Google Cloud Plans Institutional Crypto Custody Service for Next Year’s Launch

Called Google Multi-Party Compute, the service is designed to help institutions secure and transfer cryptocurrencies and tokenised assets without storing a complete private key in one place. Google Cloud's documentation describes MPC as a key management service that allows separate parties to sign blockchain transactions collaboratively.

The product is currently in private preview, with commercial availability planned for early 2027. Google updated the service's documentation on Monday, ahead of its MPC Symposium in New York on Wednesday, which focuses on the company's MPC technology and research.

Speakers at the symposium include representatives from Morgan Stanley, OKX, Citi and Wells Fargo, indicating strong industry interest in Google's approach to securing digital assets. The service builds on Google's earlier work in multi-party computation.

Enhanced Bitcoin Controls

Google's release notes show that the service has received several updates since August. On 1 October, the company added rules to evaluate Bitcoin transaction amounts, identify destination address types and detect change outputs.

The update also introduced support for authorizing Bitcoin transactions through Google's policy engine, providing institutions with more control over their digital asset transactions. These enhancements come as Bitcoin controls added rules on October 1 to assess transaction amounts and identify destination addresses.

Industry Adoption

Several financial institutions are testing Google's new service, according to CoinDesk. Alphabet is also using it to secure digital assets on Ethereum and Solana, though Google has not disclosed the assets or their value.

Other financial firms are also developing digital asset services for institutional clients. Spotex connected its trading venue to BitGo's custody and settlement infrastructure, while Virtu Financial joined BitGo Prime's liquidity network.

JPMorgan has planned to accept Bitcoin and Ether as loan collateral for institutional clients, using a third-party custodian. Ripple partnered with South Africa's Absa Bank to provide digital asset custody technology, showing the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency services.

Google plans commercial availability in early 2027 but has not announced pricing or a specific launch date. The company published guidance in 2023 on using its Confidential Space infrastructure to develop systems for securing digital assets, laying the groundwork for this new service.