Copper has planted a regulated flag in the U.S.: its subsidiary, Copper Markets (US) Inc., is now an SEC-registered broker-dealer and a FINRA member, paving the way for Copper to offer institutional custody, collateral and trading services onshore. What this means - FINRA membership gives Copper a regulated vehicle to bring custody, staking, financing and OTC services to U.S. institutional clients. The firm says it will build out a “Qualified Custodian” presence under the broker-dealer framework that, when regulatory requirements are met, allows broker-dealers to hold customer securities and funds. - FINRA records show Copper Markets (US) has registered personnel across finance, compliance, operations and revenue, confirming the firm is staffing up for U.S. operations. ClearLoop: custody-first infrastructure at the heart of the roll-out Copper’s ClearLoop network — launched in 2020 — is central to the strategy. ClearLoop lets institutions keep assets in custody while delegating them for trading or pledging them as collateral between counterparties. That separation of custody from trading reduces the need to preload exchanges and limits exposure to exchange-specific counterparty risk. Notable integrations and product moves - Feb 2025: Copper and BitGo unveiled a model enabling institutional clients to trade spot and derivatives on Deribit while assets remained secured off-exchange; BitGo Trust provided qualified custody and ClearLoop handled automatic settlement. - 2025: Copper used ClearLoop in its agency lending product to ring-fence loaned assets, support overcollateralized lending and enable real-time monitoring. - Aug 2024: Copper added custody and staking support for Mina Protocol. - March–April 2025: Copper expanded institutional staking via partnerships with Figment (Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot) and P2P.org (staking infrastructure and rebalancing technology), building on earlier staking work with Hedera and Mina. Regulatory backdrop Copper’s broker-dealer route comes as U.S. regulators reshape how securities rules apply to digital assets. The SEC added crypto-related items to its 2026 rulemaking agenda, including potential changes to broker-dealer financial responsibility rules, exemptions or safe harbors for certain crypto offers, and rules governing crypto trading on ATSs and national exchanges. Other custody pathways Several digital-asset firms have pursued regulated custody in the U.S. through different routes: - Circle obtained final OCC approval in July to form Circle National Trust as a federally supervised trust bank to custody assets for the company and affiliated clients. - The OCC issued conditional decisions in December 2025 involving Ripple, Paxos, BitGo and Fidelity Digital Assets. - Kraken parent Payward applied to the OCC for a national trust charter for Payward National Trust Company (timing reported in May). - In September 2025, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter permitting advisers (under certain conditions) to use specified state-chartered trust companies as custodians. Why it matters By landing broker-dealer status and FINRA membership, Copper gains a domestic, regulated route to offer its custody-first infrastructure — including ClearLoop, staking, financing and OTC services — to U.S. institutions. That underscores the growing trend of crypto firms aligning infrastructure offerings with established securities and banking frameworks as the regulatory landscape evolves. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news