BitGo said the retail offering provides the same institutional-grade security guarantees under the hood that the firm’s existing customers are familiar with.

Dec 2, 2024, 3:14 p.m.

BitGo, a cryptocurrency custodian that has been meeting companies' safekeeping needs since 2013, said it is introducing a dedicated retail platform for everyday crypto investors.

The retail custody offering is live for all global investors and provides the same institutional-grade security guarantees under the hood that the firm’s existing customers are familiar with, CEO Mike Belshe said in an interview.

In fact, the very first incarnation of BitGo was kind of a retail-ish website, he said.

“What we quickly found back then was building a business around security turned out to be kind of the bigger play for us,” Belshe said. “I've always said we have a date with retail at some point in the future and it's just going to kind of depend on when that is, and it's now.

In terms of custodial and non-custodial wallets, or hot and cold storage, the new product is “whatever you want it to be,” Belshe said.

“We've had self-custody wallets forever. With the BitGo retail product, you can create a fully custodial wallet and right side-by-side with it inside the user interface, you can also create a self-custody wallet, and you can move funds seamlessly between the two.”

U.S. customers who sign up for the service will be entered into a prize draw to win a full bitcoin, BitGo said in a press release.