Anchorage Digital
{{Short description|Digital asset platform}}
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{{Primary sources|date=August 2023}}
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{{Infobox company
| name = Anchorage Digital
| logo =File:Anchorage Digital Website Logo.jpg
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| industry = Financial technology
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| founded = 2017
| founders = Diogo Mónica
Nathan McCauley
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| hq_location_city = San Francisco, California
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| area_served = Global
| key_people = Diogo Mónica, President
Nathan McCauley, CEO
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| services = Digital asset management including cryptocurrencies
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| website = {{URL|https://www.anchorage.com/}}
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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 and only federally chartered cryptocurrency bank, receiving approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2021.
History
Anchorage Digital was founded in 2017 by Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley. Early investors included Andreessen Horowitz and Blockchain Capital.{{cite web |last1=Hackett |first1=Robert |title=Andreessen Horowitz doubles down on 'crypto' with new $515 million fund |url=https://fortune.com/2020/04/30/andreessen-horowitz-doubles-down-on-crypto-with-new-500-million-fund/ |website=Fortune |access-date=2022-01-21 |archive-date=2022-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121052733/https://fortune.com/2020/04/30/andreessen-horowitz-doubles-down-on-crypto-with-new-500-million-fund/ |url-status=dead }} Visa became an investor in Anchorage Digital in 2019, and uses the company to provide cryptocurrency payment services.{{cite web |last1=Ramaswamy |first1=Anita |title=Visa hopes its new crypto consulting arm will help it become cooler than its competition |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/07/visa-hopes-its-new-crypto-consulting-arm-will-help-it-become-cooler-than-its-competition/ |website=TechCrunch |date=7 December 2021}}
Anchorage Digital made its first acquisition in 2020 with the purchase of Merkle Data. The same year it also added trading and financing services.{{cite web |last1=Constine |first1=Josh |title=The crypto rich find security in Anchorage |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/15/anchorage-trading-from-custody/ |website=TechCrunch |date=15 January 2020 |publisher=15 January 2020}} Anchorage Digital opened an engineering hub in Porto, Portugal in 2020 and is the first cryptocurrency unicorn with a presence in that country.{{cite web |last1=Almeida |first1=Goncalo |title=Anchorage torna-se o primeiro unicórnio de criptomoedas português |url=https://cnnportugal.iol.pt/geral/15-12-2021/anchorage-torna-se-o-primeiro-unicornio-de-criptomoedas-portugues |website=CNN Portugal |language=Portuguese |date=15 December 2021}}
In 2021, Anchorage Digital Bank received its banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,{{cite news |title=ADVISORY-Release of FINTECH-CRYPTO/ANCHORAGE story |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/anchorage-digital-raises-350-mln-latest-funding-round-led-by-kkr-2021-12-15/ |publisher=Reuters |date=14 December 2021}} making it the first federally chartered cryptocurrency bank in the United States.{{cite web |title=OCC Charters the First National Crypto Bank |url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/occ-charters-first-national-crypto-bank |website=The National Law Review |date=19 January 2021}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Heilweil |first1=Rebecca |title=Feds are seizing cryptocurrency from criminals. Now they have to figure out what to do with it. |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/7/30/22600574/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-ethereum-asset-seizure-crimes-bank-storage-password-department-of-justice |website=Vox |date=30 July 2021 |access-date=22 January 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Sigalos |first1=MacKenzie |title=The U.S. government has a massive, secret stockpile of bitcoin — Here's what happens to it |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/19/what-the-us-government-does-with-its-secret-bitcoin-stockpile.html |website=CNBC |date=19 December 2021}} It also became the first known United States bank to custody a NFT by facilitating a purchase for Visa.{{cite news |last1=Bambysheva |first1=Nina |last2=del Castillo |first2=Michael |title=Visa Enters Metaverse With First NFT Purchase |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2021/08/23/visa-enters-metaverse-with-first-nft-purchase/?sh=52801adf68b3 |date=23 August 2021}}
In December 2021, Anchorage Digital had raised capital from investors such as KKR, Goldman Sachs, GIC (Singaporean sovereign wealth fund), and Wellington Management.{{cite web |last1=Dillet |first1=Romain |title=Crypto company Anchorage raises $350 million at $3 billion valuation |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/15/crypto-company-anchorage-raises-350-million-at-3-billion-valuation/ |website=TechCrunch|date=15 December 2021 }} It expanded into Asia in 2022 with institutional partners, opening an office in Singapore. As of 2022, Anchorage Digital was valued at more than $3 billion,{{cite news |last1=Schwartz |first1=Leo |title=$3 billion crypto bank Anchorage Digital pushes into Asia |url=https://fortune.com/crypto/2022/10/04/3-billion-crypto-bank-anchorage-pushes-into-asia/ |access-date=June 26, 2023 |publisher=Fortune |date=October 4, 2022}} and is the only federally chartered cryptocurrency bank as of 2023.{{cite news |last1=Pimentel |first1=Benjamin |title=A crypto firm preaches the gospel of—gasp—regulation |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/technology/diogo-monicas-anchorage-sees-a-future-in-regulating-crypto/article_a8bda16a-b241-11ed-8a18-27b5ed006e32.html |access-date=June 26, 2023 |publisher=SFexaminer |date=February 21, 2023}}
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.{{cite news |title=Financial tech: The 8 next big things, from secure crypto to fairer mortgages |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90696300/best-fintech-innovations |publisher=Fast Company |date=18 November 2021}} It also provides lending and trading of digital assets, including infrastructure used by companies to build cryptocurrency products.
References
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