Multi-Institution Bitcoin Custody: Who Holds the Keys?

Onramp’s multi-institution Bitcoin custody model leverages multisignature, or multisig, a method of securing Bitcoin that requires multiple approvals before funds can be moved out of a Bitcoin wallet. It was one of the first significant breakthroughs in Bitcoin security over a decade ago and now secures hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Bitcoin used at countless institutional-grade custodians and retail wallet providers.

Unlike a single-signature wallet that relies on a single private key for security, a multisig wallet requires multiple signatures to authorize a Bitcoin transaction. We wrote a piece, “What Is Bitcoin Multisignature (Multisig)?” if you would like to learn more about how it works.

What Are Institutional Key Partners?

Our multi-institution custody solution is made possible by working with independent institutions, which we refer to as “key partners.” This term refers to an institution that secures a private key as part of a multi-institution bitcoin vault. Three independent institutions protect every vault, and it takes two of three institutions to move your bitcoin.

The client never holds a key, a seed phrase, or a hardware wallet. Three independent institutions protect the bitcoin, so firmware updates and key ceremonies are never the client's job, while legal title to the bitcoin stays with the client.

While they are key partners of Onramp, each institution works as an agent on behalf of the client. Their legal and operational responsibility is tied to the client’s explicit direction, not Onramp’s.

Each key partner is carefully selected based on its security practices, core competencies, business resilience, and jurisdictional coverage.

Unlike single-custodian models, this decentralized approach to Bitcoin custody builds redundancies by having multiple independent businesses protect the assets, none of which can move or lose the Bitcoin or be compromised, resulting in a loss.

Want to first learn more about Multi-Institution Custody? Check this article out.

Onramp’s Institutional Key Partners

Now that you understand the basics, let’s take a look at who Onramp has partnered with as key partners in our multi-institution custody solution.

BitGo: A Pioneer in Multi-Signature Custody

BitGo was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe, a technologist and entrepreneur whose early career spanned roles at Hewlett-Packard, Netscape, and Google. After discovering Bitcoin in 2012, Belshe saw both the promise of the technology and the serious shortcomings in its security model. He launched BitGo to create safer storage solutions for digital assets, starting with the first widely adopted multi-signature wallet infrastructure.

More than a decade later, BitGo has become one of the most established names in institutional Bitcoin custody. They serve more than 1,500 institutional clients in over 50 countries, securing over $100 billion of digital assets, and are responsible for processing roughly 20 percent of all on-chain Bitcoin transaction volume by value.

BitGo’s infrastructure has processed more than three trillion dollars in lifetime transactions and provides cold storage and qualified custody under a trust company charter.

Their regulatory pedigree is deep. BitGo Trust Company was chartered in 2018 by the South Dakota Division of Banking, and BitGo New York Trust Company followed in 2021 under the New York Department of Financial Services, each designed to safeguard client assets with specific fiduciary and regulatory standards.

Why BitGo Is a Key Partner

Onramp’s partnership with BitGo leverages BitGo Trust Company’s deep cold storage, offline key management, and institutional-grade controls. Importantly, this marks the first time BitGo has permitted its Trust key to be utilized in a multi-institution vault with an external partner. That speaks to the strength of Onramp’s governance model and BitGo’s belief in the next evolution of Bitcoin custody.

BitGo’s deep track record spanning over a decade of institutional custody and infrastructure made them an excellent choice for a key partner who specializes in protecting client assets and has some of the deepest acumen in the industry.

Their combination of pioneering security standards for Bitcoin custody and regulatory maturity makes them an ideal partner for long-term institutional Bitcoin custody.

CoinCover: Asset Protection and Business Continuity

Founded in the United Kingdom in 2018 and launched in 2019, CoinCover was established in response to a growing issue in the digital asset space: the lack of safeguards when private keys are lost, compromised, or mismanaged.

With roots in cybersecurity and enterprise infrastructure, CoinCover’s co-founders set out to create a modern solution that prevents loss and offers recoverability, without requiring clients to trust a single custodian or employee.

CoinCover’s protection model focuses on key recovery, fraud monitoring, and business continuity. Their military-grade infrastructure allows organizations to build secure fallback mechanisms without compromising on decentralization or control. Today, CoinCover protects over 22 million wallets and has neutralized over $48 billion in threats.

