Cirus Foundation has joined forces with Shift Markets, a prominent crypto exchange infrastructure provider, to develop non-custodial wallets intricately connected to a global network of centralized exchanges. Shift Markets, a New York-based company with a decade-long presence in the industry, has earned its stripes as a leading infrastructure provider, having developed 59 crypto exchanges and serviced over 40 million users worldwide.
The upcoming venture is set to introduce a pioneering non-custodial wallet that grants end users full control over their assets. This innovation marks a departure from the traditional Centralized Exchange (CEX) systems where user wallets are conventionally held within the exchange itself. Ian McAfee, CEO and Co-Founder of Shift Markets, emphasized the significance of this move in light of recent events, stating, “After last year’s events with FTX, it was an obvious solution to prepare a wallet that would keep the user in control of their assets and be able to still achieve the convenience of CEXs,”
With a year-long development effort culminating in the completion of the initial blueprint, the product team is poised to test the V1 version in Q1 of 2024. This innovative solution is expected to address inherent issues plaguing centralized exchanges, paving the way for a paradigm shift towards a Web3 philosophy.
Revolutionizing Custody and Control in Centralized Exchanges
The Cirus Foundation’s foray into the development of non-custodial wallets reaches a pivotal moment as the project inches closer to implementation. This revolutionary wallet, empowered by industry-leading Multi-Party-Computation (MPC) technology, promises end users unparalleled custody and control over their assets while seamlessly engaging with centralized exchanges.
Addressing longstanding concerns such as customer asset misappropriation and withdrawal issues, the Cirus-powered wallet is positioned to eliminate risks that have plagued many of top centralized exchanges. The wallet will be a desktop extension, similar to Metamask, featuring a direct account linking feature to participating exchanges. The list of exchanges involved in this initiative is yet to be unveiled, but Shift Markets, overseeing operations for participating exchanges with over 40 million users, reinforces the significant impact this collaboration is poised to have on the industry.
“It’s a classic example of the first movers, willing followers and the unwilling followers. Migrating exchanges over to this new standard is a must. This is an inevitable solution and one that ensures the Web3 industry becomes a leader in sovereign asset control – an example the world needs, not just our industry,” remarked Mike Miclea, Director at Cirus.
Marking the initiation of the Wallet-as-a-Service business unit for Cirus, this development with Shift Markets signifies a broader commitment to double efforts in this category. Cirus aims to take a leadership role in a collective initiative to introduce Web3 wallets across various business use cases globally, marking a significant stride towards a decentralized and secure future for the digital asset landscape.
