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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
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
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
$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
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
~$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
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
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
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
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
~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
Deutsche Börse majority-ownedClearstream institutional distribution
FINMA SwitzerlandBaFin licences + MiCA-CASP
Aura private wealth platform launchedQualified custodian in the Fireblocks network
$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
200+ institutional clientsMulti-billion-dollar assets under custody
Switzerland SO-FIT affiliationAbu Dhabi ADGM licence
~$2B valuation9+ exchanges on the ClearLoop network
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
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
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.
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.
Read the Original story BeInCrypto Institutional Research: 15 Digital Asset Custody Providers Behind Crypto Adoption by Ananda Banerjee at beincrypto.com