Anchorage Vs Coinbase! What Grayscale’s 2026 Custodian Change Will Mean For Crypto ETFs?

Key Takeaways

• Grayscale Investments has made an important shift toward regulated, bank-style cryptocurrency custody by switching from Coinbase to Anchorage Digital Bank as custodian for its HYPE ETF application.
• Coinbase still dominates ETF custody, but Anchorage has excellent credibility thanks to its growing offerings and federal charter.
• Although Hyperliquid’s derivatives platform is still limited in the United States, the proposed fund will follow HYPE, the company’s native token.
• Staking features and the Nasdaq listing of GHYP will be determined by regulatory approval. Tether’s investment and Anchorage’s increasing valuation demonstrate growing institutional trust.

From Code to Control, Safety takes the bigger role. Grayscale Investments is a digital asset management company focused on bitcoin investment products.

Instead of direct token ownership, it provides institutional and individual investors with exposure to cryptocurrencies through regulated, trust-based investment vehicles.

Anchorage Digital Bank (Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A.) is the first and only federally licensed cryptocurrency bank in the United States, offering regulated infrastructure for institutional digital asset involvement.

Anchorage Digital Bank is now listed as the fund’s custodian, replacing Coinbase, in Grayscale’s revised filing for its proposed Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund. On Monday, the revised application was submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

With more than 100 million members in more than 100 countries, Coinbase is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the US and a significant player worldwide.

Because Coinbase Custody Trust Company owns the underlying assets for almost all U.S.-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs, the change is significant. The sole significant exception is Fidelity Digital Assets, which oversees custody for its own fund.

Can Anchorage Challenge Coinbase’s Custody Dominance?

Coinbase serves as the principal custodian for Grayscale’s Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts, but Anchorage was added as a secondary custodian for a portion of those holdings in August of last year.

Founded in 2017, Anchorage Digital Bank is the country’s first cryptocurrency bank with a federal charter. The company has expanded its offerings in recent months to include wealth management, token lifecycle management, and support for stablecoin issuance.

Can Hyperliquid Break Into The U.S. Market Soon?

Following a regulatory investigation into the network’s founder, it became the first American institution to onboard Tron last month, and it intends to introduce Tron-staking products.

The native token of Hyperliquid, which runs the biggest on-chain perpetual decentralized exchange by trading volume, HYPE, will be held by the proposed fund. Users in the United States are now unable to access Hyperliquid’s derivatives platform.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center, a lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., was recently founded by the protocol’s creators. Following the protocol’s robust expansion until 2025, Coinbase listed HYPE in February.

The revised document still names the Bank of New York Mellon as the transfer agent. CoinDesk Hyperliquid Benchmark Extended Rate data would be used for pricing.

Regulatory permission is still required for staking within the fund. The product would trade on Nasdaq under the ticker GHYP if approved by the SEC.

Final Thought

From Seed to Scale, Bold Plans Prevail. Grayscale first submitted for the fund on March 20, after Bitwise and 21Shares had already done so.

Grayscale was the first company to launch a Chainlink ETF and has broadened its product pipeline to include more cryptocurrency assets under a more liberal regulatory framework.

In February, Tether invested $100 million in Anchorage’s shares, valuing the company at $4.2 billion. In contrast, Anchorage’s $350 million Series D round in 2021 valued the company at $3 billion. According to Bloomberg, the company is getting ready to go public.

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