CoinCover works with over 500 companies globally, including exchanges, investment firms, and wallet providers, to integrate risk mitigation protocols into operational workflows.

Why CoinCover Is a Key Partner

CoinCover was a natural fit as a key partner in Onramp’s multi-institution custody solution, as recovery and business continuity are the firm’s core competencies. CoinCover provides Onramp with an added layer of continuity in our multi-institution custody model. If one keyholding institution becomes unavailable or unable to sign, CoinCover’s recovery infrastructure can step in to help facilitate secure access for the client.

Their UK base also adds important jurisdictional diversification to Onramp’s custody framework. In a world where regulation, geopolitics, or technical failures can affect certain entities unevenly, having a keyholder in a separate regulatory and legal regime enhances the overall resilience of the custody system.

More than just a fallback, CoinCover represents a specialized layer of operational protection. Their business continuity expertise helps ensure that Onramp clients maintain access to their Bitcoin even during extreme edge cases.

Tetra Trust: Regulated Custody from Canada

Founded in 2019, Tetra Trust is Canada’s first regulated digital asset custodian. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Tetra was created to fill a critical gap in the Canadian financial ecosystem: providing institutions with compliant, secure, and regulated custody solutions for digital assets. The company is licensed as a trust company under Alberta’s regulatory framework and operates under fiduciary oversight.

Tetra was designed specifically for institutional custody, with a focus on transparency, physical security, and client protection. Their infrastructure supports a wide range of digital assets, and they currently hold over $2.5 billion in assets under custody. Tetra’s institutional posture, independent board, and regulated status have made it the go-to custodian for leading asset managers and fintech companies operating in the Canadian market.

Why Tetra Trust Is a Key Partner

Tetra brings jurisdictional resilience and regulatory diversity to Onramp’s multi-institution custody model. As a Canadian trust company, they operate under a legal framework that is distinct from Onramp’s US-based and UK-based partners, reducing the likelihood that a single regulatory event could impact the entire custody network.

Their dedicated infrastructure, audited processes, and alignment with institutional compliance expectations make them a natural fit for Onramp's business vaults, where Tetra Trust is one of the three institutions alongside Onramp and CoinCover. Their presence also adds cross-border assurance and geographic diversification.

Tetra’s role ensures that no single regulatory body, infrastructure provider, or regional event can jeopardize client access or control. Their regulated foundation complements the technical and operational strengths of other keyholding partners, supporting Onramp’s goal of delivering secure and resilient Bitcoin custody at institutional scale.

Our Standard Multi-Institution Configurations

So now that you’re familiar with multi-institution custody and our selected key partners, you may want to better understand how your multi-institution vault is secured at Onramp. Every vault uses one of two standard configurations. Individual and IRA vaults use:

• Onramp (USA - Texas)
• BitGo Trust Company (USA - South Dakota)
• CoinCover (UK)

Business vaults use:

• Onramp (USA - Texas)
• Tetra Trust (Canada - Alberta)
• CoinCover (UK)

Both configurations combine institutions in separate regulatory jurisdictions (the US and UK, plus Canada for business vaults), tested infrastructure, and institutional-grade controls. In each, the three institutions form a 2-of-3 quorum where no single entity can move funds unilaterally.

That is the complete list. Onramp and CoinCover are part of every vault, and the third institution is BitGo Trust Company for individual and IRA vaults or Tetra Trust for business vaults. No other custodian, exchange, or third party is part of an Onramp quorum.

Over time, Onramp plans to onboard additional qualified institutions to our custody network.

This modular approach gives clients confidence that their Bitcoin is secured by world-class institutions with complementary strengths, while maintaining the structural integrity of quorum-based governance.

Insurance Coverage Providers

The core of Onramp’s custody model is structural resilience, not insurance.

Onramp maintains a $50 million (active-limit) policy underwritten by Lloyd’s of London (Canopius) covering its operations, one of the most established names in global insurance. This policy specifically covers tail risks such as dishonest or fraudulent actions between two keyholders (collusion).

To obtain this coverage, Onramp underwent a rigorous underwriting and due diligence process. Lloyd’s reviewed our multi-institution custody design, operational practices, and third-party controls before issuing the policy. This ensures that the policy is meaningful and enforceable, not just a marketing claim.

