Australian companies Decentralised Capital and Custodian Vaults have recently announced a partnership to launch Australia’s first insured crypto-currency custody vault.  This follows the earlier commencement of Coinbase’s crypto-custody service in the USA and Europe.  These offerings are in response to growing investor demand for reliable and secure crypto-currency storage.

The Australian offering sees Custodian Vaults expand beyond its traditional service of storing precious metals.  It will allow crypto-currency to be stored in a secure ‘cold storage’ facility as a means to address the ongoing wave of security concerns surrounding the currency’s vulnerability to hackers.  This new custodial service will provide customers with direct access to their holdings and includes security features such as physical surveillance, biometric identification, pin codes, CCTV monitoring, alarms and fire control systems.

Crypto-currency advocates expect the emergence of such custodial services to pave the way for institutional investors to enter the market.  Such investors have been seen to be hesitant as they are concerned about the security of their holdings, especially as they may have to rely on unregulated third party services to obtain and hold their crypto-currency.  We expect that these custodial services will soon face regulatory scrutiny followed by a consultation period, which will then result in a robust regulatory framework.

Maria Downie contributed to this piece.