Share this article
Gemini Acquires Crypto Custody Firm Shard X
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions in the crypto custodian sector.
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:20 a.m. Published Jun 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m.
Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian, has purchased Shard X, a London-based startup that develops technology for crypto custodians, in order to boost the security of its services.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Shard X claims to be the first company to offer multi-party computation (MPC) on hardware security modules (HSMs), which are special computers designed to protect sensitive files. In the past, MPC was thought to be too computationally difficult to store "shards" on hardware.
Gemini didn't disclose the terms of the deal. Shard X will become part of Gemini’s U.K. affiliate, according to Gemini Chief Operating Officer Noah Perlman. The purchase is the latest in a string of crypto custody acquisitions that included Galaxy Digital's $1.2 billion deal to buy BitGo. That deal was announced last month.
Read more: Galaxy Digital to Buy BitGo for About $1.2B in Stock, Cash
The technology from Shard X will work in conjunction with other aspects of Gemini’s security features, including role-based governance protocols, biometric access controls and physical security. It will also expand Gemini's reach to decentralized finance (DeFi) and other applications.
“Integrating Shard X's MPC technology into Gemini's custody enables us to meet this demand for fast withdrawals, interacting with DeFi staking, or the transferring of digital assets with greater efficiency,” Perlman said in an email. “MPC technology provides a safe and uniform approach for achieving this speed across multiple cryptocurrencies.”
As CoinDesk reported when it came out of stealth late last year, Shard X's technology had banks squarely in its sights.
“Our big breakthrough is that we’ve managed to compress and optimize the MPC code so that it can run on bank-grade HSMs," co-founder Yaniv Neu-Ner told CoinDesk at the time.
Read more: This Crypto Custody Breakthrough Will Bring Banks Closer to Digital Assets
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Turkey's Paribu Buys CoinMENA in $240M Deal, Expanding Into High-Growth Crypto Markets
With the acquisition, Paribu gains regulatory foothold in Bahrain and Dubai and access to the region's fast-growing crypto user base.
What to know:
- Paribu acquires Bahrain- and Dubai-based CoinMENA for up to $240 million.
- Deal marks Turkey’s biggest fintech acquisition and first international crypto M&A, the firm said.
- The move taps into the MENA region’s fast-growing crypto user base and supportive regulatory hubs.
Top Stories
