Fireblocks Trust Company announced on October 8, 2025, the launch of a consortium of institutional partners aimed at broadening regulated custody infrastructure for digital assets. The initiative, approved and supervised by the New York Department of Financial Services, integrates custody solutions with on-chain settlement for token issuances, digital asset treasuries (DATs) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) support. Galaxy, Bakkt, FalconX and Castle Island serve as initial anchor custodians and distribution nodes within the network.
Under the framework, each partner connects to Fireblocks’ core custody layer, which features multi-party computation (MPC) key management and air-gapped vault architecture. Digital assets deposited by institutional clients are secured within segregated cold storage wallets, while real-time transaction workflows leverage a permissioned multilateral settlement protocol. The design aims to streamline asset tokenization and secure institutional flows without reliance on centralized hot wallets.
Adam Levine, CEO of Fireblocks, described the collaboration as a pivotal step toward mainstream integration of regulated digital finance. Institutions expressing interest in tokenizing balance sheet assets, launching collateralized lending facilities or issuing proprietary ETFs can now access a qualified custodian network under a single compliance umbrella. Regulatory duties including anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) processes are centralized through Fireblocks Trust Company’s chartered entity.
Castle Island’s founding partner, Matt Walsh, emphasized that qualified custodian status combined with robust operational controls addresses a major barrier to institutional deployment of digital asset products. The consortium model distributes risk across multiple regulated entities and reduces single-point vulnerabilities. Each partner commits to regular SOC 2 audits, staff security clearances and state-mandated capital reserves to ensure fiduciary responsibilities are met.
Industry analysts anticipate that the expanded custody network will catalyze a new wave of institutional participation. The ability to custody tokenized debt instruments, manage digital asset treasuries and support ETF issuers could unlock billions in secondary market flows. Fireblocks Trust Company projects onboarding of additional regulated partners by mid-2026, further reinforcing the infrastructure backbone required for scale in the digital asset sector.
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