Are you controlling your own private keys?
On April 13 during the last edition of European Blockchain Convention, a group of experts sat down to discuss the most challenging vulnerabilities cold and hot wallet solutions embody. Exploring as well, how hackers exploit those susceptibilities and the front line of crypto.
“Understanding Institutional-Grade Crypto Custody”. Panel discussion held by EBCvirtual 2021.
May 12, 2021, 5:15 PM CET
- Hot, cold wallet or both?
- A convergence between the “crypto ecosystem” and the “traditional financial system” is happening
- Owning your private keys gives you much more power and control, but it also comes with great responsibility
Sandra Ro, CEO at the Global Blockchain Business Council, set the tone explaining “hot wallet” referring to private keys stored in an online connected device, meaning easier to hack due to their online nature. “Even the more sophisticated solutions using multi signatures would still be prone to hacks”, she declares.
“Cold wallet” contrarily, will typically reduce the susceptibility to hacking since the private keys are stored offline.
“Solutions to manage digital assets which aren’t connected to the internet are going to change the equation for hackers.” – Sandra Ro
While new and exciting conditions are happening all over the “crypto and DeFi World”, we carry a main challenge. How do we keep connecting our wallets, custody and technical services to this incredible fast growing ecosystem? Berit Fuss, Director Fintech Solutions at RIDDLE&CODE, paints the landscape explaining how custody is a core part in order to offer services in and around crypto.
“In the past 5 years we’ve come a long way as institutional players, but we are not at the pick yet.” – Berit Fuss
From the top left: Sandra Ro, Francisco Maroto, Lior Lamesh, Raimundo Castilla, Berit Fuss and Henrik Gebbing.
There are two paths you can take as an international crypto custody player, argued Raimundo Castilla, CEO at Prosegur Crypto.
“The first solution, allows you to be your own custodian and set up your own custodial services for your customers or network and on the other hand you have full service custodians, who have the entire service around it.” – Raimundo Castilla
Solutions are a lot more sophisticated nowadays. As a big institution, to make sure your processes can be followed, you must combine both, the strong security of cold wallets and the flexibility & logic from software. Clarifies Henrik Gebbing, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Finoa.
Over the last six months we’ve seen a tremendous interest from institutional players. Tesla and Paypal moving into the market and building out services for instance, has incredibly helped the conversation within the European market.
“Now, everyone understands this market as an asset class where new financial services will be developed around it”. Declared Lior Lamesh, Co-Founder & CEO at GK8.
Four years ago there was a colossal difference between the crypto ecosystem and the traditional financial system. What we have seen during the last few months is a convergence between those two Worlds. We just have to remember when Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, said bitcoin was a fraud that would eventually blow up. The situation is now very different as JP Morgan will be launching a bitcoin fund for its HNW clients as soon as this Summer.
Bridges are going to be built by tokenizing and digitizing any asset. Obtaining this way, benefits from the same markets infrastructure and innovative products, claims Francisco Maroto, Blockchain Lead at BBVA.
As Lior Lamesh concluded, “You can’t hack what you can’t reach”.
EBC’s 5th edition panel discussion articulated by Sandra Ro, CEO, Global at Blockchain Business Council; Raimundo Castilla CEO, at Prosegur Crypto; Lior Lamesh, Co-Founder & CEO, at GK8; Francisco Maroto, Blockchain Lead at BBVA; Henrik Gebbing, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Finoa; Berit Fuss, Director Fintech Solutions at RIDDLE&CODE.
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