Coinbase unveils plans to acquire a cryptographic security company in Israel. The exchange wants to leverage the brainpower of the experts working there to offer a more efficient way to manage its customers’ private keys.
Coinbase and Unbound Security: securing cryptocurrencies with Israeli experts
On November 30, 2021, Coinbase announced in a statement, its intention to acquire Israel-based crypto security company, Unbound. This purchase will allow the exchange, to take advantage of the skills of Unbound’s crypto security experts :
“We have long recognized Israel as a hotspot of strong technology and crypto talent, and we are excited to continue to grow our team with some of the brightest minds in these fields.”
In particular, Coinbase noted that Unbound is a “pioneer in a number of cryptographic security technologies.” Unbound Security founder Yehuda Lindell is globally recognized for secure multi-party computing (MPC). Coinbase will use MPC to offer its customers better protection of their assets through innovative private key management. MPC could enable the combination of the security offered by offline cold wallets, and the frictionless user experience of online hot wallets.
Coinbase at the center of a strong ecosystem: talent hunt and strategic acquisition
Coinbase is thus building a talent pool in Israel, while the exchange is also keeping a close eye on countries like India, Singapore and Brazil, which are home to skills of interest to the exchange.
The purchase of Unbound represents a step forward for Coinbase in its plans to establish a research center in Israel, and “the Unbound Security team will form the core of this new research center,” which the exchange plans “to expand over time.”
Unbound will thus soon join the portfolio of companies acquired by Coinbase, alongside Agara, the conversational platform using artificial intelligence, the data aggregator Zabo, or the data analysis platform Skew.
Will this future acquisition of Unbound actually allow Coinbase to innovate in cryptocurrency storage security? The exchange recently launched a new browser extension for its wallet.