Google previews a crypto custody service for banks that splits signing keys across systems, with launch planned for early 2027

Google Cloud is previewing a crypto custody service aimed at banks and other financial institutions, according to reports on October 28. The service uses multi-party computation, which splits control of a private key so several systems must work together to approve a transaction and no single machine holds the whole key.

Cointelegraph said Google updated its documentation on Monday and that a Google Cloud spokesperson aims to make the MPC key management service generally available in early 2027. The update came ahead of a Google Cloud MPC symposium in New York. Finance Magnates describes the service as in private preview, with no named launch partners, pricing or firm date, and says it combines signing, policy controls and key recovery. It adds that Google expanded Bitcoin transaction rules on October 1 and that Alphabet uses the technology to secure its own assets on Ethereum and Solana, without disclosing amounts.

PaymentsJournal lists Fireblocks, Fordefi and BitGo as competitors and quotes Javelin Strategy & Research analyst Joel Hugentobler saying the approach is not new technology. It cites DeFiLlama data, via CoinDesk, putting blockchain losses to security breaches at nearly $17 billion in the first half of 2026, about 40% tied to private-key compromises.