Brink’s, the 164-year-old cash handling firm known for its bullet-proof trucks, has made a strategic investment in cryptocurrency custody specialist BitGo, the companies said on Wednesday. The financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
Crypto has its roots in retail self-custody, but these days institutions are investing billions on behalf of clients, often requiring the back-up of fragmented master keys and physical hardware security modules (HSMs) – which is where a firm like Brink’s with its global secure logistics network comes in.
“As much of our industry, and the financial services industry, prepares for the digital tokenization of potentially a lot of assets, it was very strategic on their behalf to reach out to us,” said BitGo VP Baylor Myers in an interview. “I think Brink’s is going to continue to allocate resources to its office of digital assets.”
The Brink’s tradition of transporting cash and gold around the world creates “an interesting marriage” for a crypto custodian, according to BitGo Trust president Jody Mettler. “Having a footprint of secure locations globally is important to us as we move into regions like Asia Pacific and EMEA. It means being able to leverage their network and expertise in these regions for security protocols and locations,” Mettler said in an interview.
The partnership with BitGo is not the first Brink’s foray into digital assets; the physical security firm began working with Metaco, a Swiss crypto custody firm, back in 2022.
“The combination of our two strong, widely recognized brands will provide peace of mind to BitGo’s growing client base,” said Paul Diemer, Brink’s senior VP of strategy and corporate development, in a statement.