Digital security giant Gemalto has partnered with blockchain startup Symbiont to allow financial institutions to more securely execute smart contracts and blockchain-based transactions.

Under the deal, Symbiont will use Gemalto's SafeNet hardware security modules (HSMs) to protect blockchain identities and transactions, with the aim of preventing theft, forgery and other types of criminal activity.

The HSMs will provide protection for Symbiont's platform by "securely managing, processing and storing" cryptographic keys, Gemalto said. It added that the devices are used by a number of large financial institutions to protect more than $1tn dollars in financial transactions every day.

The firm explained in a statement that integrating its HSMs ensures the "highest levels of regulatory compliance and trust for cryptographic identities authorizing these transactions".

Mark Yakabuski, Gemalto's vice president of business development strategy, said:

Symbiont utilises blockchains to allow institutions and investors to issue, manage and trade a range of financial instruments more efficiently over an encrypted peer-to-peer network.

These instruments, which Symbiont calls 'smart securites', are self-enforcing, self-executing contracts that can offer cost and time savings compared with transactions brokered using legacy systems.

Once a security is issued onto Symbiont's distributed ledger, it acts autonomously, eliminating the traditional manual processing of financial transactions.

Founded in 2014, Symbiont raised $1.25m in June 2015, and issued its first smart security on the bitcoin blockchain shortly after, in August.

Based in New York, the startup has roughly 10 employees and is focused on capital markets applications of blockchain teach.

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