Algorand Teams Up With Crypto Custodian Curv for ‘Trusted DeFi’

Algorand, the proof-of-stake network launched by Turing Award winner Silvio Macali, has partnered with digital custody tech provider Curv to ultimately bring solutions to the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, according to an announcement Thursday. 

The arrangement will see Curv integrate Algorand within its "asset-agnostic" infrastructure, while Algorand will leverage Curv’s custody solutions internally.

The firms aim to enable institutions to build secure wallet functionality into applications on the Algorand network, backed by Curv’s multi-party computation (MPC) technology. Curv users will also be able to transact and store ALGO and ALGO-based ASA tokens. 

“We want to offer a kind of trusted DeFi,” Algorand COO Sean Ford told CoinDesk. “To be sure, we are building technology that appeals to traditional institutions, payment providers [and] governments. Curv embodies the coming together of traditional financial investors with the DeFi space.”

Curv, which has raised almost $30 million in funding since 2019, uses MPC to secure cryptographic keys by splitting them up, but doing so without sacrificing service-level functionality.

“Just three years ago, security in this industry was synonymous with either cold storage or a piece of hardware,” Curv CEO Itay Malinger said in an interview. “MPC is the quickest way to sign transactions securely without any bottlenecks, and that’s what you need for the kind of scale Algorand delivers.”

Algorand and Curv are already primed for DeFi. For example, Curv started working with lending platform Compound in the summer of last year. 

Curv said there has been demand from both the crypto world and traditional finance to support the ALGO token and tokenized assets over Algorand's network.

The New York-based custody startup also brings an institutional flavor to the table with its digital asset insurance protection up to $50 million, courtesy of Munich Re, plus various security accreditations. Its customers include investment firm Franklin Templeton, trading platform eToro and Genesis Trading, which is owned by CoinDesk parent firm Digital Currency Group.

Algorand now boasts a wide array of assets. As well as stablecoins like USDC and USDT, its network includes licensed e-money in euros, British pounds and Icelandic krona.