BitGo CEO Mike Belshe defends the company’s partnership with BiT Global, addressing criticisms about security and transparency while emphasizing the strategic importance of expanding into Asia.
BitGo CEO Mike Belshe has firmly defended the company’s recent partnership with BiT Global, a crypto custodian partly owned by Tron’s Justin Sun, which has drawn criticism from various quarters of the crypto community. During an interview at Korea Blockchain Week, Belshe addressed these concerns, emphasizing the need for “intellectual honesty” among critics and underscoring the strategic and security-focused motivations behind the collaboration.
The primary concern stems from BiT Global’s association with Justin Sun, a controversial figure in the cryptocurrency space. However, Belshe contends that the critics are overlooking the broader context and the actual benefits of the partnership. He argued that many critics, particularly those affiliated with Threshold, which has been vocal about the deal, are more interested in boosting their own token’s value rather than engaging in a fair discussion. Threshold recently proposed merging its BTC wrapper, tBTC, into Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), criticizing what it perceives as a shift in control over wBTC due to the new partnership. Belshe dismissed these criticisms as being more about personal gain than genuine concern for decentralization or security.
One of the key points Belshe made was the superior security model that BitGo is implementing as part of this partnership. He highlighted that BitGo’s approach to storing keys—distributing them across multiple institutions—eliminates single points of failure, enhancing the overall security of wrapped Bitcoin. This method, he argues, is far superior to anything competitors like Coinbase could offer, despite Coinbase recently hinting at launching its own wrapped Bitcoin product, cbBTC, on the Base blockchain.
Belshe further elaborated on the transparency of the partnership, pointing out that BitGo openly disclosed Justin Sun’s involvement, a move he believes demonstrates the company’s commitment to transparency. He invited the community to scrutinize the deal, suggesting that the openness of the process would foster trust.
The strategic importance of the partnership also extends beyond security. Belshe mentioned that the deal with BiT Global is crucial for BitGo’s expansion in Asia, a rapidly growing market for cryptocurrency. He reassured that despite Sun’s involvement, the legal structure of BiT Global as a licensed Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) in Hong Kong ensures that it has fiduciary duties to safeguard the assets under its custody, just as BitGo does.
Despite the initial uproar, Belshe noted that there hasn’t been a significant exodus from Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), as on-chain data shows minimal activity in terms of burns, indicating that the market’s response has been largely stable.
In summary, Belshe’s defense of the partnership centers on the benefits of enhanced security and transparency, as well as the strategic expansion into the Asian market. He believes that the critics
are not fully appreciating these aspects and are instead motivated by self-interest.