Custody Fees & Dormant Closing (essentially off-boarding)
A plain-English guide to the monthly custody fees starting 1st September 2026, how to avoid them, and what happens to your shares in a company exit — with a worked example for Kraken shareholders.
01 The basics
Start here. These answers apply to everyone, whatever you hold.
What is a custody fee?
It is a small monthly fee for holding assets on the platform. From 1 September 2026, we will apply a standard 0.20% monthly fee to eligible balances. The fee is charged “in-kind”, meaning it is taken directly from the quantity of the asset you hold — not from a separate cash balance.
How is the fee calculated?
We take a snapshot of your Available Balance at 00:00 UTC on the 1st of each month and charge 0.20% of whatever you hold at that moment. It's a single point-in-time check - we don't average your balance over the month, so if you've withdrawn or sold before the snapshot, there's nothing to charge. Your Available Balance is anything sitting idle in your account; it excludes anything tied up in a pending withdrawal or an active sell order.
On your account the charge is labelled "custody fee for the month of [previous month]" for example; the snapshot taken on 1 September is shown as the fee for August. This is just the label for that month's charge - it's still based only on what you held at the 1 September snapshot, not on your balance during August.
The fee is charged in-kind; that is directly from the quantity of the asset you hold, not from a separate cash balance. The first snapshot is 1 September 2026.
Which of my assets are affected?
What is Tier 1, and what does it let me do?
Tier 1 is the verification level required to withdraw funds and to sell shares. To reach it you need an accepted KYC check and a completed Tier 1 Suitability session; you can start both at id.bnktothefuture.com.
What Tier 1 lets you sell depends on your account and the type of share:
Public shares (after a company has listed) - any account, whether active or in Dormant Closing, can request a sell order and withdraw at Tier 1.
SPV shares (private equity trading on the Secondary Market) - selling normally requires Tier 4. Only accounts in Dormant Closing can list and sell SPV shares at Tier 1 (see Section 03).
02 Avoiding the fee
The fee is avoidable. Which route fits depends on what you hold.
How do I avoid fees on my Virtual Assets (crypto)?
Withdraw your Virtual Assets to an external wallet before 1 September 2026. You can do this from the BF Funds section. Withdrawals require active Tier 1 status, and make sure the wallet network matches the asset (for example, ERC-20 for USDT) to avoid loss of funds.
Network fees apply to withdrawals and are deducted from the amount sent, so your balance needs to be a little above the amount you want to receive. A minimum withdrawal amount applies to cover these fees.
How do I avoid fees on my SPV (private equity) shares?
Keep an active sell order for those shares on the Secondary Market. The order does not need to fill - as long as the listing stays live, the shares are exempt. Listing before 1 September 2026 means they never incur the fee while listed.
What about my public shares?
Public shares (in companies that have already listed) are also subject to a 0.20% monthly custody fee, charged in-kind - the same mechanism as Virtual Assets and SPV shares. To avoid the fee, you can request to sell your public shares under My Shares › Public Shares and place a market order or a limit order.
03 Selling & Dormant Closing
Selling private equity normally needs Tier 4. If that isn’t for you, there’s another path.
Why do I normally need Tier 4 to sell private equity?
Under Cayman regulatory rules, trading SPV shares on the Secondary Market is restricted to Tier 4 (High Net Worth) holders. Tier 4 requires documented proof of over $1M USD net worth.
What if I can’t or don’t want to reach Tier 4?
You can move your account to Dormant Closing status. This grants a special exception: you may list and sell your eligible SPV shares using only a Tier 1 account. You can do this yourself in your Account Centre.
What should I know before choosing Dormant Closing?
Please read these carefully:
It’s irreversible. Once applied, the account can’t be returned to standard active status.
New activity stops. You can’t deposit, buy new assets, trade Virtual Assets, or stake.
Fees still apply. Entering Dormant Closing doesn’t pause custody fees; they continue on Virtual Assets and SPV shares that are trading on the secondary market until sold/listed or withdrawn (an active/listed sell order is exempt).
