Google MPC Custody Service Enters Private Preview Ahead of 2027 Launch

Google is set to showcase a new multi-party computation (MPC) custody product at its inaugural digital assets symposium in New York City, targeting banks and financial institutions that need to secure and transfer cryptocurrencies and tokenised assets. Named Google Multi-Party Compute, the service is currently in private preview, with commercial availability planned for early 2027 and no pricing yet disclosed.

The system works by splitting a private key into fragments distributed across separate environments, applying institutional transaction policies before any signing occurs. This architecture eliminates a single point of failure, directly addressing the threat of compromised credentials. Google says the service can eventually incorporate post-quantum cryptography, though its current design focuses on the more immediate risks of unauthorised transactions and stolen keys. Alphabet, Google’s parent, has already deployed the product internally to secure its own digital assets on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.

The timing reflects pressure building across the institutional digital asset space. Chainalysis data cited in the announcement puts compromised private keys at 43.8% of all cryptocurrency stolen in 2024, and cumulative losses from hacks and exploits across blockchain projects reached $16.69 billion as of June this year, with roughly 40% of those losses tied to key compromises. Google already offers Cloud Key Management Service and Cloud HSM for cryptographic key protection, but those are general-purpose tools; the new product bundles MPC-based signing, transaction policies, and key recovery into a purpose-built custody service, removing the integration burden from institutions building their own stack.

Several unnamed design partners and major financial institutions are already testing the technology, and the product’s unveiling at a Google-hosted symposium signals a deliberate push into the regulated financial sector at a moment when tokenised asset issuance and digital custody services are gaining institutional momentum.