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About Anchorage
Anchorage is a federally chartered crypto bank (OCC-regulated) offering institutional-grade custody, staking, and settlement. Its core business revolves around secure asset holding via FIPS-validated hardware security modules (HSMs), combined with a regulatory framework that satisfies compliance requirements for RIAs, pension funds, and banks.
Market pain points it addresses: institutions need qualified custody (not just software) to meet SEC rules on client asset control; DeFi lending often requires full on-chain collateral transfer, conflicting with regulated custody; and Fed account access for crypto banks remains ambiguous, with proposed 'payment accounts' lacking critical features like FedACH, intraday liquidity, and interest on reserves.
Recent developments (Feb-Aug 2026): Anchorage launched institutional lending with Ethena Labs, using its Atlas platform to manage collateral while keeping assets within its custody framework, bridging DeFi speed with institutional standards. It also publicly challenged the Federal Reserve's proposed 'payment account' design, arguing that overnight balance caps and no interest on reserves reintroduce credit risks and contradict the GENIUS Act's intent for efficient stablecoin reserve management. Additionally, as the September 2026 FIPS 140-3 deadline approaches, Anchorage's existing HSM infrastructure and federal charter position it favorably amid market consolidation, though it remains classified as Tier 3 for Fed account access—a point it disputes. No major negative events were reported in this period beyond ongoing regulatory friction over master account approval.
Anchorage Digital, founded in 2017 by Nathan McCauley and Diogo Mónica, became the first and only federally chartered crypto bank in the US when it received its OCC trust charter in January 2021, a landmark that transformed it from a South Dakota trust company into a national bank. This regulatory moat underpinned its $430 million Series C and D funding and positioned it as a bridge between Wall Street and on-chain finance.
In 2024-2025, Anchorage pivoted decisively toward stablecoins and ETFs. It became the exclusive custodian for the REX-Osprey Solana staking ETF, the custody partner for 21Shares' Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and the custodian for Ethena's USDe, with monthly public attestations starting January 2026. It also joined Paxos and Kraken to form the USDG stablecoin alliance, and partnered with Grupo Salinas to build a dollar stablecoin payment corridor in Mexico, extending its institutional-grade custody into emerging markets.
Anchorage's long-term significance lies in its role as a regulated bridge: it holds stablecoin reserves, enables ETF custody, and supports on-chain settlement for institutions, effectively connecting traditional finance with DeFi infrastructure.
In the past six months, Anchorage Digital has made several major strides. It launched Agentic Banking, partnering with Google Cloud to provide a regulated banking, governance, and settlement layer for AI agents, supporting stablecoins and digital assets. It introduced Coordinated Multiparty Settlement (CMS), built on the Atlas network, enabling institutional-grade coordinated settlement for non-custodial exchanges, with Spotex among the first to integrate. As a seed investor, it supported State Street's Stablecoin Reserves Money Market Fund, advancing compliant reserve management. Additionally, it announced plans to explore "Cashless" stablecoin reserves on Solana, collaborating with J.P. Morgan Asset Management to leverage tokenized instruments for improved liquidity efficiency.
Future focus: Leveraging the GENIUS Act, provide compliant stablecoin issuance and reserve management infrastructure, serving as the fastest path to compliance for banks, fintechs, and payment companies. Continue building the operating layer for AI-agent finance, and expand the CMS network to more traditional and digital asset markets.
Nathan McCauley (Co-Founder & CEO)
Nathan McCauley is the co-founder and CEO of Anchorage. He previously served as Director of Security at Docker and Security Engineering Manager at Square, where he led security efforts and contributed to the development of Keywhiz, an open-source key management system. He holds a background in cryptography and security engineering.
Diogo Monica (Co-Founder & Chairman)
Diogo Monica is the co-founder and Chairman of Anchorage. He previously held security leadership roles at Docker and Square, and is a named inventor on patents related to secure hardware and cryptographic systems. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the Technical University of Lisbon and has extensive experience in applied cryptography and infrastructure security.