Cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly important. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoincash, etc., are protected by cryptographic methods. