---
title: "Crypto custody providers: institutional solutions and how to choose one"
url: "https://www.unknowngravity.com/en/articulos/crypto-custody-providers"
site: Unknown Gravity
published: "2026-09-21T11:34:38+00:00"
modified: "2026-09-21T12:27:00+00:00"
language: en-US
description: "\"Custody provider\" hides four different products: a regulated custodian that holds your keys, an MPC infrastructure that lets you hold them yourself, a multisig that splits control, and a…"
section: "Home > Cryptocurrencies and tokens > Crypto custody providers: institutional solutions and how to choose one"
---

# Crypto custody providers: institutional solutions and how to choose one

**"Custody provider" hides four different products: a regulated custodian that holds your keys, an MPC infrastructure that lets you hold them yourself, a multisig that splits control, and a wallet-as-a-service that embeds all of it in your product.** Choosing well starts with knowing which of the four you need; the brand comes later.

## The four institutional custody solutions

**Qualified custodian.** An authorised entity (in the EU, with a [CASP license](/en/articulos/casp-license-spain-mica)) safekeeps the crypto-assets on the client's behalf: it is the party that answers, that is supervised, and that funds, managers and issuers are required to use. It is the default when the assets belong to third parties or are regulated — see what a [digital asset custodian](/en/glosario/custodio-activos-digitales) actually does.

**MPC infrastructure.** The key never exists in one piece: it is split into shares across devices or parties that sign together (multi-party computation). It is what custodians run internally and what a company can deploy to self-custody with approval policies, limits and audit trails. Full control, full responsibility — the trade-off of [self-custody](/en/glosario/auto-custodia-self-custody).

**Multisig.** Several independent keys must sign every movement. Simpler than MPC, on-chain and verifiable, ideal for treasuries and DAOs; less flexible across chains.

**Wallet-as-a-service.** The provider gives you wallets through an API to embed in your application — every user gets one without ever seeing a seed phrase — and you decide the custody model behind it. It is the route for platforms, fintechs and games.

## How to choose a provider: the criteria that matter

**Legal regime.** Who is the custodian in law: them or you? If it is them, under which authorisation and in which jurisdiction? A technology provider is not a custodian, however good its technology. **Segregation and insolvency.** Your assets must be separated from the provider's and from other clients', and you need to know what happens to them if the provider fails. **Proof of reserves and audit**: what they publish, how often and who verifies it. **Insurance**: what the policy really covers — many exclude exactly the case you worry about. **Asset and chain coverage**: the ones you use today and the ones you will need. **Operations**: approval policies, limits, roles, withdrawal times, API and logs. **Cost**: fixed fee, percentage of assets and per-movement charges add up very differently depending on your volume.

## What the regulator requires

In the EU, custody of crypto-assets on behalf of third parties is a MiCA service that requires authorisation, a custody policy, segregation and liability for loss. In regulated tokenization, custody is a different figure — that of the transferable security, with registrars and depositaries — which we explain in [crypto-asset custody](/en/articulos/crypto-asset-custody).

## Reference providers and our role

The reference custodians and technology providers — and why some are custodians and others are not — are in our [guide to crypto custody companies](/en/mejores-empresas/mejores-empresas-custodia-criptoactivos). We do not custody: **we integrate**. We design the model (qualified, MPC, multisig or embedded), connect it to the custodian or deploy the infrastructure, and build the wallet and policy layer on top — our [wallet and custody development](/en/servicios/crypto-wallet-and-custody-development) service. If you have to decide where your company's keys live, [talk to us](/en/meeting).