# BitcoinSecurityCustodyAndInstitutionalInfrastructure

#BitcoinSecurityCustodyAndInstitutionalInfrastructure
The nineteenth topic underpinning US market strategy in 2026 is custody. The entire institutional build-out falls apart without it, and in 2026 it’s finally solved.
In 2021 the question was “where do we keep the keys?” In 2026 the question is “which qualified custodian and insurance policy do we use?”
Here is the US custody stack that institutions actually trust:
1. *Qualified Bank Custodians*: BNY Mellon, Fidelity Digital Assets, State Street Digital. They hold BTC in bankruptcy-remote trusts, SOC2 Type II audited, with $100M+ insurance.