Anchorage Digital Bank is what crypto looks like when it puts on a suit and walks into a compliance meeting on time. It’s designed for institutions that can’t treat custody like a hot wallet and a prayer — they need qualified custody, audited controls, policy-based approvals, and a regulated entity behind the infrastructure.
Where exchanges focus on liquidity and features, Anchorage focuses on trust structure: who holds the assets, under what charter, under what policies, and how assets can move.
Quick platform snapshot
| Category | Anchorage Digital Bank at a glance |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 (Anchorage Digital / Anchor Labs); bank charter granted in 2021 |
| Founders | Diogo Mónica, Nathan McCauley |
| Current CEO | Nathan McCauley |
| What it is | Federally chartered U.S. national trust bank for digital assets + institutional crypto platform |
| Regulator | U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) |
| Core services | Qualified custody (crypto + USD), staking, trading, governance, settlement, treasury money movement |
| Additional products | Porto (institutional self-custody), stablecoin issuance framework, APIs and integrations |
| Fees | Contract-based (fee schedules are typically negotiated; not a public retail price list) |
| KYC/AML | Required for bank-grade custody and institutional services |
| Availability | Services are offered primarily to institutions (and limited HNW cases) and are not marketed broadly outside the U.S. and Singapore; sanctioned/restricted jurisdictions are excluded |
1) Background: history, founders, leadership
Anchorage was founded by Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley and built institutional custody and security infrastructure before becoming a bank.
In January 2021, the OCC granted conditional approval for Anchorage to operate as a national trust bank under the name Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A. Since then, the bank has positioned itself as the first federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S. serving institutional clients. Nathan McCauley serves as CEO.
2) Licensing and regulation: what makes it different
Anchorage Digital Bank is a federally chartered national trust bank regulated by the OCC. That matters because a national trust charter is fundamentally different from a normal “crypto company license”:
- It is built for fiduciary and custodial activities under a bank-style framework.
- It comes with formal expectations around capital, liquidity, risk management, and BSA/AML compliance.
- In practical terms, this is the posture many institutions want: custody + controls inside a bank-grade perimeter.
3) Full list of services and products (complete catalog)
A) Qualified custody (core)
Anchorage’s flagship product is institutional custody designed for controlled, policy-driven operations:
- Custody for digital assets with institutional security controls
- Custody for USD (cash) alongside crypto in a consolidated interface (including deposit/withdrawal workflows and money-movement rails)
- Governance and authorization tooling designed for multi-person approvals and institutional operations
B) Institutional trading
Anchorage provides trading capabilities designed to integrate with custody workflows:
- Institutional execution and trading workflows
- Trade + settle without treating custody like a “transfer out to trade” operational risk exercise
C) Staking
Anchorage offers staking support for institutions, positioned as “secure staking” with operational controls:
- Stake supported PoS assets through institution-grade workflows
- Delegation and rewards reporting designed for treasury/accounting use cases
- Staking availability varies by asset and jurisdiction, but it’s a core platform pillar
D) Governance participation
Anchorage markets governance support as part of its institutional platform:
- Participate in on-chain governance for supported networks
- Governance actions executed with bank-grade custody controls
E) Settlement and money movement
Anchorage positions itself as an institutional settlement hub:
- Digital-asset settlement workflows connected to custody
- USD money movement rails through integrated infrastructure (bank-style operational flows)
F) Stablecoin issuance and stablecoin frameworks
Anchorage Digital Bank has published frameworks and terms for payment stablecoins issued by the bank, including policy-driven controls (and the ability to restrict/freeze stablecoins where legally required). This is aimed at regulated stablecoin issuance structures rather than “retail minting.”
G) Porto by Anchorage Digital (institutional self-custody)
Porto is Anchorage’s institutional self-custody product line:
- Built for institutions that want self-custody with enterprise controls
- Designed to support Web3 access while emphasizing operational security and risk disclosures
H) APIs and integrations (platform layer)
Anchorage is built for integration:
- Programmatic access for custody operations
- Institution-grade reporting and automation
- Integrations for platforms and funds that need custody + settlement + operations in one stack
4) Fees and costs (how pricing works)
Anchorage is not a retail product with a simple public pricing page. Fees are typically defined under institutional agreements and can include:
- Custody fees (often based on assets under custody or service tier)
- Trading-related fees (execution and operational costs depending on the workflow)
- Staking fees (service economics depend on asset and staking structure)
- Operational fees tied to settlement, reporting, or account structures
- Plus normal network fees when assets move on-chain
Because client profiles vary (funds, banks, corporates, issuers), pricing is generally contract-based.
5) KYC and AML (expected, not optional)
Anchorage Digital Bank operates under a bank-grade compliance perimeter. That means:
- KYC/AML onboarding is standard for custody and platform services
- Clients should expect beneficial owner checks, entity verification, sanctions screening, and ongoing compliance monitoring
- Certain products (especially bank-issued stablecoin frameworks or fiat rails) may involve additional controls and eligibility checks
This isn’t a “plug in a wallet and click stake” product. It’s institutional infrastructure.
6) Availability and restricted jurisdictions
Anchorage states its services are offered to institutions (and in limited cases certain high-net-worth individuals) and are not marketed broadly outside the U.S. and Singapore. Availability is also constrained by:
- Product-by-product eligibility (custody vs trading vs staking vs stablecoin frameworks)
- Compliance and sanctions rules
- Internal risk policies tied to regulated-bank operations
Like other regulated financial institutions, sanctioned or embargoed jurisdictions and prohibited parties are excluded.
Who Anchorage Digital Bank is best for
- Funds and institutions that need qualified custody under a federally regulated framework
- Corporates managing meaningful digital-asset treasury with policy-driven controls
- Institutions that want staking, trading, governance, and settlement connected to custody
- Issuers and platforms seeking bank-grade rails for stablecoin or settlement workflows
FAQ
- What is Anchorage Digital Bank?
A federally chartered U.S. national trust bank focused on digital assets, offering qualified custody and institutional crypto services. - Who founded Anchorage?
Anchorage was founded by Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley. - Who is the CEO?
Nathan McCauley is CEO. - Is Anchorage a crypto exchange?
No. Anchorage is primarily custody + institutional infrastructure. It offers trading workflows, but it’s not positioned as a retail exchange with an order book for everyday users. - What does “qualified custody” mean here?
It refers to custody delivered under a regulated bank/trust framework designed to meet institutional custody requirements (including controlled workflows and compliance systems). - Does Anchorage support USD as well as crypto?
Yes. Anchorage’s custody platform is positioned to support both crypto and USD cash through a single qualified custodian experience. - Does Anchorage offer staking?
Yes. Staking is a core platform pillar, with availability depending on the asset and client eligibility. - Does Anchorage require KYC?
Yes. As a regulated bank serving institutional clients, KYC/AML onboarding and compliance monitoring are standard. - What is Porto by Anchorage Digital?
An institutional self-custody product line designed to provide Web3 access while maintaining enterprise security posture and risk disclosures. - Are there restricted countries?
Yes. Services are limited by jurisdiction and compliance rules, and sanctioned/embargoed jurisdictions and prohibited parties are excluded.