Crypto Bank Anchorage Adds Custody for Solana-Based Tokens

Anchorage Digital Bank is adding custody support for tokens on the Solana blockchain, CEO Nathan McCauley told CoinDesk.

The federally chartered custody company will initially allow its customers – ranging from venture capital firms and hedge funds to the treasuries of protocols – to stash a handful of tokens that follow Solana's SPL standard.

Anchorage began adding custody support for Solana (SOL) tokens in 2022 and only added staking support last year. McCauley said the company waited to build out and launch custody support for SPL tokens rather than moving too fast, too soon, for a chain that's taken some lumps.

Even so, "we're very responsive to what our clients ask for," McCauley said.

Many crypto investors tried to write off the Solana ecosystem in early 2023 after FTX imploded and caused significant collateral and reputational damage. But the chain's builders stuck around and users eventually returned to trade, stake and mint new tokens on memecoin launchpads like Pump.fun, one of crypto's revenue-printing machines.

All those memecoins are likely a long way away from getting custody support on Anchorage, despite its expansion for SPL assets. It is only accepting a handful of assets initially including USDC, HNT, W, PYTH and MPLX. Anchorage will add more pending customer demand and due diligence reviews.