Valkyrie adds BitGo as custodian for its spot bitcoin ETF

Quick Take

  • Valkyrie said it still plans to have Coinbase Trust Company stay on as a custodian as well, according to a fresh filing on Thursday.  

Valkyrie has added BitGo as a custodian for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to a regulatory filing posted on Thursday. 

Valkyrie said it still plans to have Coinbase Trust Company stay on as a custodian as well. 

"The Sponsor anticipates utilizing the custodial services of both Coinbase and BitGo to custody the Trust’s bitcoin," Valkyrie said.

Many of the spot bitcoin ETFs that got approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission have Coinbase as their custodians, including BlackRock, Bitwise and Ark21. The Hashdex spot bitcoin ETF, which was also approved last month, lists BitGo as its custodian. 

Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, called Valkyrie's move to add his firm as a custodian as a win for the industry, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Valkyrie has added @BitGo as a custodian for their #Bitcoin ETF. This is a huge win for the industry as we partner to secure their assets," Belshe said on Thursday. "Kudos to @valkyriefunds, @LeahWald and @stevenmcclurg for leading the industry with the best approach to mitigate risk in ETF custody."

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Competition heats up

Spot bitcoin ETF issuers are looking at ways to increase profitability as competition heats up among the firms, according to Bloomberg News. 

Firms have also continued to slash fees over the past month. Invesco and Galaxy's spot bitcoin ETF, which has been more in the middle of the pack, dropped its fee from 0.39% to 0.25% earlier this week. 

Fidelity lowered its fee to 0.25% right before its spot bitcoin ETF was approved, down from 0.39%.

Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET to include post from Mike Belshe 


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About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

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