Former Coinbase Custody Head Joins Anchorage as COO

At Coinbase, Aaron Schnarch was instrumental in supporting the launch of bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Anchorage Digital has hired former Coinbase Custody CEO Aaron Schnarch for a newly created role of chief operating officer, overseeing all business lines.

As Coinbase’s custody business head last year, Schnarch was instrumental in supporting the launch of bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Coinbase, the world’s biggest crypto custodian, is providing custody services for eight out of the 11 asset managers that have launched bitcoin ETFs so far, including BlackRock and Grayscale.

San Francisco-based Anchorage is one of the largest institutional crypto custodians and has a federal bank charter. It counts Apollo Global Management and upstart crypto exchange EDX Markets among its clients. Backed by Goldman Sachs, KKR and Andreessen Horowitz, it reached a valuation of over $3 billion during its latest funding round in 2021.