Institutional

Strike delivers one of the cleanest Bitcoin buying experiences available, with trading fees starting around 0.99% for small purchases and dropping to 0.39% for larger volumes—consistently undercutting Cash App and PayPal on both trading costs and transfer fees. The app leans heavily on the Lightning Network, enabling near-instant payments with minimal fees, which makes it genuinely useful for everyday transactions rather than just buy-and-hold. Free ACH deposits, straightforward recurring purchases for dollar-cost averaging, and the ability to convert part of your paycheck directly into bitcoin round out a feature set designed for practical daily use.

On the trust side, Strike operates as a fully-reserved custodian, explicitly stating that customer assets are held 1:1 rather than rehypothecated. The company maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, adheres to global AML and data protection standards, and has pursued licensing in stricter jurisdictions including El Salvador's digital assets regime. For users who prefer self-custody, bitcoin can be withdrawn to personal wallets via on-chain or Lightning at any time, reducing ongoing counterparty exposure.

Unchained operates as a U.S.-regulated bitcoin financial services company founded in 2016 and based in Austin, Texas. The platform has secured billions of dollars in bitcoin and originated over $500 million in bitcoin-backed loans, establishing a multi-year track record in the industry. Their collaborative custody model uses standard bitcoin multisignature technology where clients typically hold 2 of 3 keys, meaning Unchained cannot unilaterally move funds—a verifiable security property that eliminates the counterparty risk that led to failures at centralized exchanges.

The security architecture allows clients to independently verify their holdings using external wallet software and open-source tools, avoiding the opaque off-chain accounting that has plagued custodial services. For those wanting additional institutional backing, Unchained offers multi-institution custody arrangements where keys are distributed among the client, Unchained, and independent third-party key agents like Bakkt. This design prevents any single entity from accessing funds while maintaining professional recovery options if a client loses access to their keys.

Your collateral stays in a 3-of-4 multisig—Debifi cannot move your bitcoin without you. Keys held by borrower, lender, Debifi, and AnchorWatch. Zero rehypothecation. Verify your collateral on-chain anytime. Backed by Ten31, Timechain, Fulgur Ventures, Plan B Fund. Exited beta June 2025. Sygnum Bank partnership for MultiSYG (launching 2026).

Lloyd's of London Coverholder (AM Best A+ rated). Launched December 2024. Uses Miniscript-powered Trident Vaults.

NYDIG operates through NYDFS-chartered and licensed subsidiaries (NYDIG Trust Company LLC and NYDIG Execution LLC), providing regulated, audited, and insured Bitcoin custody. The firm emphasizes air-gapped private key management with 100% cold storage to eliminate cyber risks, contrasting with weaker industry practices.

Backed by Stone Ridge Holdings Group, NYDIG has raised over $1 billion in growth equity from major institutional investors including Morgan Stanley, MassMutual, New York Life, Soros Fund Management, Bessemer, and WestCap. The company has operated since 2017 with no reported security breaches or losses.

NYDIG's custody solution is SOC 1/2 audited with insurance coverage, and the firm holds money transmitter and virtual currency business licenses across multiple U.S. states, enabling compliant Bitcoin services for banks, corporations, and institutions.

Lightspark solves one of Bitcoin's most ambitious challenges: making Lightning Network infrastructure accessible to institutions that need enterprise-grade reliability without deep protocol expertise. The platform abstracts away the complexity of running Lightning nodes, managing channel liquidity, and optimizing routing into clean REST/GraphQL APIs with SDKs in multiple languages. Their AI-driven routing system (Lightspark Predict) dynamically manages liquidity for capital-efficient payment flows, while the Grid Switch connects to real-time payment rails across 65+ countries reaching over 14,000 financial institutions. Multi-asset flows handle fiat-to-fiat, fiat-to-stablecoins, fiat-to-Bitcoin, and Bitcoin-to-Bitcoin transfers with Bitcoin serving as a neutral settlement asset under the hood.

The compliance and security posture meets the standards of major financial institutions, evidenced by production deployments at Nubank and SoFi. Enterprise-grade security includes strong encryption, hardened infrastructure, secure wallet management, and alignment with KYC/AML and travel rule requirements. The API stack incorporates modern authentication patterns including token-based auth, SAML/OIDC SSO, and OAuth-style flows. For institutions considering Lightning-based infrastructure, Lightspark claims up to 80% cost reduction compared with traditional correspondent banking stacks for high-volume remittance corridors.