Anchorage Digital

Anchorage Digital is a digital asset platform and infrastructure provider that deals in the holding, investing, and infrastructure for cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency products. It has the first federally chartered cryptocurrency bank, receiving approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2021.

Anchorage Digital
IndustryFinancial technology
Founded2017
FoundersDiogo Mónica
Nathan McCauley
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Area served
Global
Key people
Diogo Mónica, President
Nathan McCauley, CEO
ServicesDigital asset management including cryptocurrencies
Websitewww.anchorage.com

History

Anchorage Digital was founded in 2017 by Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley. Early investors included Andreessen Horowitz and Blockchain Capital.[1] Visa became an investor in Anchorage Digital in 2019, and uses the company to provide cryptocurrency payment services.[2]

Anchorage Digital made its first acquisition in 2020 with the purchase of Merkle Data. The same year it also added trading and financing services.[3] Anchorage opened an engineering hub in Porto, Portugal in 2020 and is the first cryptocurrency unicorn with a presence in that country.[4]

In 2021, Anchorage Digital Bank received its banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,[5] making it the first federally chartered cryptocurrency bank in the United States.[6] The same year, it was contracted by the United States Department of Justice to be the custodian for all digital assets seized or forfeited in criminal cases.[7][8] It also became the first known United States bank to custody a NFT by facilitating a purchase for Visa.[9]

In December 2021, Anchorage Digital was valued at more than $3 billion and had raised capital from investors such as KKR, Goldman Sachs, GIC (Singaporean sovereign wealth fund), and Wellington Management.[5][10]

Services

Anchorage Digital is a custodian of digital assets for financial institutions such as banks, venture capital firms, and fintechs, as well as governments. It uses biometric authentication and hardware security modules for storing and securing cryptocurrency.[11] It also provides lending and trading of digital assets, including infrastructure used by companies to build cryptocurrency products.[5]

References
  1. Hackett, Robert. "Andreessen Horowitz doubles down on 'crypto' with new $515 million fund". Fortune.
  2. Ramaswamy, Anita (7 December 2021). "Visa hopes its new crypto consulting arm will help it become cooler than its competition". TechCrunch.
  3. Constine, Josh. "The crypto rich find security in Anchorage". TechCrunch. 15 January 2020.
  4. Almeida, Goncalo (15 December 2021). "Anchorage torna-se o primeiro unicórnio de criptomoedas português". CNN Portugal (in Portuguese).
  5. "ADVISORY-Release of FINTECH-CRYPTO/ANCHORAGE story". Reuters. 14 December 2021.
  6. "OCC Charters the First National Crypto Bank". The National Law Review. 19 January 2021.
  7. Heilweil, Rebecca. "Feds are seizing cryptocurrency from criminals. Now they have to figure out what to do with it". Vox. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  8. Sigalos, MacKenzie (19 December 2021). "The U.S. government has a massive, secret stockpile of bitcoin — Here's what happens to it". CNBC.
  9. Bambysheva, Nina; del Castillo, Michael (23 August 2021). "Visa Enters Metaverse With First NFT Purchase".
  10. Dillet, Romain. "Crypto company Anchorage raises $350 million at $3 billion valuation". TechCrunch.
  11. "Financial tech: The 8 next big things, from secure crypto to fairer mortgages". Fast Company. 18 November 2021.
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