AnchorWatch Launches Bitcoin Custody With Optional Insurance of Up to $370 Million
Key Facts
AnchorWatch announced the launch of AnchorWatch Trust Company to provide qualified bitcoin custody, saying it has authority to issue optional insurance coverage of up to $370 million per client. The new company operates under a Nevada state trust company license, according to the launch announcement. The offering combines bitcoin custody with the option to insure assets held in custody, subject to the terms of the product selected by the client. The company offers custody shared among 3 institutions alongside its "Flagship" option, which differs in how signing keys are held. The service requires completion of know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering procedures.
AnchorWatch set an annual custody fee cap of $120,000, with vaults divided into tiers based on size. The company said in its announcement that "each tier is a fixed dollar amount," rather than charging a percentage of assets under management. Its previous pricing announcement set fees for "Flagship" vaults at 0.02% per month, with a minimum of $100 a month. Fees for multi-institution custody vaults in that announcement were 0.03% per month, with a minimum of $150 a month. Insurance premiums remain separate from custody fees, with the annual premium due at the start of the policy term, according to the company's custody insurance page.
Under multi-institution custody, signing keys are distributed among AnchorWatch, BitGo and CoinCorner, according to the product page. The multisignature arrangement requires 2 out of 3 signatures to make a transfer, with the institutions holding the keys participating in authorizing bitcoin movements. The company describes the arrangement by saying that "the client's bitcoin is secured with independent institutions under a multisignature arrangement." Procedures for moving assets include a video verification call with each institution participating in signing, according to the service announcement. Physical authentication using a "YubiKey" is also required before bitcoin can be moved from the vault, as part of the verification procedures accompanying a transfer request.
Eligible clients can pair the multi-institution custody service with a property insurance policy from the Lloyd's market, according to AnchorWatch. The policy is issued in the client's own name and is tied to a specific, identifiable set of unspent bitcoin transaction outputs within the client's vault. The custody insurance page lists fraud and collusion by institutional key holders among the risks covered by the product. The pricing page sets the minimum insurance policy at $250,000, while linking the premium to the vault's configuration, coverage limits and risk profile. The policy's cost is therefore determined by these vault-specific factors and the coverage requested, according to the pricing terms published by the company.
The "Flagship" model with a single signing device keeps the physical signing device in the client's possession, according to the product description. Under this model, AnchorWatch holds additional keys inside its vault, alongside the device secured by the client. "Trident" technology uses timelocks to activate alternative conditions for spending bitcoin if a key is lost or a party is unable to participate. The alternative spending conditions become valid after the period specified in the timelock has elapsed, according to the technical description published by the company. This arrangement places the recovery path within the vault's programmed spending conditions when one of the situations specified by the company prevents the use of keys.
CoinCorner previously launched an insured bitcoin custody service for eligible clients in the United Kingdom using AnchorWatch's "Trident" vault. Coverage for that offering was provided by underwriters in the Lloyd's market, according to AnchorWatch's announcement of the British service. On internal controls, AnchorWatch announced that it had passed a Service Organization Control 2 Type 1 audit. The independent auditor issued its report on 15 May 2025, according to the company's announcement of the audit result. The report covered the company's security, confidentiality and privacy controls.