Overview

Fireblocks offers a range of applications for handling digital asset operations and a comprehensive development platform for building your business on the blockchain.

The Fireblocks Non-Custodial Wallet (NCW) solution allows you to manage digital assets securely and effectively by granting end users full control over their funds or tokens without reliance on a third-party custodian. The Fireblocks NCW comes with native web and mobile Software Development Kits (SDKs), which businesses can seamlessly integrate into their existing applications. This integration provides a safeguarded and smooth method for storing and overseeing digital assets.

Employing multi-party computation (MPC) technology, the Fireblocks NCW prioritizes the security and privacy of users' funds. Through MPC, end users maintain control over their private keys and benefit from an uncomplicated backup and recovery process.

The Fireblocks NCW can be customized to meet your business needs, preferences, and requirements. The solution equips developers with foundational building blocks for completing key tasks, such as generating keys, signing transactions, and managing wallet balances. These building blocks give developers the flexibility to create custom product flows that integrate with their application's existing design and user interface. This adaptability empowers businesses to distinguish their product offerings, provide unique experiences for their users, and uphold competitiveness within the market.

The Fireblocks NCW doesn't require users to remember long seed phrases or mnemonics. All they have to do is create a passphrase for the recovery process, and they can save it wherever they prefer, like on Google Drive, iCloud, and more.

The Fireblocks NCW solution comes with an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows developers to programmatically oversee wallet functionality and enhance their authority over the user experience.

Why NCW?

In the past year, we have seen a change in customers' preference for web3 wallet implementation, moving from the Custodial model, where the company controls its end user's assets, to the Non-Custodial model, in which the assets are controlled by the end user. This change is driven by three major aspects:

Regulation and business risk

The Fireblocks NCW provides solutions for a variety of regulatory issues applicable to both financial and non-financial enterprises.

Financial entities that provide self-custodial services must adhere to changing regulations. This limits the range of services they can extend to customers and also slows their pace of product development.

For non-financial entities, NCW helps reduce the business risk associated with entering the web3 space. Businesses can concentrate on creating attractive product offerings while eliminating the responsibility and business risk associated with being the custodian of their customer's assets.

User trust

The saying "not your keys, not your coins" encapsulates the idea that investors can't be certain about their cryptocurrency holdings unless they control the keys to their wallets.

In a surprising move in June 2022, the Celsius Network, a major player in crypto lending with assets surpassing $20 billion, sent shockwaves through the crypto industry by announcing a temporary halt on all withdrawals from its platform.

Later the same year, the dramatic downfall of the FTX crypto exchange had a profound impact on the industry, prompting critical discussions about the nature of speculative investments. This turn of events left a considerable number of frustrated individuals unable to access their invested funds, as FTX temporarily suspended user cash withdrawals, citing liquidity challenges, shortly before declaring bankruptcy.

Presently, the market sentiment strongly favors non-custodial wallets.

Retention

Customer retention was one of the initial motivations that drove financial businesses toward exploring non-custodial wallets. A significant portion of their customers were leaving due to their inability to access Decentralized Finance (DeFi). In response, those customers withdrew funds to engage with the DeFi landscape through external wallets.

By providing these users with a non-custodial solution with access to Web3 decentralized applications (dApps), these businesses can better retain customers.