Institutional MPC custody with ClearLoop off-exchange settlement across major exchanges
Copper launched in London in 2018 under founder Dmitry Tokarev, who led the company until October 2024 and now sits on the group board as founder director. Amar Kuchinad succeeded him as CEO. On September 21, 2026, chief compliance officer Elin Cherry and CFO Sam Goh became group co-CEOs, and Kuchinad moved to an advisory role. Mike Kuehnel, a former Flow Traders CEO, replaced Lord Hammond as chairman in April 2026 and leads the board of Copper Technologies (UK) Limited.
Disclosed funding adds up to $279 million. That covers an $8 million Series A in February 2020, a $50 million Series B in May 2021 with a $25 million extension led by Alan Howard, and a $196 million Series C in 2022 that included a $15 million convertible note. Copper's timeline names Tiger Global and Barclays as Series C leads. CoinDesk reported in May 2026 that Cantor Fitzgerald had been hired to sell Copper for about $500 million. Offers reported in August were around $200 million.
Each client's assets sit in dedicated on-chain wallets. Copper says they are not pooled and not held on its balance sheet. Vaults run on Copper's own multi-party computation scheme, which never creates a full private key. The client holds one signing shard and Copper another, while a trusted third party keeps the last, and any transfer needs two of the three. Cold vault transfers need sign-off from the client and Copper, while hot vaults sign automatically. Clients can also pick a warm vault.
Copper reports a SOC 2 Type 2 attestation for security and availability, along with an ISO 27001-certified security management system. Penetration tests run both internally and through independent testers.
Copper is the trading name of Copper Markets (Switzerland) AG in Zug. That company is registered as a financial intermediary with VQF, a self-regulatory organization authorized by FINMA. Copper's disclosures state that it has not been licensed or authorized by FINMA itself. In the US, Copper Markets (US) Inc. received SEC broker-dealer approval on August 7, 2026, and was accepted as a FINRA member. Copper presents that unit as a US qualified custodian and plans to offer custody, staking, financing and OTC services through it.
Other regulated routes have closed. Copper withdrew its UK FCA registration application in December 2024. Copper Markets (Liechtenstein) AG waived its TVTG registration as a VT custodian effective September 24, 2026, and the ADGM permissions of Copper Securities (ME) Limited were withdrawn on September 28, 2026. Insurance is arranged with Aon: $500 million of specie market cover placed in the Lloyd's of London market, plus a separate crypto crime policy.
ClearLoop, launched in 2020, is Copper's off-exchange settlement and collateral network. Clients trade on connected venues while their collateral stays in Copper custody. Exchanges shown on the network page include OKX, Coinbase, Bybit, Deribit, Kraken, Bitfinex, Gate and Bitget. Copper's homepage cites about $3 billion of monthly off-exchange settlements through ClearLoop and $105 billion of monthly notional trading volume backed by ClearLoop-protected collateral.
Custody covers more than 500 assets on over 40 blockchains. Staking runs on 20 networks, among them Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Bittensor. Additions in 2026 include OTC derivatives collateral management, ClearLoop Loans with FalconX, Ripple USD in the stablecoin rewards program and a Hyperliquid perpetuals interface, launched October 1, 2026 and closed to US persons. The developer API covers wallets, orders, staking, lending and ClearLoop, with an OpenAPI specification and webhooks.
Copper suits trading firms that want off-exchange settlement on major exchanges with $500 million of insurance behind the custody layer. Thin licensing outside the US and an open sale process weigh against it for long-term custody mandates.
ClearLoop is Copper's main draw. A trading firm can keep collateral in a segregated MPC vault and still trade on Deribit or OKX, and settlement runs from within custody without assets moving on-chain. CoinDesk has called ClearLoop the jewel in Copper's crown. The custody layer underneath is sound: no single party can move funds, and Copper publishes a specific insurance figure of $500 million with a named broker.
Licensing is the weak spot. Non-US clients contract with a Swiss company that holds a VQF self-regulatory registration and states it has no FINMA license. Its crypto service also falls outside Swiss deposit protection and the UK's FSCS. Copper's Hyperliquid launch material describes its MPC setup as non-custodial, which leaves the legal character of the custody relationship less clear than at a chartered custodian. The US broker-dealer gives Copper a qualified custodian claim in one market, but SEC approval only came in August 2026.
