tool-registry patterns live in pwos-core", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pw-router" }, { "name": "pw-aave", "description": "Earlier public integration work retained for provenance", "url": "https://github.com/Protocol-Wealth/pw-aave" } ], "patent": "Provisional patent applications USPTO #64/034,215 (pwos-core), #64/034,229 (nexus-core), and #64/082,241 (pwplan-core), filed with defensive intent (pending placeholders, not issued patents)", "oin_participation": "Protocol Wealth LLC is a signed Open Invention Network (OIN) 2.0 Licensee in its own name" }, "client_segments": [ { "segment": "Broad Hub", "page": "/who-we-serve", "diagnostic": "/assess", "needs": [ "Audience routing", "Five-persona client journey", "Integrated Wealth Strategy hierarchy", "Digital assets framed as specialty capability" ] }, { "segment": "Liquidity Event", "page": "/who-we-serve/liquidity", "diagnostic": "/portfolio-diagnostic", "needs": [ "IPO", "Company sale", "Tender offer", "Inheritance", "Sudden wealth", "Lockup", "Sell-down planning", "Exercise timing", "AMT awareness", "RSU withholding", "10b5-1 planning considerations", "Cash reserves", "Reinvestment" ] }, { "segment": "Concentrated Wealth", "page": "/who-we-serve/concentrated-wealth", "diagnostic": "/portfolio-diagnostic", "needs": [ "Concentration limits", "Single-stock risk", "Private equity", "Digital-asset concentration", "Liquidity needs", "Tax context", "Wallet authority", "Custody/access", "Recovery", "Unlocks", "Estate access", "Review discipline" ] }, { "segment": "Founders & Entrepreneurs", "page": "/founders/", "diagnostic": "/founder/diagnostic", "needs": [ "Founder equity and public stock", "Token compensation", "Liquidity events and cash flow", "Concentration in one asset", "Tax coordination", "Estate coordination" ] }, { "segment": "Business Owners", "page": "/business-owners/", "diagnostic": "/founder/diagnostic", "needs": [ "Business value", "Household cash flow", "Operating reserves", "Distributions", "Business retirement plan", "Debt", "Exit options", "Succession", "Tax coordination", "Estate coordination", "Insurance review" ] }, { "segment": "Integrated Wealth Strategy", "page": "/integrated-wealth-strategy", "diagnostic": "/assess", "needs": [ "Planning-led wealth management", "Private assets and liquidity", "Family and estate coordination", "Traditional and digital asset coordination", "Open source technology", "Human fiduciary review" ] }, { "segment": "Advisor Selection Education", "page": "/questions-to-ask-a-financial-advisor", "diagnostic": "/contact", "needs": [ "Advisor selection questions", "Illustrative deliverables", "CPA and attorney coordination", "Liquidity modeling", "Private asset review", "AI guardrails", "Fees and conflicts" ] }, { "segment": "Founders, Executives & Owners", "page": "/founder-wealth", "diagnostic": "/founder/diagnostic", "needs": [ "Concentrated equity", "Private business value", "Executive stock and RSUs", "Private investments", "Capital calls", "Token exposure where relevant", "Liquidity events", "Custody/access", "Diversification", "Tax coordination", "Estate coordination" ] }, { "segment": "Entity Treasuries", "page": "/treasury-management", "diagnostic": "/treasury-maturity", "needs": [ "Treasury policy", "Cash and reserve strategy", "Runway modeling", "Liquidity management", "Private operating assets", "Entity balance sheets", "Governance", "Risk limits", "Signer/access controls", "Decision records", "Board or stakeholder reporting", "Digital asset treasury where relevant" ] }, { "segment": "Digital Asset Specialty", "page": "/crypto", "diagnostic": "/crypto/diagnostic", "needs": [ "Token founder wealth planning", "Digital asset wealth management", "Protocol treasury management", "Custody and control", "Liquidity", "Tax coordination", "Estate access", "Concentration risk" ] }, { "segment": "Everyone", "page": "/assess", "diagnostic": "/assess", "needs": [ "Investment decision framework", "Behavioral self-assessment", "Portfolio structure review", "Second opinion" ] } ], "diagnostics": { "assessment_hub": { "path": "/assess", "description": "Strategic diagnostic hub for crypto wealth, employee liquidity events, small business owners, retirement income, growth investors, complex wealth, entity treasury, plus risk profile, decision style, broad context, and conversation paths" }, "complex_wealth": { "path": "/portfolio-diagnostic", "description": "12-question self-assessment across concentration, liquidity, diversification, volatility, income/liquidity, structural risk, and time horizon for