Crypto platform Gemini acquires Shard X to boost speed and security

Gemini has acquired Shard X, the developer of secure multi-party computation (MPC) cryptographic technology.

Gemini will integrate Shard X’s MPC technology into its distributed, multi-site key management and signing infrastructure. The move will increase the speed with which Gemini can transfer customer assets and provide support for new asset listings and usage on the Gemini platform.

With more than $30 billion of crypto assets under its custody, Gemini serves a range of individual and institutional customers.

acquisition

Shard X’s MPC will work in combination with all other aspects of Gemini’s custody offering, including role-based governance protocols, multiple layers of biometric access controls, and physical security to safeguard the sensitive key material, safely stored in government-rated hardware security modules (HSMs), that controls customers’ assets.

Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini, commented:

Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini

Tyler Winklevoss
Source: LinkedIn

Integrating MPC technology into our wallets will enable secure and faster crypto transfers that will help our customers keep pace with liquidity needs and market demands.

Founded in 2018 by Yaniv Neu-Ner, Nikita Lesnikov, and Navaho De Wet, Shard X aims to make crypto ecosystems more secure. Its MPC technology generates key fragments which are used in a distributed signing protocol without ever reconstructing a full private key. Shard X’s team has developed a portable MPC implementation, meant to run in high-security environments, such as HSMs, and to ensure the integrity and secure processing of private key fragments that protect digital assets.

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