Importantly, insurance is not the foundation of our model; it sits alongside several layers of security and authentication, not behind them. The goal is to prevent failure, not to rely on reimbursement after the fact.

This additional layer complements the core custody structure and reflects Onramp’s belief in building redundant systems, not taking single points of failure for granted.

Why Onramp Built a Custody Network, Not a Single Point of Failure

Most Bitcoin platforms depend on a single custodian to safeguard client assets. That approach may be easier to implement, but it concentrates operational, legal, and reputational risk in one institution.

Onramp took a different path.

We built a networked custody system, where multiple independent institutions work together to protect your Bitcoin. This is not a theoretical idea. It is the architecture of our multi-institution custody model that has served our client base of individuals, businesses, and institutional investors for years.

There are several reasons this matters:

• Structural resilience: It takes two of three institutions to move your bitcoin, so no single failure can result in a loss.
• Jurisdictional diversification: Our partners operate in different legal jurisdictions. For example, CoinCover is based in the UK, adding legal diversity to our model.
• Operational independence: Each institution has its own infrastructure, policies, and oversight processes. They are not subsidiaries or affiliates of Onramp. This creates natural checks and balances.
• Business alignment: Each keyholding partner has a strong institutional business model and a track record of serving enterprise clients. Their reputations are built on trust, and they have every incentive to act in the best interest of clients.

Onramp’s role is not to do everything ourselves. It is to coordinate a resilient ecosystem that brings together best-in-class custody, security, and infrastructure providers. Our clients benefit from that design without having to manage it themselves.

Final Thoughts

At Onramp, we believe that a sound custody system is built by bringing together institutions that are independently secure, operationally excellent, and fully aligned with client interests.

That is why we partner with industry leaders such as BitGo Trust, CoinCover, and Tetra Trust, each with a proven track record of securing Bitcoin at scale. And we do not just rely on them individually. We combine them in an auditable, multi-institution custody model that reduces risk by design.

Individual and IRA vaults use Onramp, BitGo Trust, and CoinCover, and business vaults use Onramp, Tetra Trust, and CoinCover.

If you are evaluating Bitcoin custody solutions and want to understand who holds the keys, how withdrawals are authorized, and what makes our model secure, we are happy to walk you through it.

Peace of mind starts with structure. And that structure starts with the institutions behind the keys.

Frequently asked questions

Who are Onramp's keyholders?

Individual and IRA vaults use Onramp, BitGo Trust Company, and CoinCover. Business vaults use Onramp, Tetra Trust, and CoinCover. Onramp operates every vault from Texas. BitGo Trust Company, chartered in South Dakota, runs deep cold storage. Tetra Trust is a regulated Canadian custodian. CoinCover, based in the UK, specializes in recovery and business continuity. No other institution is part of an Onramp quorum.

Does Onramp hold all the keys to client bitcoin?

No. Onramp is one of three independent institutions protecting every vault, and it takes two of three institutions to move your bitcoin. The other two are BitGo Trust Company and CoinCover for individual and IRA vaults, or Tetra Trust and CoinCover for business vaults, and none of them is a subsidiary or affiliate of Onramp. Onramp cannot move client bitcoin on its own, and no other single institution can either.

Does the client hold a key?

No. You never hold a key, a seed phrase, or a hardware wallet. Three independent institutions protect your bitcoin, so firmware updates and key ceremonies are never your job. You keep legal title to the bitcoin and can verify your holdings on-chain at any time.

What happens if one keyholder fails?

Nothing is lost. It takes two of three institutions to move your bitcoin, so it stays recoverable if one institution is compromised, becomes unavailable, or goes out of business. If a replacement is needed, the remaining two institutions can move the bitcoin to a new vault, and recovery proceeds without Onramp if Onramp is the institution that fails.

Can any single institution move client bitcoin?

No. It takes two of three institutions to move your bitcoin, so no single institution, Onramp included, can move it alone. The bitcoin network enforces that limit through the multisignature script itself, not a policy or a contractual promise.

Further Reading

What Is Multi-Institution Bitcoin Custody?

How Does Multi-Institution Bitcoin Custody Work?

Is Multi-Institution Bitcoin Custody Safe? Collusion Risk Explained

Introducing Onramp Guardian: The Final Layer of Bitcoin Security

The Barbell Approach to Bitcoin Custody