Best Bitcoin Custody Providers in 2026: A Buyer's Guide

The best bitcoin custody provider for you depends on one question more than any other: who do you want able to move your bitcoin? Some people want to hold their own keys with a professional backup. Some want no keys at all. Some are happy with one large, regulated custodian. This guide sorts the US providers people actually compare by that question, then by cost, insurance, IRA support and inheritance.

Onramp wrote this guide, and Onramp is one of the providers in it. Every competitor fact here comes from that company's own website and was last checked in October 2026. Where a company's site doesn't state something, this page leaves it out rather than guess. Terms change, so confirm current details with each provider before you decide. Nothing here is financial, legal or tax advice.

Key Takeaways

• Three models cover almost every option. Collaborative custody, where you hold most of the keys and a company holds a backup key (Unchained, Casa, Nunchuk, AnchorWatch's Flagship vaults). Multi-institution custody, where independent institutions secure the keys and you hold none (Onramp, AnchorWatch's MIC vault). Single custodians, where one company holds every key (Fidelity, BitGo, Coinbase, River, Swan, Strike).
• Self-custody is a strong choice for people who want to hold their own keys and are ready to manage the backups. Collaborative custody exists to make it easier.
• Insurance varies more than any other feature. Some providers state none on bitcoin. Others cover only part of what they hold, or only cases where they hold all the keys. One sells a policy in your own name. Read what each one covers.
• Fees are structured differently. Some charge a flat yearly fee, some a fee tiered by balance, and some charge nothing for custody and earn on trading. The comparison below shows each provider's published starting price.
• Onramp is not the right fit for everyone. If you want to hold a key yourself, other providers fit better. The section on when Onramp isn't the right fit says so plainly.

How This Guide Evaluates Custody Providers

Seven criteria shape the sections below. They are the questions buyers ask most on consultation calls with Onramp, and the ones that separate one model from another.

1. What has to fail for you to lose access or lose funds. With a single custodian, one company is the point of failure. With self-custody, it's you and your backups. With collaborative or multi-institution custody, more than one party has to fail or act together.
2. Who can move the bitcoin. You alone, you with a company's backup key, a quorum of institutions with your permission, or one company.
3. Insurance, and what it actually covers. Whether any insurance applies to bitcoin at all, who pays for it, the limit, and the events it covers. Cash insurance (FDIC) does not cover bitcoin at any provider.
4. Regulation. Whether the company is a chartered custodian, a technology provider, or a custody solution that works with chartered institutions, and what audits it publishes.
5. Published fees, where the provider lists them. Custody fees are compared separately from trading fees.
6. Inheritance. How beneficiaries get access, and whether they need a seed phrase, hardware wallet or probate documents.
7. The setup and ongoing burden. Hardware to buy and store, backups to manage, and how long it takes to open an account.

The Three Custody Models in Brief

Collaborative custody (Unchained, Casa, Nunchuk, Swan Vault, AnchorWatch Flagship). A multisig vault in which you hold one or more keys on hardware wallets and the company holds a backup key. Unchained's standard vault is 2-of-3, with two keys held by the client; Unchained says it "holds only one key, so we can never move your bitcoin." You get control and a recovery partner. You also take on the devices, the backups and the signing.

Multi-institution custody (Onramp, AnchorWatch MIC). Three independent institutions protect your bitcoin, and you hold no key. At Onramp, three institutions protect your bitcoin. No one of them can lose it, move it, or use it, and nothing moves without your permission. Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover each secure a key offline, never on a consumer device, in a 2-of-3 multisig. You never hold a key yourself. AnchorWatch lists AnchorWatch, BitGo and CoinCorner as the keyholders in its MIC vault.

Single custodian (Fidelity, BitGo, Coinbase, River, Swan, Strike). One company, or one custodian partner, holds every key. This is the simplest setup and often the cheapest for custody, and several of these firms are large, chartered and audited. The tradeoff is that one institution's controls, people and solvency stand between you and your bitcoin.

