Provider at a glance
- Category
- Key Recovery & Inheritance
- Entity
- Not verified
- Official website
- anchorwatch.com
Independent rankingchecked How it works
Details
Scored 41 out of 100 under methodology 2026.10.18, from the evidence read in October 2026.
AnchorWatch
Bitcoin vault custody
Key Recovery & Inheritance
#9 Overall
Ranked #9 of 9 key recovery & inheritance in the published ranking
41
ChainChoice Score
The ChainChoice Score, shown against 100: published scores run from 41 to 99.- High evidence confidence
Is AnchorWatch right for you?
Right for you if these matter most
- If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register?8/10, the category best
Look elsewhere if these come first
- If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins?6/10 here; Unchained scores 9
- What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me?3/10 here; Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve) scores 7
- What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying?4/10 here; Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve) scores 8
Not yet tested for your country. Markets it lists: United States.
to test where you can use it.
The rank above is the published one, the same for every reader. Find my best key recovery & inheritance service shows where it lands for you.
What will AnchorWatch cost you?
Not priced on this basis
- Transactions per year
- 1k
How safe is AnchorWatch?
- Evidence: verified4 of 4 criteria rest on quoted, sourced receipts. Read October 2026.
- LicenceMiCA (EU): no register record on file here.
Alternatives to AnchorWatch
Compare all 4- 6Unchained8 points above · stronger on recovery without the vendor (9 against 6)49
- 7Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve)6 points above · stronger on trigger enforcement and wrongful release (7 against 3)47
- 8Ledger Recover5 points above · stronger on lifetime cost and lapse (7 against 4)46
For your setup
Find out if AnchorWatch fits you
The rank above is the published one — the same for every visitor. Answer the category's questions and this section shows where AnchorWatch lands for you, which criteria your answers weight up, and which stated needs the record does or does not meet. The published rank stays beside it.
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- Ranking-blind: no commercial input
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Find my best key recovery & inheritance serviceNothing is inferred from clicks, popularity or commercial value.
Why this rank
Why AnchorWatch ranks #9
Each strength is read from evidence on a 0–10 ladder and weighted as the published methodology states. The 32 objective points these produce (17.0 here) sit inside the score; availability, friction, trust record and measured data add the rest. Best in this ranking on 1 of 4.
4 published criteria · Σ weight 100
CriterionWeightStrength · 0–10ScoreContrib.MedianBestRankEvidence
326+6.146.010#4/9Loading evidence…
283+2.695.09#8/9Loading evidence…
248+6.145.08#1/9Loading evidence…
164+2.057.010#9/9Loading evidence…
Hairline = best in this ranking · tick = its median · a missing bar is "not scored", never zero
Margin−5behind Ledger Recover, #8
RobustnessHoldsacross a one-point change to each of its 4 criterion scores, the re-run scores 41–42 and stays #9
Evidence4 of 4 scored4 quoted, 4 with a source link
What would move the rank
Each line is the ranking run again with one of AnchorWatch’s criterion scores changed and every other value held: the smallest whole-point change on that criterion that moves its rank, and where the re-run puts it. Up to 4 climbs and 3 falls are listed, smallest change first. Nothing here is a forecast.
If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins? 6 → 9 on its ladder · passes Ledger Recover+346#9 → #8
What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me? 3 → 7 on its ladder · passes Ledger Recover+447#9 → #7
What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying? 4 → 10 on its ladder · passes Ledger Recover+646#9 → #8
Smallest climb: “If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins?” 6 → 9 passes Ledger Recover, #8.
Strengths
1 from the score dataWhere it leads
Best for readers who weight
- If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register? — 8/10, the category best
Tradeoffs
3 from the score dataWhere it trails
Not for readers who put first
- If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins? — 6/10 against a category best of 10/10
- What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me? — 3/10 against a category best of 9/10
- What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying? — 4/10 against a category best of 10/10
Record watch-outs
- The page that sells the inheritance and the page that governs it do not describe the same product. /inheritance and /faqs sell an on-chain mechanism — "encoded directly in the vault's miniscript policy on-chain through time-locked inheritance paths" — but the Terms make the handover an undated, vendor-run document review in which AnchorWatch itself performs the decisive act: "In the event of your death (or dissolution in the case of a legal entity), AnchorWatch will grant access to your Account Beneficiary, including your Recovery Script" (Section 14). The heir does not hold the escape hatch; AnchorWatch hands it to them. A buyer who chose AnchorWatch specifically because the recovery is 'enforced by Bitcoin itself' will discover that the artefact making that true reaches the person it is for only if the company is still there to release it — and that the company reserved the right to change the arrangement anyway: "The Recovery Protocols may change from time to time and will be determined in the absolute discretion of AnchorWatch" (Section 6).
