British Coin Manufacturer Unveils New Crypto Custody Service

An exclusive press release has revealed that the Royal Mint, a British-based, government-backed coin manufacturer, will now be providing cryptocurrency custodial services to its customers. 

Per the release, the financial institution announced that it would be launching Temtum, a new crypto asset, on July 17. It also claimed that the company will act as the currency reserve for Temtum, as well as helping to store the Temtum genesis private keys. In addition, all original private keys will be stored in the company’s vault as well. Temtum’s official website describes it as a fee-free, peer-to-peer crypto asset that is looking to create a “new world of financial freedom away from centralized institutions.” 

Royal Mint announced the Temporal blockchain as well, on which all of Temtum’s transaction data will be written. The company has reached an agreement with CoinAll, one of the many cryptocurrency exchanges based in Hong Kong, to offer the TEM tokens for trading and purchases. Given that CoinAll itself functions as a strategic partner of global exchange OKEx, there is every possibility that the latter will also list the asset so traders can buy cryptocurrency. 

The entire partnership was lauded by Temtum founder and CEO Richard Dennis, who claimed that the partnering institutions have worked hard to ensure that investors funds are properly protected. 

In part, he said, “There should be no gimmicks or shortcuts when it comes to security and we see working directly from the home of the UK’s creation of coins over the last 1000 years, as the only place suitable for the launch of a new currency that we believe will have a significant value globally in the years to come. It just happens to come with such tradition and authority, once located just a stone’s throw from the Crown Jewels.”

The announcement of the Royal Mint’s custodial service comes at a period when cryptocurrency custody services are growing in numbers. Names like Coinbase have already made their name in the sub-industry, as the Coinbase Custodial service recently announced that it had gotten up to $1.3 billion under management. 

In addition to Coinbase, ShapeShift- another crypto exchange- has entered the fray, having launched the private beta of its new platform last week. The platform provides a lot of ease-of-use benefits, while also providing an opportunity for investors to control their private keys. 

The ShapeShift platform allows users to sell, buy, track and trade several cryptocurrencies in a single location, and it already supports over 50 digital assets.  

Custodial services provide a much secure way for investors to hold their assets, and they’re especially singled out as a possible reason for the perceived rise in institutional interest in crypto assets. So, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently admitted that they were having issues with developing regulatory guidelines for these services to comply with, there’s budding interest, and the future looks right for the sub-industry.