BitGo sprints for NYSE IPO: The first crypto "custodial" stock is here

Overnight, crypto asset custody giant BitGo officially filed its initial public offering (IPO) application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BTGO." This move quickly garnered widespread market attention. Not only is BitGo another crypto company vying for mainstream capital markets, but more importantly, it's poised to become the "first crypto custody company." BitGo's Business Evolution Path As a long-established Web3 infrastructure service provider established over a decade ago, BitGo's IPO wasn't a sudden move, but rather a natural progression of institutionalization. Founded in 2013, the company initially focused on providing multi-signature wallet and private key management services, primarily serving early Bitcoin adopters and technical developers. However, with the development of the crypto market, and particularly the increasing involvement of institutional capital, the company's business focus has shifted upwards, evolving into a full-stack infrastructure platform integrating custody, clearing, API services, and security and compliance.

Currently, its core businesses include:

• Qualified Custody: Providing institutions with secure storage solutions that meet regulatory requirements, using multi-signature technology and cold storage to ensure asset security.

• Self-Hosted Wallet: Supports users to manage their own assets, covering a variety of cryptocurrencies.

• Liquidity Solutions: Providing lending, trading, and settlement services to meet the needs of institutions and high-net-worth clients.

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Providing technical support for the blockchain ecosystem, including APIs and wallet infrastructure. According to company disclosures, as of June 30, 2025, BitGo served over 4,600 institutional clients and 1.1 million users in over 100 countries, with nearly $100 billion in assets under custody. The company also partners with traditional financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, providing crypto custody services, further solidifying its position at the convergence of traditional finance and the crypto world. Soaring Revenues, Pressured Profits: The Growth Trade-off Under Capital Structure According to data disclosed in the prospectus, BitGo's revenue reached $4.19 billion in the first half of 2025, a nearly fourfold increase compared to the same period last year. This growth rate far exceeds the industry average and highlights its leading position in the institutional custody market. However, profits are not optimistic: net profit for the same period was US$12.6 million, a year-on-year decline of nearly 60%. While this may appear contradictory on the surface, it actually reflects the inevitable trade-offs faced by an infrastructure company during a period of rapid expansion. On the one hand, the company needs to continue investing in "asset-heavy" areas such as technical security, compliance audits, human resources operations, and cross-border licensing; on the other hand, rapid revenue growth is forcing the company to accelerate its global expansion. This high-investment, low-profit financial structure may have squeezed profitability in the short term, but in the long term, it lays the foundation for subsequent scale and branding. BitGo has clearly chosen a path of "trading profits for market share," a strategic decision that all infrastructure companies must face in their early stages. The "first stock" in crypto custody? BitGo's unique positioning. Among currently listed crypto companies, although companies like Coinbase, Bakkt (BKKT), and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) also provide custody-related services, "custody" is more of a part of their larger business systems than their core businesses. Coinbase (direct listing on Nasdaq in 2021): Its valuation once reached $86 billion, with over $200 billion in assets under custody, but its core business is retail trading. Bakkt (SPAC IPO in 2021): Valuated at $2.1 billion, it provides custody services through the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and is positioned as a bridge between traditional finance and crypto. Galaxy Digital (TSX IPO in 2018, Nasdaq IPO in 2025): Valuated at $2.8 billion, it provides asset management and custody services, but custody is not its core business. In contrast, BitGo focuses on custody and infrastructure, offering a more streamlined business model without the distraction of an exchange business. If successfully listed, BitGo would become the first publicly traded company focused on crypto custody, setting a benchmark for the industry and potentially inspiring private custodians like Anchorage and Fireblocks to accelerate their IPOs. While BitGo leads in business maturity and capital investment, competition in the crypto custody market is already entrenched. Fireblocks is a formidable challenger, leveraging its advanced wallet API technology and multi-party computation (MPC) capabilities to establish a broad customer base among exchanges and fintech companies. Anchorage has further strengthened its compliance and policy advantages by obtaining US national trust company certification. While Coinbase Custody is a subsidiary of Coinbase, leveraging its traffic and brand, it also holds a leading position in custodial ETF assets. Compared to these competitors, BitGo's key differentiating advantages lie in its "neutral platform" positioning and its "high-net-worth client base." It doesn't rely on exchange traffic or tie itself to a specific chain or protocol, enabling it to serve as a backend service provider for multiple platforms. This "non-competitive" stance actually makes it more resilient within the ecosystem. Outlook: With traditional capital such as sovereign funds, insurance companies, and family offices rapidly entering the digital asset sector, market demand for "compliant, secure, and auditable" custody solutions is rapidly increasing. This trend not only significantly raises industry entry standards but also opens up long-term and stable growth opportunities for professional custodians like BitGo. In the future, crypto custody services will gradually evolve into API-centric financial infrastructure, deeply integrating payment, clearing, risk management, KYC, and auditing functions, becoming the "core backend" of the Web3 financial ecosystem. In this competition, the true leaders aren't necessarily the projects holding the most on-chain assets, but rather the custodians who can provide secure and stable underlying services for the entire system.

  If Coinbase's 2021 IPO is considered a milestone in the "trading era," then BitGo's IPO marks the official start of the "compliant custody era." Its performance in the capital market will not only impact its own valuation but will also become a key indicator of the commercial maturity of crypto infrastructure.