In a bid to revolutionize the crypto custody landscape, FinTech firm Censo recently launched an innovative mobile phone-based self-custody wallet for institutions and organizations. The wallet offers a “truly decentralized key management solution” that is expected to be more user-friendly and cost-effective than existing technologies in the market.
Unlike traditional wallet solutions that use multiparty computation (MPC) – a resource-intensive key-sharding technology often associated with institutional-grade crypto custody services – Censo’s wallet leverages the secure hardware enclaves found in modern mobile devices. This, combined with biometric gating, effectively ties cryptographic keys to the nuanced real-world roles of an organization’s users, according to Brett Falk, a research assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. As a result, Censo’s wallet presents a compelling alternative to MPC-based custody solutions for organizations looking to decentralize their key management and embrace self-custody.
An added advantage is that Censo’s innovative technology is open-source, allowing users and developers to independently verify the code. The company’s wallet also relies on mobile devices’ existing secure hardware and biometric functions, leading to a more affordable solution. As the crypto custody industry evolves at a rapid pace, open, accessible, and cost-effective approaches such as Censo’s are gaining increasing traction.
This shift in the landscape could prove beneficial for smaller organizations, as traditional custody solutions like MPC often necessitate expensive and complex hardware and software investments. Censo’s wallet solution may enable these firms to embrace self-custody more easily, potentially promoting wider cryptocurrency adoption.
Censo CEO Andrew Lawrence emphasized the importance of decentralized and open-source custody solutions, considering the risks to organizations stemming from “decentralization theater.” He said, “Custody solutions and key-handling software absolutely need to be open source and decentralized. We’re excited to provide this game-changing tech to our customers and help them take complete control of their digital future.”
The growing demand for custody services is expected to intensify as the cryptocurrency sector expands, and traditional financial institutions have acknowledged this potential, joining the space with sought-after custody services. For instance, Nasdaq is reportedly planning to launch its crypto custody service by the end of Q2, applying for a limited-purpose trust company charter from the New York Department of Financial Services to oversee the new venture. With the advent of increasingly competitive and creative custody solutions in the crypto landscape, it will be interesting to see how the industry evolves in the coming years.
Source: Cryptonews
