Hong Kong’s Branding China Group (BC Group), a conglomerate with businesses in marketing communications and blockchain-focused technology solutions, is launching a new product: an insured custody service for cryptocurrencies targeted at its institutional investors in Asia.

In a press release, BC Group said it decided to make this offering in response to its investors’ needs. It claims that the service is the first of its kind available locally, although the custody service will be backed by UK insurers.

All its incoming digital asset transfers are sent directly to cold storage, and it advocates this as the industry standard. Other custody firms such as Switzerland’s Xapo do similar.

The group owns a large portfolio of crypto investments, including Anxone (trading platform), and OSL (digital asset brokerage).

“BC Group’s custody service removes one of the key barriers that has to date prevented professional traders and institutions from adding digital assets to their portfolios,” its CTO Hugh Madden commented.

“These traders can only transact on exchanges that align with strict regulatory and fiduciary guidelines and meet high compliance and security standards. Insured custody is a vital component in meeting these standards.”

BC Group aims to capitalize on a growing institutional investor market which is poised for greater expansion this year.