Competitive position
Where AnchorWatch leads and where it trails
Rank on every objective dimension among the rows scored on it. A criterion in the top third of its pool is listed as a lead, the bottom third as a trail; the middle is neither. Popularity, size and commercial terms are not dimensions.
Availability#7 / 96.0 of 20 · best 14.0
Published criteria#6 / 912.8 of 30 · best 20.4
Friction#1 / 92.7 of 10 · constant here
Trust record#1 / 93.2 of 8 · constant here
Measured data#1 / 98.3 of 18 · constant here
Where AnchorWatch leads
- If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register?#1 / 9
Where it trails
- What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me?#8 / 9
- What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying?#9 / 9
Closest alternatives
The 3 nearest rows by score
Nearest by published score in either direction. Each card states the criteria on which the two rows differ and the cost difference under the same scenario inputs; the compare arithmetic below shows why the higher one ranks higher.
Ledger Recover#8 of 9 · score 46 · 5.0 points ahead
AnchorWatch leads on
- If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins?6 vs 3
- What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me?3 vs 0
- If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register?8 vs 7
Ledger Recover leads on
- What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying?7 vs 4
Largest single reason Ledger Recover is ahead: availability (+15.6 display points).Scenario cost: Ledger Recover has no verified pricing for this scenario.
Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve)#7 of 9 · score 47 · 6.0 points ahead
AnchorWatch leads on
- If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register?8 vs 5
Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve) leads on
- What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me?7 vs 3
- What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying?8 vs 4
Largest single reason Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve) is ahead: published criteria (+6.5 display points).Scenario cost: Bitcoin Keeper (BitHyve) has no verified pricing for this scenario.
Unchained#6 of 9 · score 49 · 8.0 points ahead
AnchorWatch leads on
- If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register?8 vs 7
Unchained leads on
- If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins?9 vs 6
- What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me?4 vs 3
- What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying?6 vs 4
Largest single reason Unchained is ahead: published criteria (+8.1 display points).Scenario cost: Unchained has no verified pricing for this scenario.
Against the leader
81 vs 41 · gap 40.0Why Liana (Wizardsardine) ranks above AnchorWatch
The compare workspace's arithmetic applied to these two rows. Each dimension's share of the gap is its weight × the difference, on the displayed scale; a floor bound on one of the rows keeps the reproduced gap (40.6) from matching the displayed one exactly, which is stated rather than hidden.
DimensionThisLiana (Wizardsardine)Gap share
Availability · 23% weight6.014.0−20.8, worse
Published criteria · 35% weight12.820.4−19.8, worse
Friction · 12% weight · constant here2.72.7same
Trust record · 9% weight · constant here3.23.2same
Measured data · 21% weight · constant here8.38.3same
Published criterionThisLiana (Wizardsardine)Points
If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins? · w32610−4.10, worse
What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me? · w2839−5.38, worse
If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register? · w2485+2.30, better
What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying? · w16410−3.07, worse
Net4181−40.0≈
Your scenario
AnchorWatch is not priced for this scenario
The cheapest published tier that covers your usage. List price before any discount; add-ons priced separately are excluded. Change an input and every figure recomputes from the published rate; the published rank does not move.
your cost/yr · default scenario — set your own
Transactions per year · your input1k
Rate read from the provider’s published pricing ↗ on 28 October 2026.
your cost/yrCost is stated as your cost/yr in USD; it is never a yield, never annualised, and it does not enter the score.
Not priced on this basis
Under the default inputs · USDCategory medianNot priced0 of 9 rows priced
Cheapest pricedNone pricedDifference not stated · availability not applied — set your country to filter
9 of 9 rows in this ranking have no verified rate for this scenario and are absent from the median, not counted as free.
Evidence
Evidence read 28 October 2026
One row per published criterion: the page each strength was read from, its source type by domain, the reading date and whether the file and the published table agree. Open a row for the quote and the receipt.
4 of 4 cells scored
Score evidenceVerified4 of 4 criteria reconstruct from receipts
4 of 4 criteria reconstruct from a quoted, sourced receipt equal to the published strength.Public receiptsReading…4 quoted with a source URL
The receipt file has not been read yet.Evidence confidenceHighcoverage and corroboration, never freshness
4/4 criteria scored, with 4 dated sources quoted.RobustnessHoldsrank #9 across every one-point re-run
Whether the position holds when one criterion score is changed by one point and the ranking is run again. It is always a re-run of the ranking, never an estimate.The newest evidence read on the platform is 3 November 2026; this category's reading is older. The scores stand as read on 28 October 2026.
