Digital asset custody is one of the core trust layers behind institutional crypto adoption. Best Custody Provider is an award category within The BeInCrypto Institutional 100, an annual research-driven program recognising institutional digital asset excellence across 26 categories and six pillars.
This category sits in Pillar 2: Capital Markets & Infrastructure. The 15 firms below are its longlist. A shortlist will be named in May 2026, with the winner announced at Proof of Talk in Paris on June 2–3, 2026.
- Long list: 15 custody providers across federal charters, NYDFS trust companies, MPC platforms, bank-backed JVs, APAC custodians, and off-exchange settlement networks
- Initial pool: More than 30 qualified custodians and digital asset custody platforms screened; 15 advanced to the long list
- Scoring: 50% quantitative data · 50% Expert Council
- Criteria assessed: Qualified custodian status, assets under custody, institutional client base, audit posture, product depth, jurisdictional reach, settlement innovation, reputation
- Data sources: OCC, NYDFS, FCA, FINMA, BaFin, MAS, MiCA-CASP registers, Jersey FSC, audited filings, company disclosures, PitchBook, Tracxn, and Crunchbase
| # | Firm | Custody Sub-Segment | HQ | Reach | Top Licensure / Charter | Representative Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage Digital | Federal-chartered crypto custody | SF / NY / Sioux Falls / Singapore / Porto | $4.2B valuation Backed by a16z, GIC, Goldman Sachs, KKR, Visa, Tether | First federally chartered US crypto bank Atlas Settlement Network is live with institutional integrations | OCC National Trust Bank Charter MiCA via BaFin, VARA, Singapore, Korea |
| 2 | Coinbase Custody | US ETF custody provider | Wilmington / SF, USA | Custodian for 8 of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs 80%+ of US Bitcoin ETF assets routed via Coinbase | NYDFS Limited Purpose Trust Charter Coinbase Custody Trust Company | Primary custodian for IBIT Co-custodian for Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust |
| 3 | BitGo | Federally chartered public custody | Sioux Falls / Palo Alto, USA | $104B+ AUC Thousands of institutional clients | Custody tech used by TradFi banks Coverage across the US, EU, Switzerland, UAE, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong | NYSE IPO completed in Jan 2026 First public federally chartered digital asset infrastructure firm |
| 4 | Fidelity Digital Assets, NA | Asset manager-operated federal trust | Boston, USA | Custody for FBTC and FETH Backed by Fidelity’s ~$15T+ AUA platform | Acquired TRES Finance and Dynamic Building a custody, wallet, and accounting operating system | OCC charter approved Dec 2025 Plans include stablecoin issuance and staking services |
| 5 | BNY | Global custodian with crypto surface | New York, USA | ~$55.8T AUC/A Live BTC and ETH custody since 2022 | OCC-regulated bank Institutional custody operations | Co-custodian for Morgan Stanley MSBT IBIT cash custodian and administrator |
| 6 | Fireblocks | MPC-native institutional platform | New York / Tel Aviv | 2,400+ institutional clients $4T+ annual digital asset transfers in 2025 | NYDFS BitLicense SOC 2 Type II + ISO 27001 | OCC conditional national trust bank charter Conversion from the New York State trust |
| 7 | Ripple Custody (Metaco) | Bank custody technology stack | Lausanne / SF | Acquired Tungsten Custody in the UAE Standard Chartered reportedly weighing full takeover | OCC conditional charter FINMA-regulated custody stack | Ripple rebranded Metaco as Ripple Custody Ripple National Trust Bank’s charter was conditionally approved |
| 8 | Sygnum | Swiss-licensed crypto bank | Zurich, Switzerland | 2,000+ institutional clients $5B+ AUM; unicorn valuation | FINMA banking licence MAS, Liechtenstein, ADGM permissions | Reached unicorn status in Jan 2025 Sygnum Connect and Sygnum Protect live |
| 9 | Komainu | TradFi-backed custody JV | St Helier, Jersey | Operations across Jersey, UK, Italy, Singapore, UAE, Japan ~120 staff target | Jersey FSC, UK FCA, UAE VARA Italy OAM and Singapore MAS via Propine | $75M Series B funded in Bitcoin Propine acquisition expanded Singapore custody hub |
| 10 | Zodia Custody | Standard Chartered-backed custody | London, UK | ~150 staff across 7 offices 75+ digital assets supported | UK FCA, Ireland MiCA-CASP, Lux, ADGM Hong Kong and Japan FSA coverage | Sub-custodian for Clearstream Crypto offering AnchorNote off-exchange settlement launched |
| 11 | Crypto Finance Group | Exchange-parent regulated custody | Zurich, Switzerland | Deutsche Börse majority-owned Clearstream institutional distribution | FINMA Switzerland BaFin licences + MiCA-CASP | Aura private wealth platform launched Qualified custodian in the Fireblocks network |
| 12 | Hex Trust | APAC custody anchor | Hong Kong | $104M raised APAC and MENA institutional coverage | HK SFC, MAS CMS, ADGM, VARA, DFSA Multiple licence categories | ClearLoop settlement network expanded Komainu was integrated into ClearLoop in 2025 |
| 13 | Copper | Off-exchange settlement custody | London, UK | 200+ institutional clients Multi-billion-dollar assets under custody | Switzerland SO-FIT affiliation Abu Dhabi ADGM licence | ~$2B valuation 9+ exchanges on the ClearLoop network |
| 14 | Ceffu | Institutional MPC and OES | Lithuania | 200+ institutional clients Multi-billion assets under custody | Lithuania MiCA-CASP Multi-jurisdiction sub-custody arrangements | MirrorX off-exchange settlement integrated with KuCoin EU institutional custody status expanded |
| 15 | Bakkt Trust | NYDFS-regulated US custody | New York, USA | ICE-origin institutional custody Multi-asset custody platform | NYDFS Limited Purpose Trust Charter BitLicense + 50-state MTLs | Bakkt Warehouse supports institutional custody $125M+ insurance across cold and warm wallets |
About This List
The BeInCrypto Institutional 100 — Digital Asset Custody (2026 Long List) identifies custody providers supporting institutional digital asset adoption. The category covers federally chartered crypto banks, NYDFS trust-company custodians, MPC-native platforms, bank-backed custody ventures, APAC-regulated custodians, exchange-parent custody platforms, and off-exchange settlement networks.
Firms primarily focused on stablecoin issuance are evaluated separately under stablecoin infrastructure categories. Parent firms may appear in other categories when their custody product line meets that category’s threshold independently.
Methodology
This category is evaluated under Track A of the BeInCrypto Institutional 100 methodology: 50% based on quantitative metrics and 50% on Expert Council scoring.
Assessment spans seven weighted criteria: regulator-recognized qualified custodian status, assets under custody and institutional client base, regulatory and audit posture, product depth, multi-jurisdiction reach, settlement and capital-efficiency innovation, and reputation.
Data was verified using OCC national trust bank charter approvals, NYDFS BitLicense and trust-company registers, FCA, FINMA, BaFin, MAS, MiCA-CASP authorizations, Jersey FSC records, audited filings, company disclosures, partnership announcements, and private-market sources, including PitchBook, Tracxn, and Crunchbase. Figures reflect the most recent available data at the time of publication.
