Custodia

Custodia Bank sits at an unusual intersection: it holds a Wyoming special purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter, which classifies it as a bank but prohibits it from lending customer fiat deposits, requiring instead that those deposits be held 100% in reserve. That structural choice has direct consequences for family offices or corporate treasuries that hold digital assets and want institutional-grade custody without relying on a non-bank intermediary that carries counterparty credit risk in fiat settlements.

The regulatory architecture matters in practical terms. Because banks are defined as ‘qualified custodians’ under the Investment Advisers Act and the SEC’s Custody Rule, Custodia’s clients receive a custody relationship that meets that standard for digital assets. Wyoming’s bailment laws further require that legal title to digital assets remains with the customer, not the institution, and that segregation is protected by statute rather than contract alone. This gives the arrangement bankruptcy-remote status that a typical trust company cannot guarantee by contract.

Key features relevant to institutional clients include:

• Real-time U.S. Dollar settlement finality for digital asset transactions via direct Federal Reserve payment system access
• 100% reserve requirement on fiat deposits, eliminating rehypothecation risk
• Avit, a bank-issued programmable payment instrument designed for institutional traders and corporate treasurers needing real-time USD settlement
• BSA/AML and KYC compliance built into the account onboarding process
• API access for tech-oriented business customers

Custodia serves U.S.-based business customers and is not a retail or personal wealth bank. Family offices considering it must be comfortable with a bank that is not FDIC insured, with some services noted as not yet available, and with pricing that is not publicly disclosed.