BitGo was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe. Belshe is a technologist and entrepreneur whose 25+ year background spans Hewlett-Packard, Netscape, and Google. Given Belshe’s background at the forefront of other technologies in Silicon Valley, when he came across bitcoin in 2012, he was impressed by the technology. He began building storage solutions for himself and many prominent angel investors in Silicon Valley. With his background in computer science and pioneering early internet companies, he understood the risks and shortcomings of the nascent industry and sought to build the necessary solutions.

Belshe is credited with the first implementation of the bitcoin multi-signature wallet to secure large sums of bitcoin for individuals and businesses. Multi-sig’s early appeal with enterprises led to BitGo gravitating toward commercial and institutional markets. Now BitGo is a leader in institutional-grade bitcoin security, custody, and liquidity, providing the operational backbone for over 1,500 institutional clients in over 50 countries. BitGo also processes approximately 20% of all global bitcoin transactions by value.

Under the BitGo umbrella are two state trust companies, chartered to safeguard digital assets and funds on behalf of customers. BitGo Trust Company, Inc (“Trust Co.”) was chartered in 2018 by the South Dakota Division of Banking, and BitGo New York Trust Company LLC (the “New York Trust Co.”) was chartered in 2021 by the New York Department of Financial Services. BitGo has also expanded its regulatory footprint overseas after being granted custody licenses by both the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

BitGo has been ahead of the curve in regulation – consistently setting and achieving specific, rigorous standards such as including SOC2, which evidences that BitGo has designed and implemented comprehensive controls over its multi-signature wallet services to mitigate security risks. Importantly, Onramp’s partnership with BitGo leverages BitGo’s deep cold storage, 100% offline keys, and guarded vaults. Onramp is proud to point out that this is the first time BitGo has used BitGo’s cold storage process for an external partnership. We view this as a strong signal of support for our business model and BitGo’s ability to foresee the next iteration of custody – multi-institution.

Multi-institution custody with Onramp means your bitcoin is held in a vault controlled by 3 keys, each held by separate institutions (Onramp, BitGo, and Coincover), ensuring that no single entity can move funds unilaterally. For any transaction to occur, it must be signed by a quorum of keyholders, specifically 2 of the 3 keys, ensuring a higher level of security and consensus before any funds are moved.