This move was further precipitated by a Nevada court’s intervention, which mandated the appointment of a receiver for Prime Trust to mitigate potential threats to users and the nascent cryptocurrency sector. This Thursday, BitGo announced it had entered into a non-binding agreement to acquire Prime Core Technologies, Inc.—the parent company of Prime Trust. Prior to the announcement, rumors have been circulating that a cryptocurrency custodian is close to filing for bankruptcy with many speculating that the company in question was Prime Trust.
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BitGo provides the most secure and scalable solutions for the digital asset economy, offering regulated custody, borrowing and lending, and core infrastructure to investors and builders alike. According to the filing, Prime Trust created a digit wallet in 2018 for holding crypto for its customers. It than used the digital asset platform Fireblocks to store all crypto assets held definition of amo application management outsourcing gartner information technology glossary in custody, though the original wallet continued to exist and was marked as inactive.
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Named to CB Insights Blockchain 50 and the Fintech 250 in 2022, Prime Trust is a trust company that offers digital asset infrastructure tools. Prime Trust powers innovation in the digital economy by simplifying the complexity of building with digital assets, making it easier for its customers to build, launch, and scale quickly and compliantly. Prime Trust once played a significant role in the infrastructure of crypto markets, holding funds on behalf of companies like FTX, Binance.US and Celsius Network. Custodians typically hold dollars and digital assets on behalf of customers, putting the funds in their own accounts. The firms are meant to be among the safer parts of the financial system, not engaging in risky activities. The combination of Prime Trust and BitGo would be a significant enhancement for the industry.No other company will have the breath of product and services nor depth of experience that this combined company would have.
Law360 is on it, so you are, too.
- The unfolding scenario underscores the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency realm and the inherent risks businesses face when navigating this digital frontier.
- Around December 2021, Prime discovered that it was unable to access some of its wallets where it stored cryptocurrency, according to the petition.
- Furthermore, Prime Trust’s recent filings brought to light its acquisition of Ethereum (ETH) assets, valued at approximately $76.4 million.
- Prime Core Technologies, the parent entity of crypto custodian Prime Trust, disclosed a financial setback of $8 million, largely attributed to investments in the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (USTC).
- This acquisition makes BitGo the first global digital asset company to provide a full suite of solutions for institutions and fintech platforms.
Custody services are offered through BitGo Trust Company, Inc., a South Dakota chartered trust company and other BitGo entities. BitGo is not registered with the SEC as an investment advisor or custodian, and does not offer legal, tax, investment, or other advice. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. Nevada has asked a federal court to appoint a receiver for Prime Trust, alleging that the custodian used customer funds to buy cryptocurrencies after losing access to digital wallets containing tens of millions of dollars in assets. Prime Core Technologies’ decision to channel investments into TerraUSD proved costly, exacerbating its pre-existing monetary challenges. On 15 August 2023, the company officially entered bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., citing liabilities hovering between $100 million to $500 million and a creditor count ranging from 25,000 to 50,000.
BitGo’s long track record of credibility, strong balance sheet, and best-in-class operational standards position the company for M&A and business growth amid this crypto winter. Five Minute Finance has influenced how I see finance – I rely on it for insight on the latest news and trends at the intersection of finance and technology. “We handed the reins of a very profitable company,” Scott Purcell, the former chief executive of Prime Trust, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Purcell and several members of his team had left to start another venture, Fortress.io.
We are excited to offer our world-class infrastructure within a broader ecosystem and revolutionize the future of crypto. These financial difficulties come in the wake of TerraUSD’s nosedive in May 2022, an event that many market analysts pinpoint as a significant catalyst for the widespread cryptocurrency market downturn last year. Renowned firms, including FTX, Three Arrows, BlockFi, and Voyager Digital, were not spared from the market turbulence, with many either shuttering their operations or initiating bankruptcy filings. Around December 2021, Prime discovered that it was unable to access some of its wallets where it stored cryptocurrency, according to the petition. From December 2021 to March 2022, Prime purchased additional digital currency using customer money from its omnibus customer accounts to satisfy withdrawals. The information in this press release is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment or for the provision of any investment management or advisory services.
BitGo signed a term sheet to acquire the equity of Prime Core Technologies, Inc., the parent company of Prime Trust, bringing business continuity, long-term stability and regulated, secure solutions to valued Prime Trust clients. In January 2021, the firm reintroduced the legacy wallets to customers, how to become a forex broker in 2022 a guide on starting forex brokerage firm the petition said. The petition asks the court to appoint a receiver to take over the day-to-day operations of the company and examine its finances, in order to decide whether it should be liquidated or revamped. The motion was made with the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada, after determining “that Prime is operating in an unsafe and unsound manner and is insolvent,” as alleged in its prior cease-and-desist order from June 21.
Founded in 2013, BitGo pioneered the multi-signature wallet and later built TSS to improve upon other companies’ MPC offerings. Between multi-sig and TSS, BitGo offers the safest technology on the market and safeguards over 600 tokens across a wide variety of blockchains. BitGo has expanded from offering wallets to providing a full-suite solution that lets clients hold assets safely and then put them to work.
The Nevada Financial Institutions Division had ordered Prime Trust to halt all deposits of fiat and digital assets from within the state of custody. Prime Core Technologies, the parent entity of crypto custodian Prime Trust, disclosed a financial setback of $8 million, largely attributed to investments in the algorithmic the best forex liquidity for your brokerage or exchange stablecoin TerraUSD (USTC). The announcement, stemming from an August 24 filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, unveiled that these losses were partitioned into $6 million from client funds and $2 million from treasury coffers. Prime Core Technologies, parent of Prime Trust, experienced an $8 million financial setback due to investments in TerraUSD, a stablecoin, leading to bankruptcy proceedings in August 2023, highlighting the cryptocurrency market’s volatility.
BitGo launched BitGo Trust Company in 2018, providing fully regulated, qualified cold storage to complement BitGo Inc’s original hot wallet solution. In 2020, BitGo launched BitGo Prime, which allows its clients to trade, borrow, and lend. Moreover, BitGo also provides access to DeFi, staking, NFT wallets, and beyond, and serves as the world’s sole custodian for WBTC, or wrapped Bitcoin. The 30-page receivership petition filed Monday demands an immediate impounding of all assets of Las Vegas-based Prime Trust, as well as its documents and records. It also asks the court to enjoin Prime, including its officers and agents, from touching any of the company’s funds.