Google Shows MPC for Crypto Security for Banks
The private preview service is meant to help banks safely store crypto and tokenized assets, with MPC as a response to private key theft and other cyber risks.
Key Takeaways
- Google is introducing Google Multi-Party Compute in New York, a new security service for banks and financial institutions that want to store crypto and tokenized assets.
- The service splits private keys into multiple parts and combines signing, transaction rules, and key recovery in one package.
- Google is positioning MPC as a response to private key theft and says the architecture can later be expanded with post-quantum cryptography.
Google is unveiling a new security service on Wednesday in New York for banks and other financial institutions that want to store and move crypto and tokenized assets. The service is called Google Multi-Party Compute, or MPC, and is still in private preview. Alphabet is already using the system for its own digital assets on Ethereum and Solana.
New Step for Custody
Google says several design partners and large financial institutions are testing the technology. The service is not generally available yet and will not get a commercial launch until 2027, although the company has not shared pricing yet. That makes this the first standalone product Google has launched for crypto custody, alongside existing services like Google Cloud Key Management Service and Cloud HSM.
The core idea behind MPC is simple: a private key is split into multiple parts, so there is no single point of failure. According to Google, customers keep control of their own key material and the company cannot view it in unencrypted form, even if key shares are stored on Google infrastructure. The new service adds signing, transaction rules, and key recovery in one package.
Why Banks Are Looking at This
The timing makes sense. Banks and other financial companies are increasingly looking at how they can use blockchains for tokenized assets, payments, and digital custody. Secure authorization is crucial here, because transactions on a blockchain are usually irreversible once they are sent.
Google is also positioning MPC as a response to existing cyber risks. The company points to attacks involving stolen private keys, a problem that has cost the crypto market billions for years. According to Chainalysis, compromised private keys accounted for 43.8% of all stolen crypto in 2024, while DeFiLlama put cumulative losses from hacks and exploits at $16.69 billion (€15 billion) as of June this year, with about 40% attributed to private key issues.
Competition and Broader Risks
The move brings Google closer to specialized players like Fireblocks, Fordefi, and BitGo. At the same time, the company is trying to stand out with its cloud infrastructure and existing relationships with banks. Google says institutions can split their credentials across their own hardware, Google Cloud, and other cloud providers, so no single party has full control over the assets.
For European crypto readers, the most relevant part is that this kind of tooling shows how institutional adoption is shifting from isolated experiments to concrete security products. The debate around AI and quantum computing also plays a role. Google explicitly mentions those threats, while saying the architecture can later be expanded with post-quantum cryptography without institutions having to rebuild their systems. That lines up with the broader discussion around quantum-safe custody, where banks and custodians are already experimenting with new ways to make keys and transactions future-proof.
