After over a decade of offering digital asset services to institutional clients, BitGo is now expanding into the retail market.
According to a Dec. 2 announcement, BitGo is launching a global version of its digital assets solutions for retail investors, similar to crypto exchange platforms, including trading, staking, and wallet services. Users will also be able to use BitGo’s regulated custody through cold and self-storage.
Based in California, BitGo claims to serve over 1,500 clients across more than 50 countries, including companies like Nike and over 150 crypto exchanges. Competition for institutional clients has intensified in recent months, with several newcomers entering the digital asset market to meet the demands of institutional investors. Having targeted institutional clients since 2013, BitGo is now diversifying its strategy to include retail users.
“The retail crypto market often struggles with a lack of reliable custody solutions and concerns over exchange reliability. BitGo aims to bridge this gap by providing secure custody services,” a spokesperson for BitGo told Cointelegraph.
The number of crypto users worldwide is estimated to climb to one billion by the end of 2024.
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The company is said to have partnered with several banks and institutions to integrate crypto trading and off-exchange settlement, though it has not disclosed in which countries and currencies these services are available.
BitGo’s valuation touched $1.75 billion in August 2023 after the company closed a $100 million Series C financing round from investors in the United States and Asia. Previous backers include investment bank Goldman Sachs, DRW Holdings and Galaxy’s venture capital arm, Galaxy Digital Ventures.
In another move to diversify its business, BitGo announced in September its entry into the stablecoin market with an upcoming stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. BitGo also revealed plans for a regulated platform for custody and managing native tokens for Web3 protocols. According to the company, the platform will enable crypto-native organizations to programmatically manage native token distribution to investors, employees and grant recipients.
BitGo also serves as a custodian for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, providing cold storage for issuers such as Valkyrie, Hashdex, and 21Shares.
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