After its announcement in December 2020, it looks like the MetaMask teams are ready to launch a version of the wallet dedicated to rich institutional investors. ConsenSys, the software company behind MetaMask, has partnered with BitGo, among others, to come up with this new offering.
A version adapted to large crypto positions
With now more than 10 million monthly active users, the MetaMask wallet has not only become an indispensable account management tool for the Ethereum network (ETH), but also for other blockchains such as Polygon (MATIC) or the Binance Smart Chain (BDC) among others.
In a press release issued this October 5, ConsenSys announced that MetaMask Institutional (MMI) has entered into strategic partnerships with crypto storage professionals BitGo, Qredo and Cactus Custody.
“This is a critical step in enabling institutional clients to leverage leading custody solutions to discover and seamlessly interact with decentralized finance (DeFi). Each of these strategic partnerships addresses different institutional needs (…).”
A DeFi ecosystem multiplied by 4
It must be said that institutional investors have very good reasons to be interested in decentralized finance. This sector and its returns have indeed managed to attract $80 billion of crypto-assets, locked in its many smart contracts, where there were only $20 billion just a year ago.
So ConsenSys needed real storage professionals for its MMI. Regarding BitGo, the company has proven itself since 2013, and now provides custody of $40 billion in crypto-assets.
For its part, Qredo offers decentralized custody of cryptocurrencies, secured by Multi-Party Computation (MPC), a technique that removes the operational risk associated with private keys.
As for Cactus Custody, which has more than $10 billion in cryptos under management, the security of its hot wallet (online) and cold wallet (offline) has already been praised by Matrixport, a fast-growing Asian digital asset-based financial services platform.
“MetaMask Institutional’s goal is to provide unparalleled access to DeFi, even in the face of stringent institutional requirements. Skilled custodial services and storage technology play a fundamental role in these requirements. We couldn’t be happier to partner with these three great companies, all of whom offer world-class capabilities for different market segments.”
Johann Bornman, product manager for MetaMask Institutional
Institutional investors who are decidedly pampered by crypto projects. Indeed, just a few days earlier, it was AAVE, a major DeFi player, that announced it was perfecting its upcoming institutional-dedicated exchange pool offering, called Aave Arc.
