BitGo

BitGo is a digital asset trust company and security company,[1][2] headquartered in Palo Alto, California. It was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe and Ben Davenport.

BitGo
HeadquartersPalo Alto, CA
Key peopleCEO & Co-founder, Mike Belshe CTO, Benedict Chan
ServicesBitcoin / Blockchain Security Platform API's / Custodial Services / Settlement Services
URLhttps://www.bitgo.com
Launched2013 (2013)

The company offers a multisignature bitcoin wallet service, where keys are divided among a number of owners to manage risk. Generally, BitGo wallets have three keys: one held by BitGo, and two held by the wallet's owner.[3][4] Wallets can be configured in both hot and cold configurations,[5] as well as non-custodial and custodial configurations.

BitGo also serves as the sole custodian for bitcoin that people deposit to receive a tokenized form of that bitcoin known as Wrapped Bitcoin or WBTC that can be exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain.[6]

History

In June 2014 the company received US$12 million in venture capital funding led by Redpoint Ventures.[7]

In January 2015 BitGo announced the general availability of their Platform API. The following month the company bought an insurance policy from XL Catlin against theft from its wallets.[8]

In June 2015 the company launched the Verified by BitGo program, a "proof of reserve" service for bitcoin companies.[9]

On August 2, 2016, Bitfinex, a digital currency exchange using BitGo software, announced it had suffered a security breach.[10] BitGo was not itself hacked, but processed withdrawal requests from the hacker, who had obtained access to Bitfinex's keys.[11]

In September 2018, BitGo was approved by the South Dakota Division of Banking to act as a qualified custodian for digital assets and created BitGo Trust Company.[12]

In October 2018, the company raised US$15 million in venture capital funding from Goldman Sachs and Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital.[13]

In December 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that BitGo has paid $98,830 to settle apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs.[14]

References
  1. KING 5 News (January 20, 2014). "Seattle entrepreneur mines Bitcoin phenomenon". KING-TV.
  2. Robert McMillan (April 9, 2014). "A Hack That Makes Bitcoins a Whole Lot Harder to Steal". Wired.
  3. Michael J. Casey (June 16, 2014). "Bitcoin Security Startup BitGo Gets More Funds; Ex-Verisign CEO Joins Team". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.(subscription required)
  4. Kim-Mai Cutler (June 16, 2014). "BitGo Raises $12M Led By Redpoint For Multi-Signature Bitcoin Wallets, Services". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
  5. "Crypto Startup Offers Insurance Against Quadriga Wallet Dilemma". 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  6. Kharif, Olga (October 29, 2020). "Bitcoin Rally Gets Added Boost From 'Wrapped' Crypto Tokens". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  7. Dara Kerr (June 16, 2014). "Bitcoin security platform BitGo raises $12M in funding". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
  8. Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna (February 25, 2015). "BitBeat: BitGo Adds Comprehensive Insurance to Its Services". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.(subscription required)
  9. Laura Shin (June 30, 2015). "BitGo Launches Verisign-Like Certificate To Prove Solvency For Bitcoin Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
  10. "Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong". Reuters. 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  11. Ho, Victoria. "Prominent Bitcoin exchange hacked wiping $65 million from wallets". Mashable. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  12. Kate Rooney (13 Sep 2018). "Companies race to solve bitcoin's security problem despite slumping prices". CNBC. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  13. "Goldman Wades Deeper in Crypto, Betting on BitGo With Billionaire Mike Novogratz". 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  14. "Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and BitGo, Inc". U.S. Department of the Treasury. December 30, 2020.
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