BitGo, a wallet infrastructure provider and digital asset custodian, announced on June 8 that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent for the acquisition of Prime Trust, a fintech infrastructure provider. The terms of the agreement remain undisclosed. Should the deal be finalised, BitGo plans to acquire Prime Trust’s payment rails and cryptocurrency IRA fund, enhancing its wealth management offerings. As part of the acquisition, Prime Trust’s Nevada Trust Company will join BitGo’s network of regulated trust companies in South Dakota, New York, Germany, and Switzerland. BitGo’s statement said that Prime Trust’s API infrastructure and exchange network will map over 1:1 with BitGo services, resulting in BitGo being the first global digital asset company to offer a full suite of solutions for institutions and fintech platforms.
“This acquisition makes BitGo the first global digital asset company to provide a full suite of solutions for institutions and fintech platforms.”
The purchase occurs at a time when the USA’s Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rule changes making it more difficult for crypto companies to act as custodians of their customers’ funds. Prime Trust reportedly laid off a third of its staff in January. Later, it stepped in to hold Binance.US customer funds through a network of partner banks after the March banking crisis. It was also involved in a scandal in the US state of Oregon last year, when it was named as the source of a $500,000 contribution to the state Democratic Party, which was later found to have come from FTX executive Nishad Singh.
Bitgo faced a near-acquisition by Galaxy Digital for $1.2bn last year, and filed a lawsuit against Galaxy after the deal fell through. The acquisition is a response to Ripple’s acquisition of Swiss digital asset custody provider Metaco in May for $250m. As the crypto custody market continues its rapid evolution, technological advances will continue to impact it.
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