Proof of Holdings

Since inception, ETC Group’s highest priority and focus has been transparency and investor protection.

ETC Group created the first centrally cleared Bitcoin ETP incorporating an additional investor protection mechanism into the product’s operational structure that is unique for ETP issuers: An independent transaction administrator was appointed to control and countersign all asset movements within the issuer of the ETP with legally enforceable veto rights over the movement of those assets. This independent administrator monitors and issues a weekly balance report on assets in custody, available to investors here on our website.

Every transaction and movement of funds is monitored

As stated in our prospectus, the Administrator must approve each operational transaction of the ETPs, in terms of custody (i.e. holdings in the respective cryptocurrency) and the number of securities issued. This means that neither ETC Group, nor issuers belonging to ETC Group, can move investors' cryptocurrencies without external consent. The possibility of misconduct or operational errors is thus reduced to a minimum.

The implementation of this additional security feature by ETC Group goes well beyond the EU Prospectus Regulation and the regulatory requirements for issuers. Another security feature: an independent trustee holds the security rights to the investors' crypto assets. This trustee is also named in the issuing prospectus of our ETPs. Both measures, i.e. the complete and independently verified deposit of the assets and the provision in case of insolvency minimise the issuer default risk to a minimum.

For more details, see the infographic on our market-leading physical ETP structure:

View flowchart
Learn how the Physical ETC Structure works

ETC Group only partners with leading providers of digital asset custody

BitGo Trust pioneered multi-signature security in 2013 and, since then has become an industry standard in delivering institutional grade security solutions for digital assets.

BitGo logo

Regulated & Certified

Being the first qualified custodian purpose-built for holding digital assets, BitGo Trust Company is an independent trust company regulated by the South Dakota Division of Banking, and SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 certified.

Cold img Wallets

All ETP assets are kept in cold wallets. Cold wallets mean that the digital wallets are not connected to the internet. This protects the wallets from hacks, unauthorized access, and other vulnerabilities.

Multi-Signature img Security

Digital asset are stored using a multi-signature technology and can only be accessed when sharded keys held by separate entities are unities. This creates additional layers of security to protect investor funds.

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BitGo's $250 million custody insurance policy protects against third-party hacks, theft or dishonest acts by BitGo employees or executives as well as the loss of keys.

Coinbase Custody Trust Comany was founded in 2018 and is a custodian for digital assets. The company offers a secure, institutional-grade offline storage solution.

Coinbase logo

Regulated & Certified

Coinbase Custody is an independent qualified custodian and is a fiduciary under New York state banking laws. Coinbase custody is also the first crypto custodian to be issued both the SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports.

Cold img Wallets

All ETP assets are kept in cold wallets. Cold wallets mean that the digital wallets are not connected to the internet. This protects the wallets from hacks, unauthorized access, and other vulnerabilities.

Multi-Signature img Security

Coinbase Custody has developed its own first-class key generation protocol to generate cold storage addresses for custody wallets.

Insured img

Coinbase industry leading insurance policy protects both online and offline assets across all of Coinbase's products.

Komainu is a European digital assets custodian that has been founded in 2018. It was specifically built to meet the requirements of institutional investors and asset managers for the safekeeping of digital assets.

Komainu logo

Regulated &

Komainu (Jersey) Limited is a regulated and licensed custodian, with offices in Jersey, London, Dublin, Dubai, and Singapore and is regulated initially by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC).

Cold Wallet img Custody

ETP/ETC assets are kept in cold storage wallets also known as offline air-gapped wallets within Komainu's digital vault.

Institutional-Grade
img Security

Komainu's digital assets custody features multi-layer security technology, eliminating single points of failure and insulating digital assets from cyber-attacks, internal collusion, and human error.

Secure & img Certified

Komainu is backed by industry standard certifications and accreditations such as SOC 1 Type I and Type II certified (PwC audited).