Anchorage Expands Custody Support for Solana Tokens

Anchorage, the federally chartered crypto bank, is enhancing its services by adding custody support for tokens on the Solana blockchain, as revealed by CEO Nathan McCauley in an interview with CoinDesk. This strategic move will enable a diverse range of clients—including venture capital firms, hedge funds, and the treasuries of various protocols—to securely store a selection of tokens that comply with Solana’s SPL standard.

The initiative to provide custody support for Solana-based tokens commenced in 2022, with staking support being introduced just last year. McCauley emphasized that Anchorage opted for a measured approach in developing and launching custody services for SPL tokens. This decision was influenced by the challenges the Solana ecosystem faced, which necessitated caution rather than rushing into support for a blockchain that had experienced significant setbacks.

Despite the initial skepticism surrounding the Solana ecosystem in early 2023, particularly following the fallout from the FTX collapse, the resilience of its developers and community members has been notable. Users gradually returned to the network to engage in trading, staking, and minting new tokens, particularly on popular memecoin launchpads like Pump.fun, which has become a notable revenue generator in the crypto space.

However, it is important to note that while Anchorage is broadening its support for SPL assets, custody for many of the recently launched memecoins remains a distant prospect. Currently, the company is only accepting a limited selection of assets, which includes:

• USDC
• HNT
• W
• PYTH
• MPLX

As the demand from clients grows and following thorough due diligence, Anchorage plans to expand its offerings further, ensuring that they remain responsive to their clients’ needs and the evolving crypto landscape.