On October 29, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, halted operations after a security breach affected more than $6.3 billion in assets. The attack is bound to test the limits of crypto insurance and lead those in the industry to take a closer look at underwriting in the coming months.

But in recent years, insurers are taking a much warmer view of crypto then they have in the past.

Only a decade ago, financial institutions and insurers would barely touch cryptocurrency. However, more carriers and brokers are now building dedicated teams, launching new products, competing for business and even taking premium payments in crypto. Those in the industry say growing adoption, increasing regulation and underwriting risks in the digital asset industry and infrastructure are warming up the market.

“Insurance is generally a slow mover, but there’s growing acceptance of this technology now, and through the advent of stablecoins and the GENIUS Act in the U.S., we’re seeing a shift in the market,” said Marco Mirabella, Founder and CEO of Ensuro.

From Skepticism to Growing Legitimacy

Not that long ago, financial institutions and insurers were skeptical, viewing crypto and digital assets as a phony, uninsurable trend. In addition to the concerns about volatility and lack of governance, underwriters had little loss data to work with. In 2017, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a “fraud” and said he would fire any trader caught trading it. While a few insurers were testing the waters at the time, the FTX collapse in 2022 fueled further skepticism and led some to pull back even more.

Today, cryptocurrency has become a specialty insurers are competing for on their own terms. Major carriers are starting to underwrite digital asset companies and custody services and have built dedicated teams or facilities to handle cryptocurrency. Sarah Downey, Global Blockchain & Digital (LEAP) Assets Advisory Leader at Lockton notes that over the past decade, the market has become more buyer-friendly with many more traditional markets, broader coverage, and more competitive premiums.

“It was a fight to get coverage for any company that touched digital assets around 2017 and 2018,” she said. “However, coverages are now much broader, and premiums are more competitive than they used to be.”

Lockton’s Emerging Asset Protection (LEAP) team launched in 2021 and offers coverage for crypto clients, including the ability to pay in stablecoin, a cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually tied 1:1 to the U.S. dollar.

Mirabella noted that stablecoin rules and bank tokenization have also helped legitimize crypto in recent years. Signed into law in July 2025, the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) creates the first national regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.

New Products and Coverage Coming to Market

While insurers and underwriters are warming to crypto and digital assets, their views on risk revolve around context. While price volatility remains uninsurable, underwriters are becoming more comfortable writing operational risks such as keys, custody, and people. Most of the products coming to market now focus not on the valuation of currencies themselves but on cryptocurrency companies, their users, and those in the value chain.

Kevin Koehler, Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Institutions at Westfield Specialty, said underwriting appetite varies by coverage type. While the company writes directors and officers (D&O) coverage for crypto-related risks, it’s more selective with errors and omissions (E&O), professional liability, and crime policies.

“The digital asset space is not one uniform risk class. There’s a lot of nuance within the broader crypto-related risk, and how we approach it depends on the class and type of coverage we’re providing,” Koehler said.

A report by Grand View Research forecasts significant growth for the crypto insurance market in the coming years, from $9.5 billion in 2025 to $13.8 billion in 2026 and $192.7 billion in 2033. It notes custodial theft and hacking coverage as the largest segment, constituting 36% of the current market, while coverage of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols is forecast to grow the fastest. Most of the market is for crypto exchanges and trading platforms, with North America having the largest share at 41% and Asia Pacific growing the fastest.

As a broker, Lockton doesn’t write but places crypto policies. Downey’s LEAP team has about 35 brokers and claims attorneys working with companies that use digital assets. Most clients start with directors and officers coverage to protect executives’ personal assets, the company balance sheet, and any regulatory enforcement actions. They also place crime and specie coverage for stolen or inaccessible assets, as well as cyber and tech errors and omissions.

Underwriters are paying close attention to how digital assets are held and managed. Koehler said Westfield generally finds cold storage easier to underwrite because it is more independent and less vulnerable. Financial transparency with reliable third-party verification is also critical, he said.

Howden has been growing its crypto coverage placement for nine years, said Freddie Palmer, Howden’s Head of Digital Assets and Blockchain. The company’s London-based team has colleagues in the U.S., Israel, and Singapore, placing directors and officers (D&O) and crime policies for crypto firms, many of which are smaller companies that don’t have the sophisticated infrastructure of bigger custodians.

In July 2025, Howden launched a crypto theft and insurance recovery product that provides crime coverage, backed by forensic, analytics, and legal teams that can trace stolen assets and identify freezing orders. It has since created a Web3 risk ecosystem of vendors that can review a client’s internal controls and operations before Howden seeks to take the policy to market. Clients that demonstrate they are best in class can often secure lower premiums and broader coverage.

Palmer notes that institutional investors have brought consumer protection risk focus and corporate governance from traditional finance into digital assets. Howden built its capacity through thought leadership, education of insurers, and close work with the insured.

“Our focus is really looking at where there are regulatory frameworks in place in the crypto world, and how insurance can play a role in that…We also want to help protect clients beforehand. We don’t actually want the loss to even happen in the first place,” Palmer said.

However, not all digital asset exposures are attractive to underwriters. One area where Westfield remains cautious is decentralized finance (DeFi) businesses operating outside of traditional custodial services, as they can be vulnerable to hacking, theft, and higher insolvency rates. Koehler also noted that concentrated asset holdings and leveraged trading can magnify potential losses and complicate underwriting.

More crypto insurance products are also rolling out for consumers. Breach Insurance’s Crypto Shield offers up to $1 million in coverage for exchange wallet hacks and social engineering events. In 2025, Allstate launched a new Scam Protection product that reimburses up to $50,000 in losses from cryptocurrency theft. Many of these products closely resemble and are tied to cybercrime policies, simply extending coverage to digital assets.

Crypto in the Insurance Infrastructure

More insurers are also using crypto in their own infrastructure, investing in crypto, or accepting crypto for premium payments.

Ensuro uses crypto to write policies. Founded in 2021, the Bermuda-based company raises capital in U.S. dollars from investors then holds it in an on-chain liquidity pool, a smart contract program running on a blockchain. The pool backs parametric policies sold through partners around the world, enabling a smart contract to run the entire policy, from pricing to claims.

Ensuro has written over 400,000 policies in its system, with one of its largest lines being cancel-for-any-reason coverage for ski passes, ferries, airlines, hotels, and events. It also sells weather guarantees for ruined vacations or construction firms that lose workdays to the weather. Mirabella notes that the economics can look unusual compared to a traditional carrier’s financials because its operating costs are extremely low.

Lockton also accepts many different types of cryptocurrency as payment, Downey said. A March 2026 press release also noted that one global company had completed its second straight annual review by paying its entire premium in its own proprietary token.

While many traditional carriers are still sitting on the sidelines, what was once a market that didn’t touch crypto is now competing for its business. Downey points to announcements over the past two years of more financial institutions announcing crypto plans as a sign of where the market is headed.

“I used to tell people from the insurance perspective if we did our jobs correctly, we wouldn’t need digital asset-focused brokers down the road, and I still think that’s true,” Downey said. “I think digital assets will become so mainstream that everyone understands how to talk about them.” &