pledge
BitGo
7.9/10 · SCOREDBitGo is less about guided self-custody and more about institutional infrastructure, permissions, and scale.
Provider holds the keys. Low friction.
Custody is two trade-offs: how much control you keep, and how much operational friction you accept. BitGo sits in the provider-custodied half — the custodian holds the signing keys and you hold a legal claim, not direct control, at the cost of moderate operational friction.
Editorial positioning — not a numeric scoring axis. Grey markers are reference archetypes, not the full universe.
BitGo vs the other custody options.
The org, the research angle.
BitGo belongs in scope because custody research needs a real institutional benchmark. Even if many Pledge readers will not be the direct customer, understanding what pure institutional custody looks like helps clarify what collaborative and self-custody-support products are not.
The 8-factor breakdown.
Operating since 2013; SOC-2 Type-2 audited; up to $250M insurance through Lloyd's syndicates. No client-asset loss event publicly disclosed. Custody runs through BitGo's NYDFS-chartered (BitGo New York Trust Company, LLC) and South Dakota trust entities; the OCC conditionally approved BitGo's conversion to a national trust bank, BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association, on Dec 12, 2025 (pending completion).
The receipts.
Every figure on BitGo traces to a primary document. These are the ones we read — open any of them.
Custody model: qualified institutional custody; BitGo holds all keys in cold storage as a qualified custodian (SEC Rule 206(4)-2).
Insurance increase to $250M (historical confirmation of figure).
Regulatory status: OCC-approved conversion to BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. (federally chartered national trust bank), 2025-12-12.
Prior regulatory status: NYDFS NY Trust Charter (2021) and South Dakota trust company.
OCC conversion announcement detail (BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A.).