For years, digital assets were an untouchable subject in wealth management. Advisors often found themselves with their hands tied—telling clients, “Open a Coinbase account” while watching hundreds of billions sit in cold storage, outside their practices and their planning frameworks. At the 2025 Future Proof Festival, James McConaghy, Director and RIA Market Leader at Eaglebrook, explained how his firm was built to change that.

“Eaglebrook was built four and a half years ago from the ground up with the advisor in mind,” McConaghy shared. “We actually built this with Mariner Advisor to understand compliance and workflow, so advisors could directly buy digital assets for their clients. ”

That founding principle—putting RIAs at the center of the digital asset experience—has quietly positioned Eaglebrook as one of the most “blue-chip” providers in a space that’s rapidly professionalizing.

Turning Digital Assets into an Advisor Advantage

For many advisors, digital assets have remained a client-driven request—an awkward side-car to traditional portfolios. But Eaglebrook’s platform is transforming that by solving two of the most pressing pain points: taxation and integration.

From a tax standpoint, one feature immediately grabs advisors’ attention. As McConaghy put it:

“Every time it goes down 10%, I can lock in a capital loss on the same material amount of Bitcoin. That’s super interesting. It’s an elegant solution for that advisor to bring to a client. ”

This makes digital assets not just an investment allocation, but a flexible tax management tool advisors can systematically leverage.

The second advantage comes from in-kind transfers. For years, advisors were sidelined as clients stored assets on consumer exchanges or hardware wallets. This left nearly $800 billion in assets “held away” in accounts advisors couldn’t manage. Eaglebrook now allows advisors to transfer those assets directly under management, unlocking estate planning opportunities, charging AUM fees, and keeping client portfolios whole under one roof.

“These in-kind transfers are super interesting,” McConaghy emphasized. “Now advisors can integrate those assets into their practices, manage them securely in cold storage, and finally deliver comprehensive planning around them. ”

Built for Compliance, Built for Scale

Advisors naturally gravitate toward ease and risk management. What makes Eaglebrook resonate is that it was designed with both top of mind. The firm is itself an RIA, meaning it operates under the same regulatory guardrails and expectations as the advisors it serves.

When discussing Eaglebrook’s integration process, McConaghy was direct: “The thing with advisors is they want things that are easy. Owning it directly in the client’s name, in cold storage, bankruptcy remote, with a qualified custodian—that’s all built in. And on top of that, it’s fully integrated into Addepar, Orion, Black Diamond, and the reporting systems advisors already use. ”

That seamless integration means advisors can treat digital assets like any other allocation—seen side-by-side with equities, fixed income, or alternatives—while maintaining pristine compliance workflows.

Education First

While technology solves structural issues, the roadblock for many advisors remains education. Eaglebrook devotes significant resources to equipping firms for these conversations.

“We spend 80% of our time working with advisors and educating,” McConaghy noted. “We have a head of research creating amazing pieces, we run webinars regularly—whether it’s making the case for Bitcoin or walking through integration into a practice. We provide everything advisors need to talk about digital assets with confidence. ”

Framing digital assets not as an abstract “crypto play” but as tools within a financial plan makes them more accessible. Eaglebrook encourages advisors to start with simplicity—often framing Bitcoin as “digital gold”—and to focus on how these assets complement broader portfolio goals.

The Momentum Ahead

The institutional story is also accelerating. “We just onboarded a trillion-dollar asset manager last week,” McConaghy revealed. “We’re doing another very large one in the next couple of weeks. We’re now working with some of the largest advisors across the country, and that pipeline in the next six months is incredible. ”

Advisors who once dismissed digital assets as speculative may soon find themselves fielding more client requests—not less—as adoption accelerates among large institutions. Eaglebrook’s commitment to simplicity, compliance, and education provides a trusted entry point, especially for hesitant RIAs.

Looking forward, Eaglebrook is also developing a digital TAMP, enabling managers to run active strategies within digital assets. For advisors, this means optionality: offering clients exposure beyond passive ownership of Bitcoin and Ethereum while maintaining control within a regulated wealth management framework.

Why This Matters Now

For advisors still on the fence, the time to engage with digital assets may be arriving faster than expected. McConaghy summarized it clearly:

“There’s not a lot of opportunities right now that allow RIAs to bring in untapped assets, manage them in a compliant way, and build deeper client relationships all at once. From the tax management tools to in-kind transfers, we’re at the forefront of this shift. ”

For a profession built on anticipating client needs before they become urgent asks, Eaglebrook offers advisors both a bridge into the digital asset future and the tools to make that bridge feel safe, accessible, and compliant.

At Future Proof, one thing was clear: Eaglebrook isn’t trying to reinvent advisors. It’s simply equipping them to be what they’ve always been—trusted guides in a changing financial landscape.

To learn more about Eaglebrook, visit their website here.