Anchorage Digital

Anchorage Digital is an institutional crypto platform centered on custody through Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally chartered digital-asset bank. Its model combines segregated custody with trading, staking, voting, settlement and collateral services for organizations that want a qualified-custodian relationship rather than self-managed signing infrastructure.

Custody held at a federally chartered digital-asset bank

Institutional clients hold assets with the custodian instead of operating a recovery-phrase wallet or managing signing key shares themselves. Anchorage Digital describes its crypto holdings as segregated and bankruptcy-remote, and positions the bank as an SEC-qualified custodian. Fiat custody uses an FDIC-insured licensed sub-custodian, so USD and crypto do not share the same custody arrangement simply because they appear under one banking relationship.

Secure biometric approvals give the client a route to authorize transactions around the clock. The client retains the decision to approve activity, while custody and key-management operations stay with the bank. Supported assets in custody can also be used for integrated staking and protocol voting without first moving them to a separate self-custody wallet.

Atlas keeps collateral connected to settlement

Atlas is Anchorage Digital's settlement and collateral infrastructure. It can coordinate spot settlements and margin obligations, and it supports atomic settlement so assets move only when the required conditions are satisfied. A client can pledge, release and reallocate collateral from a custody account, linking the custody balance to lending or margin obligations without permanently pre-funding an exchange account.

For connected counterparties, Atlas operates fiat settlement within its network around the clock. Its multiparty settlement service can connect clients to non-custodial crypto exchanges while custody remains in place until settlement. The off-exchange Binance arrangement for select institutions illustrates the model: the client can access exchange liquidity while crypto and USD collateral remain in segregated custody.

Agency trading alongside bank custody and settlement

Anchorage Digital offers institutional trading as well as custody. Its New York-regulated agency desk can arrange liquidity for eligible New York institutions, while the bank can custody and settle resulting trades. That is distinct from placing a working balance into an exchange account before trading.

The services are connected but not interchangeable. Staking and voting use supported custody assets; trading and lending can create settlement or collateral needs that Atlas coordinates. Access to the New York trading desk, Singapore services, Atlas routes and individual integrations varies by client location, legal entity and service arrangement.

A bank-centered alternative to configurable wallet control

Fireblocks is the useful contrast for a firm that wants to configure its own MPC wallet authority, transaction rules, roles and HSM integration. Anchorage Digital instead centers the relationship on bank custody, biometric authorization and custody-based collateral and settlement.

A direct exchange account can be simpler when the only requirement is to pre-fund an exchange and trade. Anchorage Digital addresses the different requirement of using connected exchange liquidity while retaining segregated custody until final settlement, but each counterparty relationship still has its own eligibility, margin and market-access terms.