Grayscale replaced Coinbase with Anchorage Digital Bank as custodian for its proposed Hyperliquid ETF on April 20, marking the first major custody swap in the US spot Bitcoin ETF complex since their January 2024 approval. The move exposes a critical concentration risk: Coinbase currently holds custody over 84.1% of the $91.71 billion in US spot Bitcoin ETF assets, creating single-point-of-failure exposure across the institutional crypto infrastructure layer.
How Coinbase Became the Default Custodian
When spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, Coinbase emerged as the dominant custody provider due to its established compliance track record and institutional operating history. Asset managers defaulted to Coinbase because the exchange had already navigated SEC and regulatory approval processes. This template-following behavior hardened over 16 months: $77.10 billion in ETF assets now explicitly name Coinbase as custodian or primary custodian. The concentration deepens when including secondary custody arrangements. Coinbase’s April 2 conditional approval for a federal trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency further legitimized its position, but also crystallized the infrastructure risk.
Anchorage Gains Ground as Viable Alternative
Anchorage Digital Bank, the first federally chartered crypto-native bank, is now actively competing for custody mandates. BlackRock added Anchorage as a custodian across its spot crypto ETFs in April 2025, demonstrating institutional appetite for alternatives. Morgan Stanley’s March 2026 updated ETF filing named both Coinbase and BNY as custodians, further fragmenting the custody landscape. Grayscale’s April 20 switch to Anchorage for its Hyperliquid ETF represents the most direct challenge yet to Coinbase’s dominance. Grayscale had previously used Anchorage as a secondary custodian for its Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts, establishing operational familiarity with the federally chartered bank’s infrastructure.
Infrastructure Maturity Requires Custody Diversification
The 84.1% concentration of US spot Bitcoin ETF assets through a single custodian contradicts the regulatory intent behind spot ETF approvals. Institutional infrastructure maturation demands redundancy and resilience. Anchorage’s federal charter removes the regulatory arbitrage that previously made Coinbase the only credible choice. As more asset managers file new ETF products—Grayscale’s Hyperliquid filing is one example—custodian selection becomes a material risk factor. Regulators monitoring systemic stability in the crypto asset class will likely scrutinize further concentration. The $91.71 billion market has grown large enough that custody concentration now poses measurable counterparty risk.
What’s Next for the ETF Custodian Market
Grayscale’s custody switch signals that alternatives to Coinbase are operationally viable and competitively attractive. Whether the Hyperliquid ETF receives approval remains unclear, but the filing demonstrates how new products will challenge Coinbase’s default status. Additional federally chartered crypto custodians entering the market could accelerate diversification. The infrastructure layer will likely fragment further as the spot Bitcoin ETF complex matures beyond its $90 billion current size.