Some companies sit in more than one group because they sell more than one product. AnchorWatch offers collaborative Flagship vaults and a MIC vault. Swan offers the collaborative Swan Vault and custodian accounts. Nunchuk offers free do-it-yourself multisig and assisted plans. Onramp offers Multi-Institution Custody vaults, and Onramp Finance accounts hold bitcoin at BitGo, a qualified custodian. BitGo is a single custodian in its own right and also one of the institutions in both Onramp's and AnchorWatch's multi-institution vaults.

Best If You Want to Hold Your Own Keys With a Backup

Unchained. A long-running collaborative custody provider; Unchained says it has 12,000+ clients and 100,000+ BTC held in vaults. Its standard vault is a 2-of-3 multisig: you hold two keys on hardware wallets (Trezor and Ledger are fully supported), and Unchained holds the third as a backup. A vault costs $250 a year. Unchained Signature, its concierge tier, is $6,000 the first year and $4,500 a year after, covering up to 10 vaults with inheritance included. It offers a Bitcoin IRA (Traditional, Roth and SEP, plus a Solo 401(k)) with Fortis Bank as IRA custodian, and a 1% trading desk with a $2,000 minimum trade. Its trust company subsidiary, Gannett Trust, can serve as a qualified custodian when needed.

• Fits: holders who want control of their keys and a long-running partner for recovery, IRAs and estate work.
• What you take on: two hardware wallets, their backups and the signing.

Casa. Collaborative custody built around a simple app. Standard is $250 a year for a 2-of-3 vault (one hardware key, one mobile key and one Casa Key), with a 30-day free trial. Premium is $2,100 a year for a 3-of-5 vault with three hardware keys, hardware included. Private Client is $7,500 a year with a dedicated advisor. Inheritance is included in every plan. Casa says it "holds a backup key but can never move funds alone," and it describes itself as non-custodial software with a SOC 2 Type II report.

• Fits: holders who want a guided self-custody setup, a low entry price and inheritance in the base plan.
• What you take on: your own devices and keys, plus the setup for each one.

Nunchuk. A wallet app with free do-it-yourself multisig, plus assisted plans. Iron Hand is $120 a year for a 2-of-3 assisted multisig. Honey Badger is $480 a year and adds an inheritance key with an optional timelock. Honey Badger Premier is $2,100 a year. Hardware is bought separately, and Nunchuk holds one "Platform Key."

• Fits: technical holders who want the lowest-cost assisted multisig.

Also in this group: Swan Vault (a 2-of-3 collaborative multisig in which you hold two Jade devices, from $30 a month) and AnchorWatch's Flagship vaults (you hold one or more keys alongside AnchorWatch's keys, with optional insurance).

Self-custody on your own hardware. For many holders, a hardware wallet or a self-built multisig is the right answer. There's no custody fee, no account and no counterparty. The responsibility is yours: the devices, the seed phrase backups, keeping them secure for decades, and a plan your family can follow. If you're comfortable with that, it's a sound choice. See hardware wallet vs institutional custody.

Best If You Don't Want to Manage Keys

If the reason you're looking is that you don't want hardware wallets, seed phrases or backups, there are two routes. One is a single regulated custodian. The other is multi-institution custody, which removes the keys from your hands without putting them all with one company.

Onramp. Onramp is a custody solution, not a custodian. It pioneered multi-institution custody and has run it since April 2023. Its Multi-Institution Custody works like a bank vault that needs two keyholders to open: it takes two of the three (Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover) to move your bitcoin. Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover each secure a key offline, never on a consumer device, in a 2-of-3 multisig. You never hold a key yourself. There are no hardware wallets, seed phrases, backups, or PINs to manage. Each client's bitcoin sits in its own segregated vault on the bitcoin network, titled to the client and verifiable on-chain at any time. The vault is plain 2-of-3 multisig with no timelocks or alternative paths in the script, and BitGo signs only after its own video verification with the client. Clients who want a time delay can add one through Onramp Guardian. Onramp holds $1B+ in bitcoin under Multi-Institution Custody.

