Anchorage Digital is a company that provides cryptocurrency-related services to clients.
Founding of the company
Anchorage was co-founded by Diogo Mònica and Nathan McCauley. Prior to creating Anchorage, Mònica and McCauley helped lead security efforts at the point-of-sale platform Square (now Block, Inc.), starting at the company the very same week. They worked closely together from the outset, and ultimately both moved to the software-focused Docker. During the period of crypto growth in 2017, Mònica and McCauley realized that the expanding financial demands of the crypto ecosystem demanded solutions for management of cryptographic keys—and this was their specialty. So, they began consulting on the subject. Eventually, they raised enough money to launch their own business—Anchorage Digital—aimed at providing crypto custody and other solutions to financial actors.
When the company was launched in 2017, it was backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other familiar names in the crypto venture capital niche. However, it didn’t take long for Anchorage Digital’s star to rise, and it would ultimately draw capital from large companies in the traditional finance space, including Visa and Goldman Sachs. It is headquartered in San Francisco but has a global footprint with activities from Europe to Asia.
Mònica served as president of Anchorage until early 2024, when he announced he was stepping back to become a partner at a crypto venture capital firm. However, he continued as Anchorage’s Executive Chairman and as the Chairman of the NEAR Foundation. McCauley serves as CEO of Anchorage.
Anchorage Digital through the years
From the beginning, Anchorage Digital’s focus has been crypto custody. This was its sole concentration for its first few years. It has slowly expanded support for coins and tokens over time, and it has also built relationships both within and outside of crypto’s ecosystem. Here are some of the important events that have marked Anchorage’s history:
2019: Visa announced an investment in Anchorage, setting up a relationship that would support many “firsts” in subsequent years.
2020: Anchorage expanded by making its first acquisition of Merkle Data and newly offering trading services.
2021: The U.S. government’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted Anchorage a banking charter. This made Anchorage the first and only crypto bank recognized on the federal level. It also set the stage for an agreement between Anchorage and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) for the company to handle custody of all crypto seized — and thus owned, at least temporarily — by the DoJ. Later that year, Anchorage held a funding round in which it was valued at $3 billion.
2022: Anchorage formed a custody network with five crypto exchanges active throughout the world. It also introduced institutional ETH staking for the first time. It notched deals to support custody and/or trading of multiple assets such as FLY, GYEN, AXL, APT, and many others.
2023: Further growth of the company was marked by expansion of trading services.
2024: An Anchorage-supported institutional self-custody wallet was launched. Anchorage also launched its settlement network. Most importantly, the company received a BitLicense from New York State, joining other companies like Bitstamp, Robinhood, and Circle.
Anchorage Digital’s products
The company’s first service remains its most important: crypto custody. Anchorage is responsible for storing and securing significant portions of the entire crypto ecosystem. However, it has also grown in parallel to crypto’s popularity, and as a result the company has developed solutions for financial settlements, institutional trading, and staking.
Custody — including self-custody
Anchorage Digital works with institutions to store their digital assets including everything from the most popular cryptocurrencies to stablecoins to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). They advertise efficient transactions and the security of using cold wallets to reduce risk of hacks. The platform also allows for signing of transactions using biometric tools to validate the identity of their clients prior to any movement of funds. In 2024, it announced a self-custody wallet, called Porto, built for institutional use.
Atlas: a settlement network
“Atlas” stands for Anchorage (Digital) Trusted Liquidity and Settlement. It is a network that supports trading (buying/selling) of assets using Anchorage’s extensive holdings, the many parties that use Anchorage's services, and the functionality of on-chain transactions. Put more simply: it minimizes friction in settling funds between counterparties making a transaction.
Trading and staking crypto
Institutional investors can trade cryptocurrencies 24/7 using Anchorage’s purpose-built platform. Just like individual users can access dozens or hundreds of cryptocurrencies using exchanges like Bitstamp, institutions may use Anchorage Digital for the same. By the end of 2024, Anchorage supported more than 400 digital assets. Institutions can also access the crypto space by trading using fiat currencies like the US dollar, making Anchorage a fiat on- and off-ramp.
In addition to trading, institutions can directly stake (or delegate a stake of) ETH, APT, OSMO, and other coins and tokens.
Anchorage Digital essentials
Anchorage Digital was founded in 2017 as a crypto custody solution for financial institutions involved in the digital asset space.
Although early supporters came from the crypto community, Anchorage quickly drew support from Visa, Goldman Sachs, and even earned a US federal banking charter before partnering with the Department of Justice.
In addition to securely storing and supporting transactions of digital assets for institutions, Anchorage also offers a comprehensive settlement network (Atlas), trading/staking support, and other services.