Key Takeaways
- • Purpose Investments became the first digital asset ETF manager in Canada to custody assets across three independent institutional-grade sub-custodians, with the July 21, 2026 appointment of Anchorage Digital Bank N.A.
- • Anchorage joins Coinbase and Gemini as sub-custodians for the Digital Asset Funds, which hold approximately C$2.4 billion in combined assets under management.
- • Purpose continues to run its own Ether and Solana validators through Purpose Unlimited Inc., so staking economics accrue directly to unitholders rather than a third-party operator.
- • Purpose acquired the carbon footprint methodology and software from Patch Technologies Inc., which had powered the carbon-offset program for the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCC.J) since 2021.
Summary
Purpose Investments Inc. ("Purpose"), manager of Canada's largest suite of digital asset ETFs, announced on July 21, 2026 that it has become the first digital asset ETF manager in Canada to custody fund assets across three independent, institutional-grade sub-custodians. The appointment of Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., described by the company as America's first federally chartered crypto bank, took effect on the same date. Anchorage joins Coinbase and Gemini, which already act as sub-custodians to the Digital Asset Funds. Purpose, Anchorage Digital and Cidel Trust Company, the custodian of the funds, entered into an agreement under which Anchorage serves as an additional sub-custodian.
The company said the three-sub-custodian structure diversifies custody risk and reduces the impact of single points of failure. Anchorage Digital Bank operates under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to the release. Vlad Tasevski, Chief Innovation Officer at Purpose, framed the move as an extension of the firm's segregation-first approach since launching the world's first spot Bitcoin ETF. Nathan McCauley, Co-Founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to secure, transparent access to digital assets.
Purpose said it continues to operate its own validators for Ether and Solana through Purpose Unlimited Inc., the parent company, using proprietary staking software. Paul Pincente, VP of Digital Assets at Purpose, said in-house staking means unitholders retain more staking rewards than they would through a third-party provider. The combined structure of in-house staking and institutional custody is intended to pair direct control over rewards with bank-grade custody standards.
Separately, Purpose acquired the carbon footprint measurement methodology and supporting software developed by Patch Technologies Inc., which has powered the carbon-offset program for the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCC.J) since 2021. Purpose will continue estimating emissions tied to the bitcoin holdings allocable to carbon-offset units and will continue purchasing and retiring verified carbon offsets.
Anchorage's appointment applies to the funds that hold physical digital assets: BTCC, BTCO, ETHH, ETHO, SOLL and XRPP. Purpose's eight digital asset ETFs also include BTCY and ETHY, which are yield products. Combined assets under management across the digital asset ETFs are approximately C$2.4 billion, and Purpose reports more than $32 billion in total AUM across its ETFs and investment funds. Purpose is a division of Purpose Unlimited Inc., led by entrepreneur Som Seif. Anchorage Digital, founded in 2017 and valued at $4.2 billion, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, GIC, Goldman Sachs, KKR and Visa.
The company said the three-sub-custodian structure diversifies custody risk and reduces the impact of single points of failure. Anchorage Digital Bank operates under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to the release. Vlad Tasevski, Chief Innovation Officer at Purpose, framed the move as an extension of the firm's segregation-first approach since launching the world's first spot Bitcoin ETF. Nathan McCauley, Co-Founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to secure, transparent access to digital assets.
Purpose said it continues to operate its own validators for Ether and Solana through Purpose Unlimited Inc., the parent company, using proprietary staking software. Paul Pincente, VP of Digital Assets at Purpose, said in-house staking means unitholders retain more staking rewards than they would through a third-party provider. The combined structure of in-house staking and institutional custody is intended to pair direct control over rewards with bank-grade custody standards.
Separately, Purpose acquired the carbon footprint measurement methodology and supporting software developed by Patch Technologies Inc., which has powered the carbon-offset program for the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCC.J) since 2021. Purpose will continue estimating emissions tied to the bitcoin holdings allocable to carbon-offset units and will continue purchasing and retiring verified carbon offsets.
Anchorage's appointment applies to the funds that hold physical digital assets: BTCC, BTCO, ETHH, ETHO, SOLL and XRPP. Purpose's eight digital asset ETFs also include BTCY and ETHY, which are yield products. Combined assets under management across the digital asset ETFs are approximately C$2.4 billion, and Purpose reports more than $32 billion in total AUM across its ETFs and investment funds. Purpose is a division of Purpose Unlimited Inc., led by entrepreneur Som Seif. Anchorage Digital, founded in 2017 and valued at $4.2 billion, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, GIC, Goldman Sachs, KKR and Visa.
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