• Cost: Multi-Institution Custody starts at $100 a month, the price of an IRA vault. Core starts at $250 a month or $2,400 a year for up to 10 BTC and includes a Multi-Institution Custody vault, an IRA vault, inheritance planning and Guardian.
• Also: buying and selling bitcoin (recurring buys are free after the first purchase in each schedule), a Bitcoin IRA, Transfer on Death inheritance and business accounts.
• What you take on: withdrawals require identity verification and recorded video verification with Onramp and with BitGo, and most vault withdrawals complete in 24 to 48 hours. That pace is deliberate: bitcoin that can't be moved in minutes isn't an easy target for someone trying to force a transfer in person, a risk more holders now plan for. You don't hold a key, by design.

AnchorWatch. The other US provider selling multi-institution custody. Its MIC vault, launched July 21, 2026, is a 2-of-3 arrangement with AnchorWatch, BitGo and CoinCorner, where you never hold a signing device. It runs on Trident, AnchorWatch's proprietary vault platform, and AnchorWatch says it builds a time-locked recovery layer into every Trident vault. AnchorWatch hasn't published its MIC spending policy, or said whether BitGo secures its key offline. Custody for individuals starts at $100 a month, with a $250 setup fee. AnchorWatch is a Lloyd's of London coverholder and sells an optional policy in your own name. On Oct 19, 2026 it announced AnchorWatch Trust Company, a Nevada state-chartered trust company and qualified custodian.

• Fits: holders who want multi-institution custody plus an insurance policy written in their own name, and who are comfortable with underwriting and a separate premium.
• Note: CoinCorner (AnchorWatch's partner) and CoinCover (one of Onramp's institutions) are different companies.

Fidelity. Fidelity Crypto accounts are custodied by Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association, a national trust bank chartered by the OCC in 2025, which undergoes SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 audits. Buys and sells carry a 1% fee. You can withdraw bitcoin to an outside wallet from a regular account, with new addresses activated in 2 to 3 business days.

• Fits: people who want bitcoin next to their other Fidelity accounts, held by one of the largest financial firms in the US.

BitGo. BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. is an OCC-chartered national trust bank, and BitGo now offers qualified custody to individual investors "at no cost." It states up to $250M of insurance "for cases where we hold all keys," placed with Lloyd's of London and European insurers. BitGo is also one of the three institutions that protect Onramp's individual and IRA vaults, and Onramp Finance accounts hold bitcoin at BitGo.

• Fits: holders who want a chartered single custodian with no custody fee.

River. Bitcoin-only, with all client bitcoin in multisig cold storage, a full-reserve policy (River says it will not lend or rehypothecate client bitcoin) and monthly proof of reserves. River lists no custody fee, and recurring buys are free starting seven days after setup. Private Client starts at $100,000 with a relationship manager. River says plainly that bitcoin on its platform is not FDIC insured.

• Fits: people who want to buy and hold in one simple bitcoin-only account.

Strike and Coinbase also hold every key for their customers and are covered under active trading below.

Best for a Bitcoin IRA

The right choice turns on two questions. Do you want to hold keys inside the IRA? Unchained is built for that. Do you want to move bitcoin in or out in kind later? Check that before you fund, because not every IRA allows it. Onramp's approach to IRAs is covered in more depth in the best bitcoin IRA providers.

Best for Very Large Balances

Above roughly 10 BTC, fee structure starts to matter as much as features.

