AnchorWatch opens bitcoin custody with up to $370M insurance
AnchorWatch Trust Company opened as a Nevada-chartered bitcoin custodian with two key-control models, fees capped at $10,000 a month and Lloyd's-backed cover.
CryptoGroup Newsroom · · 3 min read
Quick verdictFlagship custody keeps the client closer to its own keys; the multi-institution model spreads control across three firms. Both can carry Lloyd's-backed insurance.
Jump to the verdict ↓AnchorWatch Trust Company opened on Monday, Oct. 19, as a Nevada state-chartered trust company and qualified custodian for bitcoin, offering flat-dollar custody fees capped at $10,000 a month and optional insurance with limits of up to $370 million per client. The launch was reported by The Block and detailed in the company's press release.
What launched
- Charter: the Nevada Financial Institutions Division has authorised the trust company to act as a custodian.
- Target clients: fiduciaries, public companies, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and high-net-worth individuals who are required to keep bitcoin with a qualified custodian.
- Fees: fixed-dollar amounts tiered by vault size rather than a percentage of assets, with a cap of $10,000 a month. Above the cap, more bitcoin or a higher price does not raise the fee.
- Track record: AnchorWatch says its Trident Vault has held customer bitcoin for 20 months, has been audited or reviewed by Halborn, Doyensec and Lloyd's technical underwriters, and that the firm has completed a SOC 2 examination.
The two custody models compared
| Flagship custody | Multi-institution custody | |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds keys | AnchorWatch holds the keys needed for qualified custody; the client's trustees or executives hold extra keys | Key control split between AnchorWatch, BitGo (US) and CoinCorner (Isle of Man) |
| Main idea | Client keeps a direct role in signing | No single institution controls the coins |
| Insurance | Optional, in the client's name | Optional, in the client's name |
| Fee model | Fixed-dollar tiers, capped at $10,000/month | Fixed-dollar tiers, capped at $10,000/month |
+ Pros
- Predictable fees that do not grow with the bitcoin price above the cap
- Insurance written in the client's own name, including violent coercion and kidnapping
- A choice between client-held keys and three-institution key control
− Cons
- Insurance is only for US-domiciled companies, their US subsidiaries and US residents
- Cover is subject to underwriting approval, exclusions and limits
- More parties in the signing setup means more operational coordination
What the insurance covers
AnchorWatch is a Lloyd's of London coverholder, which lets it write policies backed by A+ rated Lloyd's syndicates. It says the cover can protect against bitcoin losses from several perils, including violent coercion, kidnapping and fraud by AnchorWatch itself. Its pricing page lists premiums from $4,000 per $1 million of coverage a year and a minimum policy of $250,000. Physical attacks on holders are a real risk, as the recent Bristol home-invasion case showed.
Our verdict
It depends on who you want holding the keys
Organisations that want their own executives involved in signing may lean towards flagship custody; those that worry most about any single company failing may prefer the multi-institution setup. For individuals, our guides to storing crypto safely and hardware wallets explain the self-custody alternative.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile; do your own research. Read our disclaimer
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