IBM announced a platform designed to help financial institutions, governments, and large corporations securely manage their crypto and blockchain-based assets, like bitcoin.
The platform, developed in collaboration with crypto wallet provider Dfns, combines IBM’s infrastructure and security expertise with Dfns’ institutional-grade custody and wallet technology.
At its core, Digital Asset Haven wants to simplify what has long been a tricky and complex landscape for institutions.
Many banks and governments have been cautious about crypto because it involves multiple blockchains, regulatory hurdles, and security risks. IBM’s platform wants to change this and consolidate these moving parts, offering a single solution.
The partnership with Dfns is central to the platform. Dfns has built more than 15 million wallets for over 250 clients, focusing on secure and compliant operations.
By combining this with IBM’s high-assurance infrastructure, Digital Asset Haven is meant to provide institutions with the same reliability and governance standards that traditional financial systems offer.
That includes multi-party approvals, policy-driven governance, and support for cold storage, where crypto keys are kept offline for maximum security.
IBM’s support for 40 blockchains
The platform also supports more than 40 blockchains, both public and private, giving institutions flexibility to engage with a wide range of digital assets, from traditional cryptocurrencies to emerging stablecoins and tokenized assets.
It integrates third-party services for identity verification, anti-money laundering checks, and yield generation, and offers developer-friendly APIs to enable further customization and innovation.
“This is more than custody,” said Clarisse Hagège, CEO of Dfns. “We’ve built a platform that orchestrates the full digital asset ecosystem, moving digital assets from pilot programs to production at a global scale.”
Tom McPherson, General Manager of IBM Z and LinuxONE, emphasized that the platform brings IBM’s signature resilience and data governance to the emerging digital asset space, helping institutions explore new products without compromising on security or compliance.
The launch comes at a time when regulated digital assets are gaining momentum.
Stablecoins, for example, have become increasingly used in payments following the U.S. adoption of legislation earlier this year, and major banks are exploring blockchain-based money transfers.
