BitGo vs Kraken Custody

BitGo4.5/5

VS

Kraken Custody4.0/5

Feature	BitGoVisit	Kraken CustodyVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.5/5	4.0/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Security	4.5	3.5
Compliance	4.5	4.0
Asset support	4.5	4.5
Features	4.5	4.5
Support	4.5	4.0
Specs
KYC required	Yes	Not disclosed
Custody model	Qualified custodian, Multi-sig, MPC, HSM, Self-custody software	Qualified custodian, MPC, HSM
Clients	Institutions, Funds, Corporates, High-net-worth, Retail	Institutions, Corporates, High-net-worth
Regulated	Yes	Yes
SOC 2 report	Yes	Yes
Insurance	Up to $250M for assets where BitGo Bank & Trust holds all keys (Lloyd's of London and European market syndicate)	Not disclosed
Assets supported	1,770	200
Staking	Yes	Yes
API access	Yes	Yes
Licenses & charters	OCC national trust bank charter (US), NYDFS limited purpose trust charter (US), FinCEN MSB registration and state MTLs (US), SEC broker-dealer registration (US), BaFin MiCA CASP authorization (Germany), VQF SRO membership under FINMA oversight (Switzerland), VARA custody license (Dubai, UAE), VARA broker-dealer license (Dubai, UAE), MAS Major Payment Institution license (Singapore), FINTRAC foreign MSB registration (Canada)	Wyoming Division of Banking SPDI bank charter (US), Central Bank of Ireland MiCA CASP authorization (Ireland)
MPC	Yes	Yes
Cold storage	Yes	Yes
Qualified custodian	Yes	Yes
Company
Founded	2013	2011
Headquarters	United States	US
Investors	Valor Equity Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Public, Galaxy Digital +1	Not disclosed
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	Up to $250M insurance from a Lloyd's and European market syndicate where BitGo holds all keys Qualified custody fully backed by cold storage, with over 95% of client assets held cold at the end of 2025 Licensed by the OCC, NYDFS, BaFin under MiCA, Dubai's VARA and Singapore's MAS Over 1,770 supported assets as of December 31, 2025	Kraken Financial holds a Wyoming SPDI charter, and Kraken says it meets the SEC Custody Rule's qualified custodian definition Federal Reserve master account since March 4, 2026, with direct Fedwire access Central Bank of Ireland MiCA authorization covers custody for EEA clients More than 200 custody assets, including tokenized stocks, ETFs and Centrifuge's JAAA
Cons	Material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting disclosed in its FY2025 10-K Securities class action filed in June 2026, and the Galaxy Digital suit was awaiting a ruling as of August 2026 COO left in October 2026 and the CFO is transitioning out Insurance excludes hot wallets and setups where clients hold keys	Custody launched in March 2024, so the operating record is short US custody is limited to certain states, and vaults are reached only through the web Parent Payward paid $30 million in 2023 to settle SEC charges over a staking-as-a-service program The OCC national trust charter for Payward National Trust Company is still an application
Best for	Funds and ETF issuers needing a long asset list and published insurance, Global firms that want licensed entities in the US, EU, Dubai and Singapore, Exchanges and fintechs building wallets on an API	Trading firms that want custody assets to back Kraken Prime credit, Stablecoin issuers and treasury companies that need segregated, bankruptcy-remote reserves, EEA firms that need MiCA-authorized custody from an Irish entity

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