The launch highlights how bitcoin is becoming an ever-more "mainstream" area for North American wealth management.

Unchained, a bitcoin financial services provider, has merged its RIA affiliate, Sound Advisory, into Gannett Trust Company. 

Gannett Trust Company, which Unchained said is a first-of-its kind organization, will do business as Gannett Wealth Advisors, a SEC-registered advisor and subsidiary of Gannett Trust. Gannett Trust Company is chartered in Wyoming. 

The founders of the business say there’s a rising demand for financial structures that can handle digital assets with the same rigor as traditional portfolios of assets. The urgency is highlighted by the fact that almost four million bitcoin have been permanently lost because of poor planning. As an example of developments, Family Wealth Report recently spoke to the firm Guardian Bitcoin to discuss how custody of such assets, and other services, are being delivered to high net worth clients.

“For Unchained, working with Gannett Trust and Gannett Wealth Advisors is the next step towards proving how bitcoin-native wealth management can meet the same standards as traditional finance, while staying true to the asset’s unique nature,” Joe Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Unchained, said. 

Gannett Wealth Advisors will officially launch at Digital Wealth Frontiers, a summit presented by Gannett Trust on October 15 at Bitcoin Park in Nashville, Tennessee.