Anchorage Digital’s Prime Launch | What Institutions Should Demand From Crypto Partners

Anchorage Digital has unified its custody, trading, and settlement services under the Prime brand, signaling a shift toward fully integrated institutional crypto solutions. For asset managers, hedge funds, and corporate treasuries, the key question is not which brand leads, but which capabilities matter most for a digital asset partner in 2025’s competitive market.

• Deep liquidity access: Anchorage Prime offers 500+ spot tokens and 200+ derivatives, competing with Coinbase Prime, FalconX, and Binance VIP, all racing to reduce slippage and improve execution.
• Advanced trading and derivatives: APIs, OTC desks, and algorithmic order types support scale, while Anchorage’s A1 Ltd. subsidiary enables options, swaps, and structured products similar to CME and Paradigm.
• Settlement innovation: The Atlas Network enables real-time, on-chain collateral release without omnibus accounts, rivaling Copper ClearLoop, Fireblocks, and BitGo for operational efficiency.
• Risk and compliance: Institutions should prioritize providers with regulatory alignment, bank-grade custody, and integrated risk management for derivatives exposure.
• Market context: Institutional crypto volumes surpassed $5.19 trillion in Oct. 2024, with derivatives overtaking spot trading, evidence that demand for robust infrastructure is accelerating.

Anchorage Digital’s decision to bring its institutional trading, custody, and settlement services under the single “Prime” brand reflects a growing trend in the crypto industry toward integrated solutions. While the branding is new, the strategy points to a broader question for institutional investors: what capabilities should they expect from a modern digital asset partner?

Anchorage Digital Prime combines liquidity access, execution technology, derivatives markets, and a settlement framework designed to reduce counterparty risk. These features align with the priorities of institutions navigating an increasingly complex and competitive market.

Institutional Crypto Services: Key Capabilities Analysis

Deep Liquidity Infrastructure for Institutional Trading

In institutional markets, deep liquidity enables the execution of large trades without significantly moving prices. For example, Anchorage Prime provides access to more than 500 tokens for spot markets and over 200 tokens for derivatives, drawing from a network of counterparties and trading venues worldwide. Breadth like this supports tighter spreads, reduced slippage, and better price discovery – key requirements for asset managers, hedge funds, corporate treasuries, and other large-scale participants.

Competitors in this space include FalconX, Coinbase Prime, Kraken Institutional, Binance VIP, and Galaxy Digital, each pursuing its own approach to aggregating liquidity for professional clients.

• FalconX: Leveraging machine learning algorithms, FalconX aggregates more than 70 venues and offers access to some deep liquidity pools 
• Coinbase Prime: Among the best institutional crypto exchanges, Coinbase Prime provides essential features like high-volume trading capacity
• Kraken Institutional: Kraken offers deep liquidity through Kraken OTC (over-the-counter trading services)
• Binance VIP: High liquidity is a crucial factor for institutional traders. Binance boasts some of the deepest liquidity pools in the crypto industry
• Galaxy: Galaxy is a leading cryptocurrency liquidity provider managing over $2.5 billion in assets for more than 960 institutional trading counterparties

Advanced Execution and Derivatives Capability

Anchorage Prime’s trading infrastructure includes APIs for low-latency connectivity, OTC desks for block trades, algorithmic execution, and order types such as iceberg, TWAP, and VWAP. Smart order routing helps ensure favorable execution conditions, while round-the-clock desk support allows for uninterrupted global trading operations.

For derivatives, Anchorage, through its A1 Ltd. subsidiary, offers options, forwards, swaps, and structured products. These instruments provide institutions with tools to manage risk, pursue directional trades, and enhance yield.

Other major players in this area include Talos, Wyden, Paradigm, and CME Group:

• Talos: Talos incorporates connectivity including FIX, multi-dealer RFQ, execution algos, and smart order routing
• Wyden: Smart Order Routing and Advanced Execution Algorithms ensure trades get executed at the best condition available in the market
• OKX Institutions: OKX offers a market maker program with favorable fees for creating liquidity in the market
• Paradigm: Deep liquidity for 120+ products across any asset, instrument, or strategy enables trade with any counterparty

Derivatives Access: Institutional Risk Management Tools

Through  A1 Ltd., Anchorage Digital provides institutional access to derivatives, including options, forwards, swaps, and structured products. These instruments are used to manage risk, enhance yield, or speculate on market movements, depending on the client’s objectives.

Derivatives remain the largest segment of the global crypto market. Prime’s integration of derivatives with regulated custody offers asset managers, corporate treasuries, insurance firms, pension funds, and mining companies a streamlined way to hedge exposure or capitalize on market opportunities. Competitors like FalconX, Paradigm, and CME Group are also active in the sector.

• FalconX: FalconX aggregates derivatives liquidity and creates extended liquidity services by offering bespoke strategies beyond standard exchange offerings
• Paradigm: Provides access to crypto’s largest network of institutional traders: market makers, OTC desks, hedge funds, family offices, professional traders
• CME Group: CME crypto futures volume comprises the majority of all calendar futures volume today

Settlement Innovation and Operational Efficiency

Anchorage’s Atlas Network offers direct, on-demand settlement without escrow or omnibus accounts, with assets kept segregated and on-chain. This approach reduces counterparty exposure and enables real-time collateral release, improving capital efficiency.

Competitors such as Copper ClearLoop, Fireblocks, and BitGo also aim to streamline settlement.

• Copper ClearLoop: ClearLoop is a service empowering trading clients to settle crypto asset trades with exchanges without requiring the prior transfer of assets from their accounts
• Fireblocks: Multi-party computation (MPC)-based settlement solutions
• BitGo: Traditional custodial settlement services

Market Impact: Settlement solutions address a critical pain point in institutional crypto trading where settlement risk has historically been a major barrier to adoption.

What Institutions Should Prioritize in a Crypto Partner

For institutions, the choice of provider should extend beyond headline features. Priority areas include:

• Regulatory alignment: Operating within robust, recognized frameworks.

• Security: Bank-grade custody with proven protocols.

• Liquidity diversity: Access to multiple venues and instruments.

• Technology integration: Low-latency APIs, smart routing, and reliable operational support.

• Settlement efficiency: Minimizing counterparty exposure and capital lock-up.

These elements not only improve trading outcomes but also ensure that digital asset exposure integrates smoothly into broader investment operations.

Market Context and Industry Trends

The institutional crypto market is rapidly maturing, with derivatives volumes actually exceeding spot trading for the first time last year. In October 2024, combined trading volumes on centralized exchanges reached $5.19 trillion, and Bitcoin’s open interest hit an all-time high of $48.3 billion, reflecting deepening institutional involvement.

As institutions demand not only execution but also operational efficiency, competitive pricing, and compliance, platforms like Anchorage Digital Prime and others mentioned above are evolving to meet these complex needs.