Coinplus invents the world’s first physical vault for crypto-asset
The ‘Solo Pro’ is a multi-support vault for crypto-assets that provides a definitive answer to the problems of custody, fraud, compliance AML / KYC and governance for private clients and institutional clients (banks, insurance or investment funds).
Coinplus was created in 2014 in Luxembourg and has been developing over the last 4 years security solutions for cryptographic code on physical supports with “zero-electronic”. The physical supports developed by Coinplus are available in two iterations: the “Solo”, simple, secure and durable support, and in ‘Solo Pro’, multiple support with the 2 out of 3 signature rule for optimal governance, while being safe from loss, fraud, theft or destruction of any of the support. Two forms are possible for ‘Solo’ and ‘Solo Pro’: Solo Bars, bars made out of steel or precious metals, and Solo Cards, plastic cards in credit card format.
In 2017, after three years of R & D and a patent application, the first Solos were released. The technological feature is to create a public address, which is used to safekeep crypto-assets, without the associated private key being created. The private key, i.e. the secret code to release the crypto-asset, remains unknown, including by the creator of the Solo. For this, two companies generate, engrave and hide independently from each other two private intermediate keys on a single physical support. The exchange of public information related to these private intermediate keys allows the two companies to generate a public address without knowing the private key of the other company.
But in 2018, an additional major development was finalized which will impact the world of blockchain: The Solo Pro is a variation of the Solo (launched in 2017), a set of three Solos working together, allowing the implementation of strong governance rules and making the process completely transparent and auditable. Solo Pro is the world’s first physical multi-support for crypto-assets It is a vault for crypto-assets that allows a tailor-made management of the private keys related to a crypto-asset.
How does it work?
The Solo Pro is composed of 3 physical supports, all with the same public address, the ‘account number’. If you lose or if you are the victim of the theft or the destruction of one of the supports, you do not lose anything because only 2 of the 3 supports are necessary to recover the private key, and thus to have access to the crypto-assets.
The benefits that users can derive from it are:
Individuals but in particular businesses and / or financial institutions may hold crypto-assets, while being certain of their geographical localization, ownership, and the possibility of retrieving the crypto-asset. Internal governance rules may be created and mitigate the risks of leaks, theft or fraud and always provide access to the crypto-assets because 1 support alone is not enough to recover them. The solo is neither connected nor electronic, it is immune from being hacked remotely and it is not subject to the failures of a USB key or electronics. The biggest benefit for the users is to instantly have their account of crypto-assets unconnected and secured thanks to a Solo or three Solo Pro. The goal of Coinplus is to become the ‘Uber’ of securing private keys. The entry-level Solo costs are € 10 for a Solo Card, and it competes with the various existing solutions. The price will allow the spreading of Solos around the world to increase the global distribution of cryptoassets.
Yves-Laurent Kayan, the CEO, is passionate about gaming and has made his mark in retail in France. He is used to business sectors which operate on the fringes of regulation and which have a meteoric growth. “I heard about Bitcoin in 2009 and became interested in 2011, when the first French exchange was opened, since I knew one of the founders. ” Benoît Bertholon, PhD in IT at the University of Luxembourg, joined Coinplus in 2014 and is the CTO. Benoît participated in the implementation of Solo and Solo Pro with a proficiency of cryptology and expertise of blockchains. The team is supported by Wesley Deglise, Head of Product Design, Yannick Huard, Mobile Dev. Coinplus’board of directors is composed of very solid profiles.
Today, the largest financial institutions and the largest countries have spoken positively about blockchains and crypto-assets. For example, Christine Lagarde, of the IMF, said “I think we should consider the possibility to issue digital currency. There may be a role for the State to supply money to the digital economy”. Or, Fidelity, the largest US fund, will open crypto services followed by JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. The world will embrace digital currencies in the next decade. There are still many obstacles to mass adoption, including the security of custody, the fight against fraud, compliance (notably AML / KYC) and the difficulty of auditing existing solutions. The Solo concept is a first answer to some of these issues.
Coinplus has already sold dozens of Solo Bars, 5000 Solo Cards to ‘ICO’ / ‘Token sale ‘and 500 to a Big Four. Today, Coinplus unveils its Solo Pro which will participate in the protection and preservation of crypto-assets, while providing a solution in terms of compliance, governance and AML / KYC.
