Best Cryptocurrency Custody Software

Cryptocurrency custody software is an independent storage and security vault system that stores large quantities of digital assets. Its initial purpose was to help institutional investors (hedge funds, for example) shift their technical challenges of keeping digital assets onto a third-party cryptocurrency custody provider or custodians. However, cryptocurrency custody has become a common practice even among individual investors and is required by law in several jurisdictions.

In essence, cryptocurrency custody solutions offer custodial services to store and secure digital assets like cryptocurrency or NFTs. These products can help mitigate several security risks, including crypto theft. However, these products don’t keep any assets. Instead, they safeguard private keys, which are a complex combination of alphanumerics used to access crypto holdings and perform transactions.

Buyers may also come across crypto custody while researching cryptocurrency wallets. In short, crypto wallets are solutions used to store private keys and can be broadly classified as custodial and non-custodial wallets. In custodial wallets, custodians hold the private keys of a user. On the other hand, non-custodial wallets grant users complete control over their private keys.

What Types of Cryptocurrency Custody Software Exist?

Cryptocurrency custody software can be classified into three broad categories as follows:

Crypto self-custody software: Self-custody cryptocurrency software is ideal for users who require complete control over their crypto assets. Simply put, it’s when the user personally holds the private keys without any third-party custodian’s assistance. There are several risks associated with this type of digital asset custody. For example, the associated crypto is lost forever if the holder forgets their private keys. Self-custody crypto software can be in the form of self-managed hardware or software wallet.

Crypto partial-custody software: Partial ownership or custody is the better option if the buyer wants to have ample control over their assets but still wants to benefit from a third-party custodial service. The custodian possesses a key for co-signing the user’s transactions in this custodial software. It’s typically a self-managed wallet with a certain degree of security and assistance from the third-party custodian.

Third-party crypto custody software: As the name suggests, this type of crypto custody software offers third-party crypto custodians responsible for securing the holder’s assets. Out of all three types, this custody solution comes with the highest level of digital asset protection. This software offers different types and levels of security to choose from. For instance, users can store their assets in hot or cold wallets based on their requirements. Since the custodians hold the private keys, buyers can easily recover them in case of any loss.

The following are some core features of cryptocurrency custody software:

Key management: Storing and securing private keys is a crucial feature of crypto custody software. Ultimately, key management can be viewed as a form of asset management, as the assets can be accessed on the blockchain only using private keys. The key itself is the asset.

Cold storage: A custody solution offers the highest possible level of security with cold storage. Cold storage stores private keys, so they can’t be accessed from any outside network. It’s crucial for long-term investment in digital assets.

Multi-signature approval: Both partial and third-party custody requires multiple signature approvals to move assets. The purpose of this feature is to restrict a single entity from being able to perform digital asset trading.

Multi-party computing: The multi-party computing (MPC) architecture requires different parties to contribute to computation without being able to view each other's data. MPC adds security while maintaining flexibility.

Policy layer: The policy layer is the cornerstone of any crypto custodial solution. It manages the rules and regulations depending on the value and frequency of transactions.

The following are some of the common benefits of using a crypto custody tool:

Convenience: Although self-custody cryptocurrency software grants users complete control over their assets, it involves a lot of work. For instance, holders are responsible for generating and keeping track of private keys. As mentioned earlier, if they lose these keys, they lose access to their assets forever. Such inconveniences are eliminated by relying on a third-party custodian.

Security: Cryptocurrency custody software products are made to secure digital assets and make things easier for holders. It offers reliable security, especially for institutional holders, who hackers heavily target. With the help of these products, businesses can ensure their digital assets are less likely to be stolen or lost.

Key recovery: As mentioned above, crypto custody service providers can help investors recover their private keys if lost. This is a major advantage of third-party custody software over self-custody, as in the latter case, a private key is lost forever. The custodian usually has multiple backups of the keys stored in different locations.

Regulatory requirements: Several government regulations make it mandatory for institutional investors to store their holdings with custodians. The Dodd-Frank Act by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates that institutional investors who deal with customer assets worth more than $150,000 should store holdings with qualified custodians.