You keep full ownership. You can still view your portfolio, download your investment documents, sell eligible shares at Tier 1, and withdraw proceeds.
04 For Kraken shareholders
Kraken is one of the actively-trading SPVs, and is expected to IPO in 2026 or early 2027. Here is exactly how it works for you.
Will my account close before the IPO?
No. While you hold assets, your account stays open - including in Dormant-Closing status - so you can log in and monitor your Kraken holdings at any time.
Do my Kraken shares attract the custody fee?
If you do not list your Kraken shares for an active sell order, yes it will incur a fee. As the Kraken SPV is actively trading on the Secondary Market; the 0.20% monthly Share Administration Fee applies from 1 September 2026. The order doesn’t need to fill to keep the exemption.
WORKED EXAMPLE — Holding Kraken through the IPO and exit, fee-free
Verify to Tier 1. Complete KYC and the Tier 1 Suitability session at id.bnktothefuture.com. In Dormant-Closing, Tier 1 alone lets you place Secondary Market sell orders - no Tier 4 needed.
List your Kraken shares (before the IPO). Place an active sell order on the Secondary Market. This keeps them exempt from the monthly custody fee for as long as the listing stays live. Sales depend on buyer demand, so liquidity isn’t guaranteed - if your shares don’t sell, you simply keep them.
At the IPO, the Secondary Market is suspended. When Kraken lists, we suspend the Secondary Market and cancel any open sell orders automatically. This costs you nothing - you keep your holding and your entitlement. Your shares stay as your SPV holding for now.
A lock-up period follows — and it’s fee-free. After an IPO there is usually a lock-up of around six months, during which early shareholders like you can’t sell - a standard rule that prevents insider selling on day one and protects the share price. Because the SPV is no longer trading during this time, no custody fee applies to your holding.
We convert and distribute your shares. Once the lock-up ends, we instruct the transfer agent to move the public shares to our broker. We then exit the SPV and distribute the public shares to you; they appear under My Shares › Public Shares.
Sell & withdraw. With your public shares distributed, click Request to Sell and place a market or limit order, which is routed to our broker. When it executes, proceeds are credited in USDT, which you can withdraw to an external wallet (Tier 1 required).
Can I transfer my Kraken shares to my own broker?
No. Your holding is indirect; you own shares in a Segregated Portfolio (BNK TO THE FUTURE KRAKEN SP) that mirrors Kraken 1:1, held by the SPC. These can’t be moved to a personal brokerage account. Your routes to liquidity are upgrading to Tier 4, or moving to Dormant-Closing and selling at Tier 1.
How do I keep track of the IPO?
Follow Kraken in the Investor Zone and click Follow to receive email alerts.
05 After an IPO
What changes once a company you hold goes public.
Why can’t I sell straight away when the company lists?
After an IPO there is usually a lock-up period; commonly around six months during, which early shareholders (including private-equity holders like you, through the SPV) can’t sell. It’s a standard market mechanism, not a BF restriction: it exists to prevent a wave of insider selling on the first day of trading, which protects the share price for everyone. During this time your shares are being moved from the private structure into distributable public shares.
When does the custody fee restart after an IPO?
There’s a gap where no fee applies. Once a company lists, the Secondary Market is suspended and your SPV stops trading, so the SPV custody fee stops. Throughout the lock-up period that follows (usually around six months), your holding stays as the SPV and remains fee-free.
Once the lock-up ends and we convert and distribute your public shares, they carry the same 0.20% monthly custody fee as Virtual Assets and SPV shares, charged the same way: a snapshot at 00:00 UTC on the 1st of each month, deducted in-kind from your share balance.
How do I receive my proceeds?
Once the lock-up period ends and your public shares have been distributed, submit a sell request from your dashboard; you can place either a market order or a limit order. It’s routed to our broker and may take a few working days to execute or match. Once done, proceeds are credited to your account in USDT, which you can withdraw to an external crypto wallet (Tier 1 required).
published 3rd Aug 2026