Compliance Progress and Industry Trends in Cryptocurrency Asset Custody Services
The cryptocurrency custody sector is rapidly evolving, driven by increasing regulatory scrutiny and institutional adoption. Compliance has advanced with robust AML/KYC frameworks, leveraging blockchain analytics to monitor transactions and screen for illicit activities. Regulatory clarity, such as the OCC’s 2025 guidance allowing banks to offer custody without prior approval, has boosted legitimacy and integration with traditional finance. Industry trends include enhanced security through trustless multi-party computation (tMPC) and hardware security modules (HSMs), alongside growing demand for decentralized custody solutions. The EU’s MiCA regulation emphasizes institutional resilience, while global standards push for investor protection and market integrity. High-profile hacks underscore the need for advanced cybersecurity and insurance coverage. Custodians like Anchorage and Zerocap lead with secure, ssets.