AnchorWatch Review
Lloyd's of London-backed Bitcoin custody combining collaborative multisig with institutional-grade insurance up to $100M.
Why We Recommend AnchorWatch
AnchorWatch solves a problem that has plagued serious Bitcoin holders for years: how do you get real insurance on self-custodied Bitcoin? Their Trident Vault architecture uses miniscript-based multisig where keys are distributed between you and AnchorWatch, with time locks ensuring neither party can act unilaterally. This isn't just security theater—the on-chain verifiability means you can actually audit your protection. Coverage through Lloyd's of London provides genuine recourse against theft, fraud, kidnapping, and catastrophic loss, not just promises.
The regulatory standing matters here. As a Lloyd's Coverholder, AnchorWatch operates within established insurance frameworks rather than crypto-native alternatives that may not survive legal scrutiny. Their protocol-level governance encodes compliance requirements directly into the vault structure, which institutional clients and family offices increasingly require. The combination of cold storage, shared custody, and legitimate insurance backing creates a security model that pure multisig solutions simply cannot match.
Best For
High-net-worth individuals and family offices holding substantial Bitcoin positions will find AnchorWatch compelling when basic multisig feels insufficient. If you have 5-15+ BTC and worry about sophisticated attacks, key loss, or what happens to your coins if you die unexpectedly, the built-in inheritance protocols and disaster recovery options address exactly these concerns. The collaborative custody model means you maintain meaningful control while gaining institutional-grade protection.
Corporate treasuries and Bitcoin funds benefit from the governance features encoded at the protocol level. When your board or LPs need auditable custody arrangements with real insurance documentation, AnchorWatch delivers paperwork that traditional finance understands. The ability to scale coverage up to $100M per vault accommodates serious treasury positions without cobbling together multiple solutions.
This is explicitly not for casual holders or those optimizing for minimal fees. The minimum policy requirements, annual premiums starting at $4,000 per million covered, and 0.02% monthly custody fees make economic sense only for significant holdings where the cost of loss would be devastating.
Services & Features
Considerations
Minimum policy sizes exclude holders under roughly 5 BTC, and ongoing costs add up—expect $4,000+ annually per million insured plus custody fees. AnchorWatch key access depends on active policy status, so coverage lapses affect your security model.