• Collaborative custody is priced flat. Casa Private Client is $7,500 a year and Unchained Signature is $4,500 a year after the first year, whatever your balance.
• AnchorWatch lists custody from $100 a month. Its insurance is optional and extra, at an estimated 0.6% to 0.8% of the insured amount a year, with a deductible the customer chooses.
• Onramp's Core fee is tiered by bitcoin held, starting at $2,400 a year up to 10 BTC. Onramp Private, for balances of 10 BTC and up, starts at 0.04% a month and adds a dedicated account manager and reduced trade fees. For larger balances, see Onramp's pricing page or talk to the team.
• Single custodians serve large holders too. Coinbase lists high-net-worth individuals and family offices among Prime Custody clients, through Coinbase Custody Trust Company, a NYDFS-regulated New York trust company. River Private Client starts at $100,000 with no onboarding or custody fees.

For a large position, the more useful question is often what has to fail. With one custodian, it's one institution. With collaborative custody, it's you and your key storage. With multi-institution custody, it takes two of three independent institutions to move client bitcoin. Whatever the model, ask each provider who can sign, under what conditions, and whether every spending path is published. Bitcoin custody for large positions walks through each model at $500K to $10M.

Best for Active Trading

If you trade often, or trade assets other than bitcoin, an exchange is built for that, and you can still move long-term savings into custody.

Coinbase is a multi-asset exchange. Simple buys include a spread, and fees show on the trade preview rather than as one flat rate. Coinbase One costs $4.99 to $299.99 a month for zero trading fees on many assets, with a spread still applied. Coinbase holds keys in a mix of online and offline storage and may use shared blockchain addresses. It carries crime insurance that "protects a portion" of the digital assets it holds, and that insurance does not cover losses from unauthorized access to your own account. Its retail Vault adds a 48-hour withdrawal delay.

Strike charges 0.89% on one-time buys under $5,000 a month, falling to 0.25% at the highest volume, plus a spread of about 0.22%. Recurring buys are free after the first week. Strike holds all the keys to customer funds, in multisig vaults, and offers bitcoin-backed loans from 7.75% APR.

River charges 1% on one-time buys up to $1M, falling to 0.25% above $15M, with free recurring buys after the first week.

Onramp is bitcoin-only and built for accumulating and holding rather than frequent trading. One-time buys are 0.85% (0.65% on Core, 0.32% on Private), recurring buys are free after the first purchase in each schedule, and Core and Private buys settle directly into your Multi-Institution Custody vault.

Best for Passing Bitcoin to Family

Inheritance is where models differ most in practice. The question is what your beneficiaries will need to do.

• Onramp: you name beneficiaries and sign a Transfer on Death agreement. Beneficiaries never need a seed phrase or hardware wallet.
• Casa: inheritance is included in every plan. A recipient files a claim, and Casa then runs a six-month inactivity check.
• Unchained: offers several pieces, including Inheritance Protocol documents for your executor, trust vaults and transfer-on-death beneficiaries. Its Inheritance Boot Camp, at $4,000, builds the legal and custody sides together.
• River, Strike and Swan: each offers a beneficiary plan on personal accounts. River's is free, and Strike's allows up to 15 beneficiaries (not available in Louisiana).
• Coinbase: says it doesn't currently support naming a beneficiary on individual accounts. Beneficiaries claim with probate documents.
• Self-custody: your beneficiaries need your instructions, your devices or seed phrases, and the know-how to use them.

Comparison Table

Facts as published by each provider, checked October 2026.

When Onramp Is Not the Right Fit

Onramp is a good fit for people who want no keys to manage, no single institution in control, and buying, an IRA and inheritance in one place. It isn't the best choice for everyone:

