Best bitcoin custody services
Bitcoin custody products fall into three structural categories. Single-key hardware (Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard) puts everything on one device with one backup — losing both is permanent. Collaborative multisig (Unchained, Swan, Casa, Nunchuk, Bitkey, AnchorWatch) splits keys between the client and the company so a single lost key is recoverable. Multi-institution custody (Onramp) distributes keys across three independent institutions, with the client holding no signing device. Annual costs range from a one-time hardware purchase under $100 to several thousand dollars per year for institutional models.
| Feature | Unchained | AnchorWatch | Bitkey | Casa | Coldcard | Ledger | Nunchuk | Onramp | Swan Bitcoin | Trezor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client holds majority of keys | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Client can sign transactions independently | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Loss of one key is recoverable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ |
| Recovery without company involvement | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-vendor hardware support | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ |
| All keys on dedicated hardware devices | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Configurable vault structures | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ |
| Flat annual fee (not AUM-based) | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ |
| SOC 2 Type II audited | ✓ | ◐ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ |
| Custody insurance coverage | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ |
| Bitcoin-only architecture | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ |
| Available outside the US | ‒ | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ |
✓Yes · ◐Partial / depends on configuration · ‒ No
About this guide
These comparisons are maintained by Unchained. We have tried to represent every service accurately and fairly, and where another service does something well that Unchained does not, we say so. Unchained appears as the reference point throughout because every page is built around a single question: how does this service differ from Unchained? That framing is why Unchained is more prominently featured, not because we consider it the default right answer for every reader.