Reading the evidence ledger…
CriterionSourceTypeReadFreshnessStatusReceipt
If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins?strength 6 · weight 32Report an error—28 October 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me?strength 3 · weight 28Report an error—28 October 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register?strength 8 · weight 24Report an error—28 October 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying?strength 4 · weight 16Report an error—28 October 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
- Control failure (AnchorWatch 3/10): a key or vote changes the rules, freezes or mints.Scored by What actually makes the handover happen — code, a contract, or somebody's goodwill? And who can start it without me? · 28%
- Execution failure (AnchorWatch 8/10): you get a worse price, later, or nothing.Scored by If this fails, who is actually on the hook — and can I find their number in a register? · 24%
- Exit failure (AnchorWatch 6/10): you cannot get out at par, on time, or with what is yours.Scored by If this company is gone in twenty years, can the person I chose still move the coins? · 32%
Not assessed by this ranking: Custody failure, Key failure, Information failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means. Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: What does this cost me every year until I die, and what happens to my heir if I stop paying? (16%).
Facts
facts, not scoresWhat the record publishes
- Pricing
- Custody — the mandatory recurring line item for an inheritance plan ("The AnchorWatch Inheritance Procedures do not require an insurance contract.", https://
www .anchorwatch .com /terms) — read on https:// www .anchorwatch .com /custody /pricing on 2026-09-28: "Starting at $100/mo or $1000/mo for Qualified Custodian" (Flagship) and "Starting at $150/mo or $1500/mo for Qualified Custodian" (Multi-Institution Custody), with the rate table "Up to $2M" "0.020%" "0.030%", "Up to $10M" "0.017%" "0.025%", "Up to $15M" "0.014%" "0.022%", "$15M+" "Bespoke" "Bespoke", footnoted "*Qualified Custodian available in 2026" and "**Application fee may apply". Insurance (optional), same page: "Insurance coverage is available for vaults with a minimum policy of $250,000. Premiums start at $4,000 per $1 million of coverage per year, with rates adjusted based on vault configuration, limits, and risk profile." and "Plus applicable taxes and fees; insurance pricing dependent on risk rating and ranges between 0.40% - 0.80% annually. This calculator uses 0.60% for estimation purposes." CONTRADICTION ON THE VENDOR'S OWN FAQ, read on https:// www .anchorwatch .com /faqs on 2026-09-28: "The published custody tiers are $100 per month up to $250K, $250 up to $1M, $500 up to $2.5M, $750 up to $5M, and $1,000 at $5M and above." and "Flagship and Multi-Institution Custody share the same custody-fee table, and the fee is based on vault value rather than vault type." — a flat-dollar schedule identical for both vault types, against the percentage table above that charges MIC more; the same FAQ puts the premium floor at "Premiums start at 0.6% per year" against the pricing page's 0.40%, and adds "Final pricing is confirmed during the application and remains subject to underwriting, policy terms, and any applicable device fee." Worked example (ChainChoice arithmetic, not a vendor figure): a one-million-dollar Flagship vault costs 200 dollars a month at 0.020% on the pricing page and 250 dollars a month on the FAQ table.AnchorWatch — official pricing page ↗ · 28 October 2026 - Prices published in
- USDAnchorWatch — official pricing page ↗ · 28 October 2026
- Licences held
- Not published
- Compliance level
- partial
- Regulatory note
- READ ON https://
www .anchorwatch .com /faqs (17 August 2026), FAQ 'What happens to my Bitcoin if AnchorWatch becomes insolvent?': "Every Trident Vault includes a sovereign recovery script provided to the customer at onboarding, which can be executed through Bitcoin Core independent of AnchorWatch's systems, so recovery does not depend on AnchorWatch's cooperation or continued existence." Same page, FAQ ' - Supported chains
- Bitcoin
- Markets served
- us
- Primary markets
- Not published
- Restricted markets
- Not published
- Operating limits
- Not published
- Availability note
- A genuine market restriction, not the standard sanctions representation, and both are present: they are different things and are kept separate. THE MARKET RESTRICTION, read on the Lloyd's Market Directory register at https://
