Olympia Trust has entered into a letter of intent that will grant them the exclusive Canadian license to use a proprietary Bitcoin custody system developed by Knox Custody.
In addition, Olympia Trust will acquire certain facilities and insurance policies used by Knox in the operation of the Custody System and the right to provide custody service to Knox’s existing Canadian customers.
Upon completion of the transaction, it is anticipated that Olympia Trust will be one of the few Canadian financial institutions able to hold Bitcoin as a “qualified custodian”, under National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations and as a “custodian” under National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds.
It is also anticipated that Olympia Trust will be able to provide custodial services to Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) regulated investment dealers who offer Bitcoin to their clients.
“Being able to offer Bitcoin custody is a natural evolution of our traditional corporate trust services. The appetite for institutional investors to hold Bitcoin continues to grow. By deploying this best-in-class custody solution in partnership with Knox, Olympia will be well positioned to serve the Canadian market,” said Craig Skauge, President & CEO of Olympia Trust.
Alex Daskalov, CEO of Knox, added: “The Canadian market has struggled with a lack of quality institutional Bitcoin custody options. In Olympia Trust, we saw a storied Canadian institution with decades of experience, who shares our optimism on this opportunity. We are proud to announce our partnership, pairing Olympia’s track record and experience with Knox insurable Bitcoin custody infrastructure, producing the safest compliant option for the Canadian market.”
As consideration for the grant of license and the transfer of assets and customers, it is anticipated that Knox will receive a one-time fee of $500,000 and a share of future profits generated by the license and assets acquired by Olympia from Knox.
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