Key Takeaways
- • Google plans to unveil Google Multi-Party Compute (MPC), a system for secure storage and transfer of cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets for financial institutions, at its first digital assets symposium on October 28, according to CoinDesk as cited by ForkLog.
- • The product is in closed testing with developer partners and several major financial institutions, none of which Google has named; Alphabet is already using it to protect its own Ethereum and Solana holdings.
- • Commercial launch is planned for early 2027, with pricing not yet announced; the service will initially support ECDSA and Ed25519 signatures, with post-quantum algorithms to be added later.
- • Google enters a custody market already served by Fireblocks, Fordefi, and BitGo, positioning itself as a neutral infrastructure provider for banks that do not want to rely on competitors.
- • TRM Labs data cited in the report shows infrastructure compromise caused about 76% of crypto-industry losses in the first half of 2026 despite accounting for roughly 15% of incidents.
Summary
Google plans to introduce a system for the secure storage and transfer of cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets by financial institutions, with the presentation scheduled for October 28 at the company's first symposium dedicated to digital assets, according to CoinDesk as reported by ForkLog. The product, named Google Multi-Party Compute (MPC), is undergoing closed testing with developer partners and several major financial institutions that Google has not identified. Alphabet has also begun using the system to protect its own cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum and Solana networks, though the specific assets involved were not disclosed. The commercial launch is planned for early 2027, and pricing has not been announced. Google Cloud's Director of Digital Asset Strategy, Rich Widmann, said adoption of cryptocurrencies and tokenization has reached a turning point, and that regulated institutions entering blockchain require scalable, proven infrastructure to safeguard client funds.
The architecture relies on multi-party computation. Rather than residing in one location, the complete private key is split into fragments distributed across independent environments, reducing theft risk if a single device or server is compromised. A bank might hold one fragment in Google Cloud, another on its own infrastructure, and a third with a different cloud provider, with signing requiring a threshold such as two-of-three or five-of-seven fragment holders. Before signing, transfers pass through Google's Confidential Space environment, where they are checked against the institution's internal rules, including amount limits, recipient addresses, and multi-department approval requirements. Google states that clients retain control of the key material and that the company cannot access it in unencrypted form.
Google positions the system against increasingly complex threats, including attacks using artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Citing TRM Labs, the report notes that in the first half of 2026 infrastructure compromise accounted for about 15% of crypto incidents but roughly 76% of losses, and that hacks exceeded $768 million in September, the highest monthly total of the year. The current version protects against credential compromise and unauthorized transfers but does not prevent an attacker from manipulating authorized employees into approving malicious operations, nor does it address the hypothetical AI-driven breaking of ECDSA signatures that Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake has raised; such capabilities have not been demonstrated. The service will support ECDSA and Ed25519 at launch, and post-quantum algorithms can be added as blockchains transition, without restructuring client systems, though no timeline has been set.
Google will compete in an institutional custody market where Fireblocks, Fordefi, and BitGo are active, leveraging its bank relationships and security expertise. It is also targeting banks wary of relying on providers that compete with them for clients. The move comes as Deutsche Bank has announced plans to launch a European crypto custody service for corporate and institutional clients by the end of 2026, initially supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several stablecoins, with tokenized instruments to follow.
The architecture relies on multi-party computation. Rather than residing in one location, the complete private key is split into fragments distributed across independent environments, reducing theft risk if a single device or server is compromised. A bank might hold one fragment in Google Cloud, another on its own infrastructure, and a third with a different cloud provider, with signing requiring a threshold such as two-of-three or five-of-seven fragment holders. Before signing, transfers pass through Google's Confidential Space environment, where they are checked against the institution's internal rules, including amount limits, recipient addresses, and multi-department approval requirements. Google states that clients retain control of the key material and that the company cannot access it in unencrypted form.
Google positions the system against increasingly complex threats, including attacks using artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Citing TRM Labs, the report notes that in the first half of 2026 infrastructure compromise accounted for about 15% of crypto incidents but roughly 76% of losses, and that hacks exceeded $768 million in September, the highest monthly total of the year. The current version protects against credential compromise and unauthorized transfers but does not prevent an attacker from manipulating authorized employees into approving malicious operations, nor does it address the hypothetical AI-driven breaking of ECDSA signatures that Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake has raised; such capabilities have not been demonstrated. The service will support ECDSA and Ed25519 at launch, and post-quantum algorithms can be added as blockchains transition, without restructuring client systems, though no timeline has been set.
Google will compete in an institutional custody market where Fireblocks, Fordefi, and BitGo are active, leveraging its bank relationships and security expertise. It is also targeting banks wary of relying on providers that compete with them for clients. The move comes as Deutsche Bank has announced plans to launch a European crypto custody service for corporate and institutional clients by the end of 2026, initially supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several stablecoins, with tokenized instruments to follow.
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