The El Dorado Task Force, a division of the US Department of Homeland Security, is reportedly conducting an inquiry into Anchorage Digital Bank, a cryptocurrency company supported by Wall Street. The Barron’s report from April 14 indicates that task force members have been reaching out to the firm’s former staff in recent weeks to inspect its operations and procedures. Unnamed sources suggest that the investigation is focused on potential financial misconduct within Anchorage.
The El Dorado Task Force, established in 1992, primarily investigates “transnational money laundering” and financial crimes committed by organizations. Thus, the reported investigation into Anchorage could indicate international financial operations. Anchorage was co-founded by Portuguese-American businessman Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley. Apart from its US operations, Anchorage also operates in Singapore and Portugal, with investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, and Visa.
As the only federally chartered crypto bank in the United States, Anchorage Digital secured its national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January 2021. Despite its solid regulatory standing, the company has faced regulatory hurdles in the US. In April 2022, the OCC issued a consent order against the bank for inadequacies in its Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering compliance programs. Anchorage Digital was then directed to form a committee to address these alleged issues under OCC oversight.
Since its inception in 2017, Anchorage has been augmenting its cryptocurrency offerings, providing services for institutional clients. Anchorage is one of the custodians of BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), along with Coinbase and BitGo. BlackRock’s BTC funds have seen more than $35.5 billion in total inflows since their January 2024 launch. Anchorage also serves Cantor Fitzgerald, providing custody and collateral management for the company’s Bitcoin holdings since March 2025. The company reported more than $50 billion in assets under management in 2024.
Competing with Anchorage in the digital asset custody space are companies like Ripple, Kraken, Taurus, and Fireblocks. Nevertheless, traditional financial institutions such as HSBC, Citi, and BNY Mellon are also entering the crypto space. A 2025 EY survey revealed that 59% of institutional investors plan to dedicate over 5% of their assets under management to cryptocurrencies, signaling increasing demand for institutional-grade custody services.