Copper's footprint has also shrunk. It withdrew its FCA application in December 2024 and waived its Liechtenstein registration in September 2026. Its Abu Dhabi unit won in-principle approval for virtual asset custody in June 2026, yet the ADGM register shows its permissions withdrawn on September 28, and those permissions never included virtual assets. The register lists no regulatory action against the unit.
Ownership is the other open question. Copper has looked for a buyer since at least May 2026, and the bids reported near $200 million compare with a peak valuation above $2 billion. The company has changed chief executives twice since October 2024. It has narrowed its business before, shelving its enterprise software unit and starting a redundancy process in March 2023 to focus on ClearLoop. Copper's newsroom listed no announced buyer as of late October 2026.
Copper fits hedge funds and trading firms that run positions across several centralized exchanges and want collateral to stay in custody, along with institutions that stake on many proof-of-stake networks. Asset managers that need an EU license or a US trust charter for long-term holdings will find neither: Copper's remaining regulated entities are the Swiss VQF member and the US broker-dealer.
| Clients | Institutions, Funds · unverified |
|---|---|
| Regulated | Yes · unverified |
| SOC 2 report | Yes · unverified |
| Insurance | $500M specie market insurance placed in the Lloyd's of London market via Aon, plus a crypto crime policy · unverified |
| Assets supported | 500 · unverified |
| Staking | Yes · unverified |
| API access | Yes · unverified |
| Licenses & charters | SEC broker-dealer registration, FINRA member (US), VQF SRO financial intermediary registration (Switzerland) · unverified |
| MPC | Yes · unverified |
| Cold storage | Yes · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: KYC required, Custody model, Qualified custodian.
Data from the provider's website and public sources, checked Oct 28, 2026. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Off-exchange settlement and collateral network that links Copper custody to exchanges such as OKX, Coinbase, Bybit and Deribit.
Vaults secured by a 2-of-3 MPC quorum that never creates a full private key, with cold vaults requiring both client and Copper approval.
Staking on 20 networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Sui.
Financing products, including ClearLoop Loans launched with FalconX in June 2026.
Institutional access to Hyperliquid perpetuals through the Copper platform and API since October 1, 2026, closed to US persons.
API with an OpenAPI specification and webhooks covering wallets, orders, staking, lending and ClearLoop.
Segregated MPC vaults for more than 500 assets on over 40 blockchains.
Off-exchange settlement in which collateral stays in Copper custody while clients trade on connected exchanges.
Staking on 20 networks and a stablecoin rewards program that added Ripple USD in May 2026.
Collateral management, extended to OTC derivatives in April 2026, and financing such as ClearLoop Loans with FalconX.
SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member that Copper plans to use for US qualified custody, staking, financing and OTC services.
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Copper describes its US unit, Copper Markets (US) Inc., as a qualified custodian after the SEC approved its broker-dealer registration on August 7, 2026 and FINRA accepted it as a member. Outside the US, clients contract with Copper Markets (Switzerland) AG, which is registered with VQF and states that it is not licensed by FINMA.
Copper Markets (Switzerland) AG is a financial intermediary registered with VQF, a self-regulatory organization authorized by FINMA, and Copper Markets (US) Inc. is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member. Copper's Liechtenstein TVTG registration ended effective September 24, 2026, and the ADGM permissions of Copper Securities (ME) Limited were withdrawn on September 28, 2026.
Copper arranges its insurance with Aon: $500 million of specie market-based cover placed in the Lloyd's of London market, plus a crypto crime policy.
Yes. Copper lists 20 staking networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, Cosmos and Bittensor.
ClearLoop is Copper's off-exchange settlement and collateral network, launched in 2020. Clients trade on connected exchanges such as OKX, Coinbase, Bybit and Deribit while collateral stays in Copper custody, and Copper cites about $3 billion of monthly settlements through the network.
Copper is privately held and venture-backed, with a group board at Copper Technologies (UK) Limited that includes founder Dmitry Tokarev. CoinDesk reported in May 2026 that Cantor Fitzgerald was hired to sell the company for about $500 million, and offers of around $200 million were reported in August.
Elin Cherry and Sam Goh became group co-CEOs on September 21, 2026, succeeding Amar Kuchinad, who moved to an advisory role. Mike Kuehnel, a former Flow Traders CEO, has chaired the board since April 2026.
Recent public posts from @CopperHQ, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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