Tetra Trust

Tetra Trust Company operates as Canada's first qualified and regulated custodian for digital assets, addressing a critical gap in the market for institutional-grade security and compliance. Founded in 2019 by individuals including Eric Richmond, Tetra was conceived within the crypto trading platform Coinsquare to provide a secure, Canadian-based alternative to foreign or unregulated custodians. The company’s creation was partly a response to the QuadrigaCX incident, highlighting the urgent need for reliable asset protection in the digital currency space. A key milestone was achieved on July 5, 2021, when Tetra received its Certificate of Registration from the Government of Alberta, officially empowering it to act as a custodian under national securities instruments.

The founding journey of Eric Richmond, a securities lawyer with an entrepreneurial background, was instrumental. His experience at a major law firm and later with crypto-focused firms like Coin Capital Investment Management Inc. and Coinsquare provided him with a deep understanding of both traditional capital markets and the regulatory complexities of blockchain technology. This dual expertise was pivotal in navigating the 18-month process to achieve regulatory qualification for Tetra. In April 2022, Didier Lavallée, an executive with over 15 years of experience in capital markets and custody at institutions like RBC and UBS, took over as CEO to lead the company's growth phase. Lavallée's background in traditional finance underscores Tetra's strategy of bridging the gap between conventional asset management and the digital asset sector.

Tetra's business model is centered on providing secure custody services for a fee based on assets under management, along with transaction fees. The company serves a range of institutional clients, including crypto asset funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), trading platforms, corporate entities, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. By holding assets in trust, Tetra ensures that clients retain legal ownership, and the assets are not leveraged or re-hypothecated. Its services are crucial for entities like Wealthsimple and 3iQ, which require a regulated Canadian custodian to securely store customer assets on home soil, thereby mitigating jurisdictional risks associated with foreign custodians. The company holds over $2.5 billion CAD in digital assets under custody and became profitable in 2024.

The core service is the secure storage of digital assets, including over 20 coins, hundreds of tokens, and NFTs, using institutional-grade cold storage solutions. A key differentiator is its flexible, open-architecture approach. In May 2023, Tetra became the first regulated Canadian custodian approved for digital asset staking. More recently, the company launched Tetra Unity, an orchestration platform that allows institutions to integrate various digital asset services—from custody and execution to compliance—through a single interface, enabling clients to use their preferred partners within the ecosystem. This platform approach simplifies operations and allows for a tailored, multi-solution product, a departure from the single-offering model of many competitors.

Keywords: digital asset custody, regulated custodian, institutional crypto, Canadian fintech, cryptocurrency storage, blockchain security, asset management, qualified custodian, crypto compliance, institutional finance