The bitcoin of the Purpose Bitcoin ETF are stored by Gemini, which in total claims to have custody of $20 billion in cryptocurrencies.
The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) was the first-ever bitcoin ETF to be launched on the North American financial market, namely Canada’s Toronto Stock Exchange, last month, and the BTC backing the fund are held by Gemini Trust Company.
The company owned by the Winklevoss twins, however, holds many other funds, alongside those of users of their Geminin crypto exchange.
In total, it now has over $20 billion in cryptocurrencies in its custody, which is double the amount it had just two months ago.
Gemini now has more than $20 billion in #crypto under custody, doubling our custodied crypto in just over two months.
Check out our blog to learn more about Gemini Custody™ and its features: https://t.co/ysNfwlfGHd
— Gemini (@Gemini) March 16, 2021
This doubling is due to both the impressive growth of the cryptocurrency market during 2021, as well as increased participation from institutional investors.
In more detail, Gemini Trust Company is a New York trust company and a qualified custodian bank established by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), subject to the capital reserve requirements of the NYDFS.
How does Gemini store bitcoin
The tokens are held in cold storage offline using hardware security modules (HSM), multi-signature technology and geographically distributed controlled access facilities.
Access keys are hardware-protected via WebAuthn to provide hardware-based cryptographic proof that only the hardware owner has access to the account.
The system also provides an approved address list that limits token withdrawals to approved addresses only, with the ability to create secondary accounts with distinct groups of users.
These tokens can also be exchanged instantly on the company’s exchange without waiting for a transfer from the cold wallet.
These services are aimed at institutional clients such as hedge funds, trading firms, corporate treasuries and asset managers, thanks in part to a new unified platform, Gemini Fund Solutions, which provides custody, clearing, trade execution and other services specifically designed for cryptocurrencies.
In addition to Purpose, these institutional clients include BlockFi, CoinList, CI Global Asset Management, Eaglebrook Advisors and WealthSimple.
