Institutional Vault Overview

Blockdaemon Wallet, introduced in 2023, has been rebranded as Blockdaemon Institutional Vault. The name change reflects the platform’s continued evolution into what is considered the most secure wallet available for institutional digital asset operations and storage. Designed to support daily digital asset operations, Institutional Vault delivers the security, efficiency, functionality, compliance, and control that custodians, exchanges, and major asset holders require.

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Building on a long-standing tradition of industry-leading security and control, Institutional Vault introduces new levels of automation, liquid staking, and cold storage security. The following are highlights of the new and existing wallet features.

Institutional Vault: Self-Hosted Solution

Institutional Vault provides a self-hosted software wallet solution that can be deployed on-premises, in public clouds, or in hybrid setups. It includes automated deployment scripts for AWS Nitro and Microsoft Azure, enabling easy and scalable deployment in secure infrastructures. The wallet integrates seamlessly with Blockdaemon’s RPC, Staking, and other APIs, providing a turnkey, self-hosted solution for regional or global institutional operations.

Institutional Vault: API & UI Operations

Institutional Vault supports daily operations for institutional digital asset holders, offering both API and user interface (UI) options for interacting with the wallet. The wallet’s API integrates easily with existing business systems, while its intuitive graphical UI provides a straightforward way for users to manage transactions. Transactions can be initiated and approved through either method, and mobile apps (iOS/Android) enable approvals and transaction management on the go. This approach ensures flexibility and convenience for institutions with diverse operational needs.

Institutional Vault: Hot & Cold Wallet Services

Institutional Vault offers hot (online) and cold (air-gapped) wallet services, each with its own security protocols yet unified by the same policy engine, approval processes, and reporting system. The hot wallet supports digital asset transfers, staking, and liquid staking, with system approvals handled automatically via APIs or manually through human approval (including quorum-based checks).

For heightened security and compliance, the cold wallet option allows for offline, air-gapped storage of digital assets. Transactions are signed using Multi-Party Computation (MPC) key shares on locally hosted machines, with approvals managed via mobile apps. This design combines cold storage security with the flexibility and liquidity of online wallets, while maintaining consistent reporting, audit trails, and policy enforcement across both wallet types.

Institutional Vault: Flexible Policy Engine

Institutional Vault features a robust policy engine that lets administrators define granular governance controls. Policies can be configured for various actions, such as wallet administration, asset transfers, and staking for both hot and cold wallets. Administrators can define policy parameters for users, groups, asset types, transaction amounts, sources, and destinations.

Approvals can be set for automated API processes, specific personnel, or quorum-based workflows involving multiple individuals. Mobile device and API approvals are authenticated with a 4-digit PIN and biometric verification, ensuring secure and compliant transactions and batch operations.

Institutional Vault: MPC Security for Keys and Policies

Institutional Vault leverages advanced Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology to deliver industry-leading security for digital asset private keys and their governing policies. The online wallet system uses a 3-of-3 threshold signature scheme in which three distributed nodes generate, store, and use key shares to collectively sign a transaction. The offline cold wallet uses a 2-of-2 threshold signature scheme with two distributed nodes.

In addition to securing the keys, Institutional Vault cryptographically protects and enforces user-defined policies. Copies of the policies are stored locally with each key share to increase policy robustness. This ensures that transactions are only signed when all applicable policies are met, preventing unauthorized or blind signing and bolstering the security of digital asset management for both hot and cold wallet accounts.

Institutional Vault: Advanced Transactions & Audit Logging

Institutional Vault supports the deposit, storage, and transfer of various digital assets and protocols, including BTC, ETH, SOL, DOT, MATIC, thousands of ERC-20 tokens, and ERC-1404 and ERC-3463 for tokenization. It also natively supports ETH staking for both hot and cold wallets, as well as liquid staking via WalletConnect for online accounts.

Every transaction in the Institutional Vault is logged with detailed information, including the transaction initiator, approvers, and full transaction details. This comprehensive audit logging ensures that every step of the transaction process is transparent and traceable for compliance and accountability.

Get Started with Institutional Vault

To explore Institutional Vault, begin by registering for a hosted wallet sandbox. This offers an easy way to evaluate the platform’s features without setting up your own infrastructure. Simply register online to start your free evaluation and see how Institutional Vault can support your institution's digital asset operations.