Coinbase Custodies ₱4.61 trillion ($77 billion) in Bitcoin ETFs—84% Market Share
Coinbase received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its national trust charter on April 2, adding federal oversight to its custody operations. The company already controls 84.1% of the US Bitcoin ETF market.
Key Takeaway
One custodian holding 84% of Bitcoin ETF assets creates a single point of failure for the industry.
Coinbase holds custody of ₱4.62 trillion ($77.10 billion) across US Bitcoin ETFs, representing 84.1% of the ₱5.5 trillion ($91.71 billion) market as of April 8.
The concentration is even more pronounced using stricter methodology that excludes multi-custodian arrangements. That count shows ₱4.44 trillion ($74.06 billion) under Coinbase custody — 80.8% of the market.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust dominates with $55.70 billion in assets under management, all custodied by Coinbase. Grayscale holds $14.67 billion, Bitwise $2.67 billion, and ARK $2.59 billion — all using Coinbase as primary custodian. Only Fidelity self-custodies through its digital asset subsidiary, while VanEck uses Gemini.
Coinbase Vice President of Institutional Product Greg Tusar said the company already custodies more than 80% of the world's crypto ETFs. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional approval for Coinbase's national trust charter application on April 2, adding federal oversight to its existing New York State qualified custodian status.
Morgan Stanley launched its Bitcoin Trust on April 8 with a 14 basis point fee, undercutting BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust by 11 basis points. The fund uses both Coinbase and BNY as custody providers, with filing language describing segregation protocols and insurance coverage for fund assets. BlackRock lists Anchorage as an additional available custodian for IBIT, though the firm has no current plans to move assets there. ARK and CoinShares Valkyrie list BitGo as a custodian option, while CoinShares Valkyrie also lists Komainu, with first-day Morgan Stanley trading volume hitting $34 million on April 8.
This article was written based on reporting from CryptoSlate.
