Blockchain & HSMs

Secure, auditable key custody and high-assurance transaction signing for exchanges, custodians, token platforms, and institutional DeFi.

Reference architectures for cold/warm/hot tiers with HSM-backed roots of trust, segmented networks, and tamper-evident logging.
Chain coverage: Bitcoin, EVM chains, Solana, Cosmos/Tendermint, Substrate/Polkadot, and enterprise ledgers.
Wallet models: HD (BIP32/44/39), account-based models, and institutional wallets with policy engines.

Key generation & ceremonies: Air-gapped, video-recorded ceremonies; dual control and split knowledge; attested randomness and chain-of-custody.
Algorithms: secp256k1, Ed25519, Sr25519, and BLS (where applicable), with FIPS-validated modules where required.
Threshold/MPC signing: TSS/MPC orchestration (n-of-m) for quorum approvals and geo-distributed shards; slashing-safe validator key handling.
Address derivation & rotation: Controlled derivation, deterministic labeling, and lifecycle policies (activation, rotation, archival, destruction).
Backup & recovery: Sharded, HSM-wrapped backups; offline escrow; disaster-recovery drills and break-glass runbooks.

Policy-based approvals: Four-eyes/six-eyes, role-aware limits, time-of-day windows, and step-up authentication for high-risk flows.
Risk controls: Velocity and value thresholds, chain allow-lists/deny-lists, settlement cut-offs, and travel-rule/AML system hooks.
Transaction assurance: Pre-broadcast simulation, destination reputation checks, and deterministic signing workflows with full audit trails.

High-throughput signing services: Pooled HSM/MPC clusters with horizontal scaling, HA/failover, and latency-aware routing.
Monitoring & telemetry: Health checks, queue depth, signer utilization, and SLA dashboards feeding your SIEM.
Runbooks: Key compromise response, wallet freeze, re-keying, rotation cadence, and incident post-mortems.

Custody stack integration: Core custody platforms, trade/settlement systems, staking and validator ops, OTC desks, and compliance tooling.
MPC + HSM hybrid: Combine MPC policy flexibility with HSM roots of trust for seed protection, attestation, and hardware-based entropy.
Cold/warm/hot orchestration: Automated sweeps, fee/nonce management, and secure transfer bridges between tiers.

Platform migrations: Vendor-to-vendor moves, on-prem ↔ cloud HSM, and MPC scheme changes using provenance-preserving re-wraps.
Algorithm/parameter updates: Curve transitions, key-size uplifts, and PQ-readiness roadmaps (signer abstraction and dual-stack pilots).
Remediation: Tighten policies, fix partitioning/roles, enable TR-31-style key blocks where applicable, and close audit findings.

SLA-backed operations: 24×7 or business-hours cover, incident response, spare strategy/RMA, and capacity planning.
Contract help: Extend or take over existing support contracts, negotiate new vendor terms, and align co-termed renewals across estates.
Compliance evidence packs: Auditor-ready ceremony records, access reviews, deterministic test artifacts, and CMVP/FIPS 140-3 mapping.