Decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet and browser extension MetaMask has formed a new strategic partnership with four major cryptocurrency custodians: Gnosis Safe, Hex Trust, GK8, and Parfin.
MetaMask Institutional (MMI), the institutional version of popular Ethereum wallet MetaMask, announced on Wednesday that the new integration will provide decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) with key management tools to participate in DeFi activities.
DAOs are organizations controlled by computer code and have no top-down authority, and have been gaining popularity as a fundraising mechanism and management tool for cryptocurrency projects.
Per the announcement, MMI provides institutions with access to DeFi and Web3 while serving their compliance needs. Custodians, or escrow wallets, are services that store private keys and facilitate the approval and signing of transactions. They are crucial for organizations to securely obtain and protect crypto assets.
Cointelegraph reached out to Harriet Browning, director of business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Consensys. She told Cointelegraph:
“It is enabling the necessary funds from cryptocurrencies, exchanges, traditional institutions, companies, DAOs, a whole series of different user profiles, allowing them to participate in a secure and well-managed risk framework.”
The distinction between MetaMask Institutional and the main enterprise browser and portfolio plugin is the way assets are managed. Browning explained that assets held in the core MetaMask product are not escrowed, while assets managed through MMI are. He pointed:
“For institutional security, we have replaced the hardware wallet with a number of custody partners, to provide essential asset security.”
John Ennis, Gnosis Secure Ecosystem Lead, said: “DAOs and crypto institutions want the gold standard of Defi integration, while maintaining the industry standard of security when it comes to safeguarding assets. security and operational risks.”
MetaMask has actively expanded its offering this year. In late March, the firm rolled out an integration with Apple Pay and a series of payment updates, including the ability to purchase crypto through the app with debit or credit cards.
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