Google’s Crypto Custody Plan Cuts Keys Into Pieces as AI and Quantum Threats Loom 🔐

Google is preparing a crypto custody security system based on multi-party computation (MPC), with several major financial institutions testing the technology during a private preview ahead of planned commercial availability in early 2027.

The system is being developed as banks and other financial institutions seek stronger protection for digital assets amid concerns about private-key hacks and the potential risks associated with AI and quantum computing. Alphabet is also using the technology to safeguard its own assets on Ethereum and Solana.

Under the MPC approach, private keys are divided into fragments and distributed across separate environments, preventing any single machine from holding a complete key. A bank could store one share on its own hardware, another in Google Cloud and a third with a different provider, while customers retain control of their keys.

Google presented the system at the Digital Asset Security and Multi-Party Computation (MPC) Symposium in New York City on October 28.