• You want to hold a key yourself. Onramp clients never hold a key, by design. If holding keys matters to you, Unchained, Casa, Nunchuk, Swan Vault, AnchorWatch Flagship or your own hardware wallet will fit better.
• You want a policy in your own name as the center of your setup. Onramp's core program is its aggregate custody insurance. Any client can add dedicated cover in their own name, through Native, at about 0.58% a year of the amount insured, with lower rates on larger limits. Terms and exclusions apply. AnchorWatch builds its product around a policy in the customer's name.
• You hold a small amount and don't want a monthly fee. Multi-Institution Custody fees are a large share of a small balance. A free account fits better, such as Onramp Finance (bitcoin held at BitGo, a qualified custodian), River or BitGo's free custody, or a hardware wallet.
• You trade often, or trade assets other than bitcoin. Onramp is bitcoin-only and built for holding. An exchange such as Coinbase suits active, multi-asset trading.
• You need to move bitcoin within minutes. Vault withdrawals involve video verification with two institutions, and most complete in 24 to 48 hours. That delay is part of the protection, since no one can pressure you into moving it on the spot, but it isn't instant.
• You want exposure in a brokerage account. A spot bitcoin ETF may suit you better. See Onramp vs bitcoin ETFs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best bitcoin custody providers in the US?

It depends on who you want able to move your bitcoin. Unchained, Casa and Nunchuk are leading collaborative custody providers, where you hold most of the keys. Onramp and AnchorWatch offer multi-institution custody, where independent institutions secure the keys and you hold none. Fidelity, BitGo, Coinbase, River, Swan and Strike are single custodians that hold every key. Onramp wrote this guide and is one of the providers.

What is the difference between multi-institution custody and collaborative custody?

In collaborative custody, you hold most of the keys on hardware wallets and a company holds a backup key, as with Unchained and Casa. In multi-institution custody, you hold no key. At Onramp, Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover each secure a key offline, never on a consumer device, in a 2-of-3 multisig. You never hold a key yourself. Nothing moves without your permission. See collaborative vs multi-institution custody.

Is my bitcoin insured with a custody provider?

It depends on the provider, and FDIC insurance never covers bitcoin. River states that bitcoin on its platform is not insured. Coinbase's crime insurance protects a portion of the assets it holds and excludes losses from unauthorized access to your own account. BitGo states up to $250M of cover where it holds all keys. AnchorWatch sells an optional policy in your name. Onramp maintains custody insurance through Canopius, a Lloyd's of London syndicate: up to $50M in aggregate coverage across our custody operations. Onramp pays the premium.

How much does bitcoin custody cost?

Collaborative custody is typically a flat yearly fee: $250 for an Unchained vault or Casa Standard. Multi-institution custody at Onramp starts at $100 a month, with Core at $250 a month or $2,400 a year up to 10 BTC. AnchorWatch starts at $100 a month. River and BitGo list no custody fee for individuals. Full Onramp pricing is at onrampbitcoin.com/pricing.

Is Onramp a custodian?

No. Onramp is a custody solution, not a custodian, and not an exchange. Three institutions protect each Multi-Institution Custody vault, and it takes two of the three (Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover) to move your bitcoin. Onramp Finance accounts hold bitcoin at BitGo, a qualified custodian, in cold storage.

Should I use self-custody instead of a custody provider?

If you're comfortable managing hardware wallets, seed phrase backups and an inheritance plan, self-custody is a sound choice with no custody fee and no counterparty. Collaborative custody adds a professional backup key. Multi-institution custody is for people who would rather hold no keys at all without trusting one company with them.

Which bitcoin custody provider is best for an IRA?

Onramp offers Traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs held in Multi-Institution Custody. Unchained offers IRAs in which you hold two of three keys. Swan offers Traditional and Roth IRAs through Equity Trust. Fidelity offers crypto IRAs but says they are ineligible for crypto transfers in or out. Pick based on whether you want keys and whether you'll need in-kind transfers.

Disclosures

Onramp wrote this guide and is one of the providers compared. Information about other providers comes from their public websites as of October 2026 and may change; none of them is affiliated with Onramp, except that BitGo and CoinCover are institutions in Onramp's Multi-Institution Custody. Onramp is a custody solution, not a custodian, and not a bank. Bitcoin is volatile. Insurance descriptions are summaries; policy terms govern. Nothing here is financial, legal or tax advice.