In 2022, Canadian crypto custodian Balance celebrated its fifth anniversary with $500 million of assets under custody.
Founded in June 2017, the startup introduced its custody services in a closed pilot in August 2018. The public launch followed one year later, the first of its kind in Canada.
Since its August 2019 public launch, Balance has grown its client base to include companies that span Canada, the US, and other regions.
“Our focus since day one has been to build a world-class custodian for companies working with digital assets,” says George Bordianu, who serves as chief executive officer of Balance.
Bordianu says Balance “rejected vending ready-made solutions and instead built our offline and warm infrastructure entirely in-house, from the ground up.”
“It was a monumental effort,” the CEO says, “and it took us years before being able to compete with the likes of Coinbase and BitGo—but it’s finally paying off.”
This week, the firm revealed that it has surpassed $2B in assets under custody.
It’s an accomplishment, but the figures don’t tell the whole story—it’s not the first time Balance has achieved this milestone.
After growing rapidly to $2.5B AUC, the post-Pandemic bear market dragged the company’s business back down to $500M.
The downward market “tested our resilience,” Bordianu recalls, “taking our business from a high of $2.5B AUC to a low of $500M at some point.”
Thankfully, his team was up to the challenge of building back better.
“Rebuilding to $2 billion in AUC is a testament to their hard work and unwavering commitment to our clients,” the CEO stated.
As the market picks up again, clients and prospects are exploring new products and offerings, according to Dustin Plett, who functions as chief sales officer at Balance.
“Balance continues to be the custodian of choice for companies who need a flexible infrastructure partner that can quickly build what’s needed to accommodate any custom workflows or unique requirements,” he stated.
The Toronto-born fintech recently moved its headquarters to Calgary, a move it had been working toward since 2021.
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