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BitGo

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BitGo
HeadquartersPalo Alto, CA
Key peopleCEO & Co-founder, Mike Belshe CTO, Benedict Chan
ServicesBitcoin / Blockchain Security Platform API's / Custodial Services / Settlement Services
URLhttps://www.bitgo.com
Launched2013; 11 years ago (2013)

BitGo is a digital asset trust company and security company,[1][2] headquartered in Palo Alto, California. It was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe and Ben Davenport.

The company offers a multisignature bitcoin wallet service, where keys are divided among a number of owners to manage risk. Generally, BitGo wallets have three keys: one held by BitGo, and two held by the wallet's owner.[3][4] Wallets can be configured in both hot and cold configurations,[5] as well as non-custodial and custodial configurations.

BitGo also serves as the sole custodian for bitcoin that people deposit to receive a tokenized form of that bitcoin known as Wrapped Bitcoin or WBTC that can be exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain.[6]

History

In June 2014 the company received US$12 million in venture capital funding led by Redpoint Ventures.[7]

In January 2015 BitGo announced the general availability of their Platform API. The following month the company bought an insurance policy from XL Catlin against theft from its wallets.[8]

In June 2015 the company launched the Verified by BitGo program, a "proof of reserve" service for bitcoin companies.[9]

On August 2, 2016, Bitfinex, a digital currency exchange using BitGo software, announced it had suffered a security breach.[10] BitGo was not itself hacked, but processed withdrawal requests from the hacker, who had obtained access to Bitfinex's keys.[11]

In September 2018, BitGo was approved by the South Dakota Division of Banking to act as a qualified custodian for digital assets and created BitGo Trust Company.[12]

In October 2018, the company raised US$15 million in venture capital funding from Goldman Sachs and Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital.[13]

In December 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that BitGo has paid $98,830 to settle apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs.[14]

References

  1. ^ KING 5 News (January 20, 2014). "Seattle entrepreneur mines Bitcoin phenomenon". KING-TV.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Robert McMillan (April 9, 2014). "A Hack That Makes Bitcoins a Whole Lot Harder to Steal". Wired.
  3. ^ Michael J. Casey (June 16, 2014). "Bitcoin Security Startup BitGo Gets More Funds; Ex-Verisign CEO Joins Team". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.(subscription required)
  4. ^ Kim-Mai Cutler (June 16, 2014). "BitGo Raises $12M Led By Redpoint For Multi-Signature Bitcoin Wallets, Services". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
  5. ^ "Crypto Startup Offers Insurance Against Quadriga Wallet Dilemma". 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  6. ^ Kharif, Olga (October 29, 2020). "Bitcoin Rally Gets Added Boost From 'Wrapped' Crypto Tokens". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  7. ^ Dara Kerr (June 16, 2014). "Bitcoin security platform BitGo raises $12M in funding". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
  8. ^ Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna (February 25, 2015). "BitBeat: BitGo Adds Comprehensive Insurance to Its Services". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.(subscription required)
  9. ^ Laura Shin (June 30, 2015). "BitGo Launches Verisign-Like Certificate To Prove Solvency For Bitcoin Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
  10. ^ "Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong". Reuters. 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  11. ^ Ho, Victoria. "Prominent Bitcoin exchange hacked wiping $65 million from wallets". Mashable. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  12. ^ Kate Rooney (13 Sep 2018). "Companies race to solve bitcoin's security problem despite slumping prices". CNBC. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Goldman Wades Deeper in Crypto, Betting on BitGo With Billionaire Mike Novogratz". 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  14. ^ "Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and BitGo, Inc". U.S. Department of the Treasury. December 30, 2020.
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