Coinbase is not alone in expanding its custodial offerings. French startup Ledger recently announced a partnership with South Korean blockchain platform FLETA to provide compliant custody services across Asia.
Coinbase has launched Coinbase Custody International Inc., a European entity for handling cryptocurrency deposits.
Based in Dublin, Ireland, Coinbase said in a blog post that client demand for institutional-grade custodial services drove the move. Separately, a spokesman for the exchange said Coinbase Custody now has $8 billion in assets under custody, up from the $7 billion announced last November.
“While Coinbase Custody has served European-based clients in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and more since 2018, our dedicated presence in Europe will allow us to offer these services in a completely localized way, with local staff, localized service-level agreements and in compliance with local laws”, the company wrote.
As part of the transition, «all staking activity performed by Coinbase» will also migrate to Coinbase Custody International, the firm said. According to a source with knowledge of the regulatory landscape, there is still ambiguity regarding the tax implications of staking, where asset holders are rewarded in crypto for helping to secure Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks such as Tezos and others. Some investors outside the U.S. are therefore hesitant to stake with U.S.-based firms, the source added.
«Our international launch is aimed to meet the demands of institutional investors in Europe and beyond,» Coinbase wrote in its blog post.
Coinbase Custody to Support Polkadot Staking With up to 20% Returns
Coinbase Custody is launching staking support for holders of Polkadot’s DOT tokens with the help of blockchain infrastructure firm Bison Trails.Announced Tuesday, the integration allows DOT holders to keep their tokens in offline Coinbase Custody vaults and stake them through Bison Trails validators. DOT staking is integral to Polkadot’s proof-of-stake (PoS) network, which is said to reward those who commit their tokens with up to 20 percent returns.
“For people who custody with Coinbase Custody and want to stake with secure and highly available Bison Trails validators, this integration is a game changer”, Joe Lalloz, CEO of Bison Trails said in a press statement. “DOT holders now have the unique ability to utilize both our leading blockchain infrastructure and the leading custodian of crypto assets to ensure tokens are secure and that they are earning participatory rewards.»
The integration follows Bison Trail’s and Coinbase Custody’s February partnerships with multi-chain interoperability protocol Polkadot. Coinbase Custody allowed account holders to claim DOTs, and Bison Trails ran one of the Kusama testnet’s first validators. Polkadot’s mainnet has not yet launched.
Bison Trails and Coinbase’s integration will extend beyond Polkadot, however. As PoS models take on greater prominence in the cryptosphere, Coinbase Custody CEO Sam McIngvale, who called staking “increasingly important”, in the press statement, said that partners like Bison Trails will be invaluable resources to clients.
Staking “provides Coinbase Custody clients, many of whom have obligations to their investors, with a crypto-native way to participate in network rewards while also contributing to the security and governance of the ecosystem”, McIngvale said.
Bison Trails and Coinbase Custody plan to add staking service for other blockchains over time.
The two Libra Association members have worked together on staking issues before. Notably, both joined a lobbying organization called the Proof of Stake Alliance in late January.