www .lloyds .com /market-resources /market-directory /results ?name =AnchorWatch &cobc = &cob = &loc = <ti = &cov =1 on 28 September 2026 (the register moved: the former ldc.lloyds.com address now 301s to the directory search page, which no longer shows the record), on the AnchorWatch, Inc coverholder record: "Accepts Business From:" / "American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S.A, Wake Island". AnchorWatch's Lloyd's binding authority reaches the United States and U.S. territories and nothing else — no Europe, no Asia, no Canada, no Australia. Corroborating vendor-side facts, all read 2026-08-17: the footer licence is a California one (https:// www .anchorwatch .com /custody /pricing); the Terms define "“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or a day on which commercial banks in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, are authorized or required by law to close"; and governing law is "the laws of the State of Delaware" with "the state and federal courts located in Tennessee" (https:// www .anchorwatch .com /terms). SEPARATELY, THE STANDARD OFAC REPRESENTATION, which applies everywhere and is NOT a regional footprint, read on https:// www .anchorwatch .com /terms Section 7: "you agree to the foregoing and represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any United States-embargoed or restricted country." Also an eligibility rule rather than a geography, same page Section 3: "You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Services and have passed our KYC (Know Your Customer) verification process." - CCSS level
- Not on the register as read 15 October 2026 (absent from that page, not a finding that no audit exists)C4 completed CCSS audits register ↗ · 15 October 2026
No confirmed legal entity is on file for this record. Nothing is inferred from the brand name.
If something goes wrong with AnchorWatch: where to complain, and where to report a scam
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How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means this product in this category was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.
How we review · Review calendar · Corrections log · How we make money
History
What the record carries
Changes to published ranks are recorded in a ledger; every step and its cause is listed on the rank-history page. The entries below begin with the current verified snapshot, then the methodology versions whose changes applied to this category, newest first.
10 methodology entries
- 28 October 2026Current verified snapshot · methodology 2026.10.18Score 41, #9 of 9. 4 of 4 criteria scored. History starts here; earlier values are not interpolated.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.8When nothing serves your country, the list shown for reference is the published ranking · platform-wide- fixed The reference list shown when nothing serves your country is the published order with the published scores, and a build check now fails any such list out of that order or with a score the ranking does not publish.
- fixed The explorer prints an overall rank only for a row the published ranking holds; a country entrant such as Coinbase Commerce for US merchants shows no overall rank.
- changed Published orders do not move. Country results change only where nothing serves the country: in India bill pay keeps Bitcoin Well first and now shows Strike second, as published; 35 such runs across all categories and countries now match the published list exactly.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.7Forty-one more products are offered only where their own quoted terms serve- fixed 141 country exclusions on 31 rows, each the name of a country the row's own quoted terms exclude: for example Mercuryo Hungary, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia and Morocco; Gemini Custody the United Kingdom, Australia and the EU after its wind-down; Backed xStocks the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Nigeria, the Philippines and Venezuela.
- changed Thirteen rows list the only countries their terms serve: Coins.ph the Philippines, Spritz bill pay, Brex, Unchained, WisdomTree, Franklin BENJI and AnchorWatch the United States (with its territories for AnchorWatch), PRYPCO Mint the UAE, N26 crypto seven EU countries, Gemini Tokenized Stocks the EU, XNET the US, Canada and the UK, Coldbit Steel and MetaMask Card the countries they list.
- changed Published (no-country) orders do not move. Country results change: in India six categories each lose one row (bill pay, cards, off-ramps, P2P, seed backup, tokenised real estate), and bill pay there has no row confirmed available, so it shows the published order marked as such; country pages list 23 fewer rows (24,357 to 24,334). The grounding test now matches full country names in any case, which shows seven earlier exclusions were quoted all along: the named debt of unquoted exclusions falls from 40 to 33 pairs.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.6A criterion you require re-scores the rows that meet it · platform-wide- changed The explorer sends each criterion you require, at any band, as fit_required with your other answers; region, licence, chain and fact filters stay filters. On /best, a required criterion joins For you as a marked preference does, which needs your country; Overall stays the published ranking, filtered.
- added Every published criterion has a golden case as the explorer sends it (require:<criterion>), so the order a requirement gives is replayed and gated as the published order is, and a change to it needs an entry here.
Methodology 2026.10.18, the same published run every visitor sees · receipt key_recovery:anchorwatch:2026.10.18:9e23226e3510
Are you AnchorWatch? Reply to this verdict, or send evidence, ask for a correction or claim the listing. Every message gets a public ticket number; none of it changes a rank unless a public page or a signed statement supports it.