AnchorWatch, an insurance provider, launched a bitcoin custody service with a policy against BTC losses. The announcement of the inauguration of this company was published on January 6, 2025, after two years of product development and after the company became a legal entity, officially capable of acting as the holder of risk coverage in the Lloyd’s of London, a British insurance market.
Announces a press release that the company officially opened its doors in December 2024, and is authorized to exercise a relationship of a minimum of 250 thousand dollars and a maximum of up to 100 million dollars per client.
In the words of the firm, AnchorWatch became “an insurer of Lloyd’s of Londonthe only insurer in the world that can directly insure bitcoin owners.” They share that Its escrow service does not require the owner who contracts the service to hand over their private keys, although AnchorWatch has keys and can sign for the user.
How does AnchorWatch insurance work?
This service works through a vault or vault that allows the company to sign bitcoin transactions on behalf of the user, but also move towards complete self-custody if the person decides not to renew the service contract after its expiration.
We have created Trident Vault– The only bitcoin vault that gives you the protection of our signature transactions while you are insured, and allows you to seamlessly transition to pure self-custody when your policy ends if you choose not to renew.
AnchorWatch, an insurance provider.
Technologically speaking, this protection vault offers time locks, varied BTC spending conditions, and multiple “quorums” multisignature.
Locked recovery paths “may allow bitcoins to be recovered using different key combinations over time.” At the same time, the format multisig AnchorWatch allows the company to “be a required signatory on transactions while you are insured (although we can never unilaterally control a customer’s bitcoins).
With quorums Multisignature company refers to various models that allow the approval of fund transactions by a minimum number of holders or participants of the holdings. AnchorWatch “offers a comprehensive solution that reduces the risks associated with theft, kidnapping, catastrophic events and fraud,” the company says, listing the application cases for its service. The Loss of keys due to human error would also be contemplated in the service policy of the insurance policy. from AnchorWatch.
Risk distribution and syndicate system of Lloyd’s of London
As far as insurance is concerned, this company subscribe to standard insurance policies Lloyd’s of London, allowing them to secure the entire amount, denominated in dollars, of their clients’ bitcoin holdings placed in custody. Users who feel underinsured may increase the coverage limit of their policy at any time.
This insurance policy works according to the distribution of risks, guaranteed by groups of unions (up to eighty of them) where each one assumes a proportional part of the responsibility for the insurance. These groups have a “central fund” of support to ensure the solvency of the market and cover losses that the unions separately cannot face.
Through a spokesperson, the insurance company states that It is the first time that clients have access to an insurance policy with bitcoin (BTC).
The support of the unions Lloyd’s of London allows us to offer the capital guarantee of A-rated insurance integrated into Trident Vault. (…). For the first time, customers have easy access to 1-to-1 insurance with their name on the insurance contract. (…). It is the first time that retail customers have direct access to bitcoin insurance.
Becca Rubenfeld, co-founder of AnchorWatch.
At the time of writing, AnchorWatch’s secured custody solution is only available to US customers. However, this event demonstrates the growth and increasing versatility of financial services created around bitcoin, the most important crypto asset in the world. It also helps to understand what financial services could reach Latin America in a bitcoinized future.