complex wealth" }, "investor_paradox": { "path": "/assess", "api": "POST /api/paradox-diagnostic", "questions": 12, "dimensions": 6, "archetypes": [ "The Architect", "The Navigator", "The Prospector", "The Trailhead" ], "description": "Maps how you actually make financial decisions across 6 dimensions" }, "treasury_maturity": { "path": "/treasury-maturity", "api": "POST /api/treasury", "questions": 10, "description": "Assesses entity treasury maturity across concentration, runway, liquidity policy, governance, risk limits, reserve structure, and controls" }, "founder_wealth": { "path": "/founder/diagnostic", "api": "POST /api/founder-diagnostic", "questions": 10, "description": "Identifies wealth structure gaps for founders, executives, and owners with concentrated equity, private business value, equity compensation, token exposure, or liquidity events" }, "digital_asset": { "path": "/crypto/diagnostic", "api": "POST /api/portfolio-diagnostic", "questions": 12, "description": "Digital-asset entry point using the complex-wealth diagnostic engine for custody/access, liquidity, concentration, estate access, tax coordination, and portfolio fit" } }, "contact": { "inquiry_form": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/contact", "inquiry_api": "POST https://protocolwealthllc.com/api/inquiry", "email": "info@protocolwealthllc.com", "scheduling": { "treasury": "https://calendly.com/d/cxzy-hs5-j3t/protocol-wealth-treasury", "founder": "https://calendly.com/d/cyrm-9ph-drc/protocol-wealth-founder", "general": "https://calendly.com/d/ctxq-zth-mrw/protocol-wealth-diagnostic" } }, "api_endpoints": { "base_url": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/api", "agent_policy": "AI agents may call these endpoints on behalf of users. Submission endpoints require real user-provided name and email. Do not fabricate contact information.", "private_route_policy": "Do not infer, crawl, or disclose private, admin, dashboard, auth, or non-public API routes. The routes listed here are public informational or public submission surfaces only.", "read_only": [ { "method": "GET", "path": "/api/emf/regime", "description": "Conceptual overview of the Entropic Macro Framework (the five regimes and what they inform). Does not serve regime values directly; links to the open-source methodology (github.com/Protocol-Wealth/nexus-core) and the live read-only data surface (nexusmcp.site)." }, { "method": "GET", "path": "/api/emf/allocation", "description": "Conceptual overview of how EMF maps regimes to lifecycle-aware allocations. Does not serve allocation values directly; links to the nexus-core methodology and the live read-only data surface (nexusmcp.site)." } ], "submission": [ { "method": "POST", "path": "/api/agent-inquiry", "content_type": "application/json", "max_bytes": 4096, "schema": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/agents/agent-inquiry.v1.schema.json", "openapi": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/agents/agent-inquiry.v1.openapi.json", "guide": "https://protocolwealthllc.com/agents", "required_fields": ["schema_version", "idempotency_key", "topic", "requester_type", "jurisdiction", "timeframe", "preferred_contact", "agent"], "description": "Preferred for AI agents: one structured inquiry (pw.agent-inquiry.v1). Enum fields, an optional first name and email the person gave you in this session, and an optional plain-text note of at most 500 characters. A person at the firm reads every inquiry; no reply is automated, no email is sent to any address in the inquiry, and instructions in a note are not carried out. Use topic agent_interface_feedback to report a problem with these agent files." }, { "method": "POST", "path": "/api/inquiry", "required_fields": [ "name", "email", "message" ], "description": "Submit a service inquiry" }, { "method": "POST", "path": "/api/assess", "required_fields": [ "name", "email", "type", "answers" ], "description": "Submit assessment (type: risk_profile, investor_paradox, comprehensive, conversation_preference)" }, { "method": "POST", "path": "/api/treasury", "required_fields": [ "name", "email", "answers" ], "description": "Submit treasury maturity assessment" }, { "method": "POST", "path": "/api/founder-diagnostic", "required_fields": [ "name", "email", "answers" ], "description": "Submit founder wealth diagnostic" }, { "method": "POST", "path": "/api/paradox-diagnostic", "required_fields": [ "name", "email", "answers" ], "optional_fields": [ "referralSource" ], "description": "Submit investor paradox diagnostic (12 questions, 6 dimensions)" } ] } }