BeInCrypto Institutional Research: 15 Digital Asset Custody Providers Behind Crypto Adoption

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 valuationBacked by a16z, GIC, Goldman Sachs, KKR, Visa, Tether	First federally chartered US crypto bankAtlas Settlement Network is live with institutional integrations	OCC National Trust Bank CharterMiCA via BaFin, VARA, Singapore, Korea
2	Coinbase Custody	US ETF custody provider	Wilmington / SF, USA	Custodian for 8 of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs80%+ of US Bitcoin ETF assets routed via Coinbase	NYDFS Limited Purpose Trust CharterCoinbase Custody Trust Company	Primary custodian for IBITCo-custodian for Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust
3	BitGo	Federally chartered public custody	Sioux Falls / Palo Alto, USA	$104B+ AUCThousands of institutional clients	Custody tech used by TradFi banksCoverage across the US, EU, Switzerland, UAE, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong	NYSE IPO completed in Jan 2026First public federally chartered digital asset infrastructure firm
4	Fidelity Digital Assets, NA	Asset manager-operated federal trust	Boston, USA	Custody for FBTC and FETHBacked by Fidelity’s ~$15T+ AUA platform	Acquired TRES Finance and DynamicBuilding a custody, wallet, and accounting operating system	OCC charter approved Dec 2025Plans include stablecoin issuance and staking services
5	BNY	Global custodian with crypto surface	New York, USA	~$55.8T AUC/ALive BTC and ETH custody since 2022	OCC-regulated bankInstitutional custody operations	Co-custodian for Morgan Stanley MSBTIBIT 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 BitLicenseSOC 2 Type II + ISO 27001	OCC conditional national trust bank charterConversion from the New York State trust
7	Ripple Custody (Metaco)	Bank custody technology stack	Lausanne / SF	Acquired Tungsten Custody in the UAEStandard Chartered reportedly weighing full takeover	OCC conditional charterFINMA-regulated custody stack	Ripple rebranded Metaco as Ripple CustodyRipple 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 licenceMAS, Liechtenstein, ADGM permissions	Reached unicorn status in Jan 2025Sygnum 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 VARAItaly OAM and Singapore MAS via Propine	$75M Series B funded in BitcoinPropine acquisition expanded Singapore custody hub
10	Zodia Custody	Standard Chartered-backed custody	London, UK	~150 staff across 7 offices75+ digital assets supported	UK FCA, Ireland MiCA-CASP, Lux, ADGMHong Kong and Japan FSA coverage	Sub-custodian for Clearstream Crypto offeringAnchorNote off-exchange settlement launched
11	Crypto Finance Group	Exchange-parent regulated custody	Zurich, Switzerland	Deutsche Börse majority-ownedClearstream institutional distribution	FINMA SwitzerlandBaFin licences + MiCA-CASP	Aura private wealth platform launchedQualified custodian in the Fireblocks network
12	Hex Trust	APAC custody anchor	Hong Kong	$104M raisedAPAC and MENA institutional coverage	HK SFC, MAS CMS, ADGM, VARA, DFSAMultiple licence categories	ClearLoop settlement network expandedKomainu was integrated into ClearLoop in 2025
13	Copper	Off-exchange settlement custody	London, UK	200+ institutional clientsMulti-billion-dollar assets under custody	Switzerland SO-FIT affiliationAbu Dhabi ADGM licence	~$2B valuation9+ exchanges on the ClearLoop network
14	Ceffu	Institutional MPC and OES	Lithuania	200+ institutional clientsMulti-billion assets under custody	Lithuania MiCA-CASPMulti-jurisdiction sub-custody arrangements	MirrorX off-exchange settlement integrated with KuCoinEU institutional custody status expanded
15	Bakkt Trust	NYDFS-regulated US custody	New York, USA	ICE-origin institutional custodyMulti-asset custody platform	NYDFS Limited Purpose Trust CharterBitLicense + 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.