A fresh wave of crypto ETF filings is hitting the SEC, spanning a diverse range of products: Solana funds from Fidelity and CoinShares, the HYPE ETF from 21Shares, an HBAR ETF from Canary Capital, Hashdex’s multi-asset digital fund, and Fundamental Global’s ether treasury strategy. Despite their differences, they all share one key element—BitGo is serving as custodian for each. 

The timing underscores BitGo’s expanding influence. As institutional demand for digital-asset ETFs accelerates, the firm has filed its own S-1 in preparation for a public offering, positioning itself at the intersection of crypto infrastructure and mainstream finance. 

Against this backdrop, Adam Sporn, BitGo’s Head of Prime Brokerage and Institutional Sales, spoke with Connect Money about the company’s expanding role in the ETF ecosystem, the evolving custodial landscape, and how the firm is preparing for the next phase of crypto’s integration into traditional markets. 

CM: BitGo is the common custodian across a growing list of newly filed crypto ETFs. How did the firm become a preferred partner for so many issuers simultaneously? 

AS: ETF issuers prioritize safety and reliability, and BitGo has sought to become the industry’s go-to custodian by delivering institutional-grade security and operational resilience for more than a decade as the first purpose-built custodian in the digital asset industry. 

Building independent qualified custody allows ETFs to pick the safest way to store and protect their digital assets. Combining that safety with trading and staking capabilities allows these ETF issuers to efficiently scale their ETF strategies. 

As issuers prepared to bring multiple spot products to market at the same time, they needed a partner who could onboard, secure, and operate several ETFs concurrently without compromising safety or daily fund operations. BitGo’s scale, technical depth, and regulatory alignment made it the natural hub for many of the market’s highest-profile ETF filings. 
 
CM: As more crypto ETFs come to market, what are the most important risks ETF issuers expect a custodian to manage? Does the rise of staking, treasury strategies, or yield-enhancing activity change the role of custody for ETFs? 

AS: Custodians serve as the stability layer for every crypto ETF. Issuers expect protection against cyber threats, insider risk, technology failures, transaction errors, and counterparty exposure, while still meeting the liquidity, transparency, and daily NAV requirements of a public fund. That means secure key management, reliable creation and redemption workflows for APs and market makers, accurate on-chain settlement, and full readiness for regulatory reporting and audits. 

These activities do not change the core definition of custody, but they raise the bar for custodians who must integrate blockchain functionality within a regulated ETF framework. Issuers want a partner who can absorb this complexity without creating operational drag. BitGo’s infrastructure is designed to provide that stability so ETF issuers can scale exposure safely and confidently. 
 
CM: We’re now seeing filings beyond bitcoin and ether—Solana, Hype tokens, HBAR, and broad baskets. What does this wave of diversification signal about the state of the crypto ETF market? 

AS: Diversification across new filings shows that crypto is no longer viewed as a single-asset trade. It is being recognized as a fully investable asset class. Advisors and institutions are asking for broader exposure beyond bitcoin and ether, access to networks with distinct technologies and user communities, and portfolio tools that resemble the sector, thematic, and commodity baskets they already use in traditional markets. 

The expansion into multi-asset and non-BTC/ETH products also reflects growing maturity across the ETF ecosystem. Custodians, index providers, administrators, and liquidity venues now have the infrastructure to support multi-chain portfolios with institutional controls, reliable settlement, and consistent compliance standards. This capability is essential for ETFs to operate at scale. 

In short, the wave of diversification signals that the market’s operational and regulatory foundation has strengthened enough to support a broader set of assets. ETF workflows for digital assets are increasingly aligning with the expectations wealth managers have for long-established asset classes. 
 
CM: Which types of digital assets or strategies do you expect to be the next candidates for ETF packaging? 

AS: Allocator interest is concentrated around digital assets that meet institutional criteria: deep liquidity, clear functional use cases, stable underlying networks, and the operational reliability needed for fiduciary oversight. At the same time, strategies built on diversified baskets, sector classifications, and transparent rules-based methodologies are gaining traction as advisors look for structures that mirror the tools they already use in equity, commodity, and FX markets. 

Wealth managers increasingly evaluate digital assets through the same framework they apply to traditional exposures. They want products that can fit cleanly into portfolio models, support regular rebalancing, and meet the compliance and reporting standards required for client portfolios. This is driving demand for ETF strategies that provide structured, intuitive exposure while preserving the discipline and transparency institutional allocators expect. 

In practice, that means broad baskets, sector indices, and rules-driven strategies are emerging as natural candidates for ETF packaging. They offer familiar portfolio construction features while opening the door to meaningful, risk-aware participation in the digital asset ecosystem. 
 
CM: Do you expect consolidation among crypto custodians as ETF volumes grow and compliance requirements intensify? 

AS: The ETF ecosystem rewards custodians with scale, robust controls, capital strength, and operational depth. As volumes grow and regulatory expectations intensify, issuers need partners who can uphold the highest standards in cybersecurity, segregation of assets, insurance coverage, regulatory reporting, and operational resilience. 

Custodians that succeed in this environment are those that deliver transparent auditability, hardened cold-storage infrastructure, high-throughput settlement capabilities, strict client-asset segregation, and consistent performance at scale. They must support advanced cybersecurity, comprehensive reporting requirements, and seamless ETF creation and redemption workflows. 

Issuers and institutional allocators naturally consolidate around partners who can provide this level of rigor and stability. The market increasingly favors custodians capable of delivering reliable, risk-controlled operations across multiple products and chains. BitGo’s long-standing commitment to secure, compliant, and scalable infrastructure positions the firm as a trusted partner in this evolving landscape. 
 

CM: From your perspective, what makes crypto ETFs operationally unique compared with traditional commodity or currency ETFs? 

AS: Crypto ETFs blend traditional asset management discipline with the technical demands of blockchain networks. Unlike gold, oil, or FX products, digital assets must be secured, signed, transferred, and validated directly on-chain, and the underlying networks operate around the clock. This creates a unique operational profile that traditional markets have never had to manage. 

Custodians must support secure key management and transaction signing in place of vault logistics or FX settlement. They need continuous monitoring of protocol upgrades and performance, as well as settlement rails that accommodate 24/7 blockchain activity while integrating cleanly with ETF creation and redemption workflows. On-chain transparency and proof-of-reserve requirements add another layer of reporting, attestation, and auditability. 

These dynamics require a custodian with both deep technology infrastructure and traditional fund-operations expertise. BitGo’s architecture is designed to bridge these worlds and enable issuers to offer digital-asset ETFs with the same confidence, reliability, and operational integrity that investors expect from long-established asset classes. 

We believe we are still in the early stages of institutional adoption of digital assets and are quite excited for what lies ahead for these strategies in the months and years to come.