Anchorage Digital Under Investigation for Possible Financial Crimes

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s El Dorado Task Force has reportedly launched an investigation into Anchorage Digital Bank, the only federally chartered crypto bank in the country, according to a Barron’s report.

Sources familiar with the matter told Barron’s that members of the task force contacted former Anchorage employees in recent weeks to review the company’s practices, hinting at possible cross-border financial misconduct. The task force, which focuses on transnational money laundering, is said to be examining Anchorage’s compliance and internal controls for signs of financial crime.

Anchorage, co-founded by Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley, has operations in the U.S., Portugal, and Singapore. It counts Goldman Sachs, Visa, and Andreessen Horowitz among its high-profile backers.

Anchorage was granted a national trust bank charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January 2021, becoming the first federally regulated crypto bank in the U.S. Despite this, it faced ongoing compliance issues. In April 2022, the OCC issued a consent order citing deficiencies in the bank’s anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs, mandating the creation of a compliance oversight committee.

Anchorage has not yet commented on the new investigation.

Founded in 2017, Anchorage emerged as a key player in institutional crypto services. It currently acts as custodian for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETFs, which pulled in more than $35.5 billion in inflows since launching in January. Anchorage also manages custody and collateral for Cantor Fitzgerald’s Bitcoin holdings.

As digital asset adoption accelerates in traditional finance, Anchorage competes with both crypto-native firms like Fireblocks and Taurus, and major banks like HSBC, Citi, and BNY Mellon, which are building their own crypto custody capabilities.

Industry experts say the market still lacks enough qualified custodians to meet rising institutional demand.  According to a 2025 EY survey, 59% of institutional investors plan to allocate more than 5% of their portfolios to crypto.