Bitcoin [BTC] has a new savior? BitGo CEO talks why cryptocurrency custody is important

In an interview with CNBC’s Brian Kelly and other panelists, Mike Belshe, the Co-Founder of BitGo, spoke about how custody of digital assets will ensure the rapid development of the cryptocurrency space and drive mass adoption.

Belshe spoke about how custody was paramount in the field of something as volatile as cryptocurrencies, pointing out that the concept of custody also attracts institutional investors in a market heavily dominated by retail investors. He also stated that the clamor to make ‘custody for cryptocurrencies’ a reality has been ongoing for a couple of years and that the market growth has certainly been pointing towards the right direction.

The discussion then covered the customers who would be interested to use digital asset custody applications like BitGo. Belshe stated that there were two types of customers, one aggressive and one not so aggressive. According to him, hedge funds, family companies, and such fringes would be the beneficiaries of custody applications. These fringes are indifferent about cryptocurrencies right now but with the advent of a regulatory authority they would be keen to jump into it, said Belshe.

Brian Kelly was curious to know about the time duration taken by BitGo to take assets out of cold storage, an issue faced by a lot of cryptocurrency wallet applications. Cold storage or cold wallets are the type of storage areas that are offline, a method used by some companies to ensure total protection and defense against hacks and fraudulent activities. Belshe replied by saying that BitGo has been in the business for a long time and that the method used by his company was to find a way to marry both hot storage and cold storage. He went on to say:

“Getting assets from cold storage will be slow and you can’t really speed that a lot. Anyone promising that they can conduct extractions really quickly has to be verified thoroughly. We have to know what is going on behind the scenes.”

The Co-Founder also added that at the moment BitGo supported over 75 cryptocurrencies and 10 different blockchains. The panel also talked about the implications of Goldman Sachs reconsidering the Bitcoin [BTC] trading desk idea and explored the idea of Wall Street in cryptocurrencies.

Brian Kelly stated that right now, Bitcoin needs fresh money and this can be made possible by the moving in of institutional investors. He said that although the entry of institutional investors has taken longer than expected, the fact that there has been some shakeup from their side is a positive sign.

BitGo was also in the news recently for receiving a state trust charter to act as a custody for cryptocurrencies.