BitGo is one of the oldest and most established institutional digital asset custody and financial services companies, founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe (CEO) in Palo Alto, California. BitGo pioneered multi-signature (multisig) wallet security for Bitcoin and became the first regulated qualified custodian for digital assets in the United States (licensed by the State of South Dakota in 2018). The company offers custody, prime brokerage, trading, lending, and settlement infrastructure to exchanges, hedge funds, and mining companies.
Background
BitGo was founded at a time when exchange hacks (most notably Mt. Gox) made single-key Bitcoin storage dangerous. Mike Belshe built the company around 2-of-3 multisig architecture — requiring at least two of three geographically distributed key holders to authorize any transaction. This became the industry standard model for institutional Bitcoin custody.
Key Products
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| BitGo Custody | Qualified custodian cold storage with multisig and MPC options |
| BitGo Prime | Prime brokerage including OTC trading, margin, and financing |
| BitGo Trust | South Dakota-chartered trust company for regulated custody |
| BitGo Go Network | Settlement network for exchange-to-exchange off-chain transfers |
| BitGo API | Wallets-as-a-service for exchanges and crypto applications |
| Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) | BitGo is the primary custodian for WBTC, the largest Bitcoin-backed ERC-20 token |
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
BitGo is the custodian and primary infrastructure provider for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), the ERC-20 token that represents Bitcoin on the Ethereum blockchain. WBTC peaked at over $10 billion in market cap, making BitGo a critical piece of DeFi infrastructure. BitGo announced plans to transfer WBTC custody to a multi-party structure involving BiT Global in 2024, which caused controversy among DeFi protocols.
Regulatory Distinctions
- First digital asset company to achieve qualified custodian status in the U.S.
- South Dakota trust charter providing fiduciary custody protections
- Licensed money transmitter in multiple U.S. states
Related Terms
Sources
- BitGo Website — products and custody overview.
- BitGo Trust — regulatory background.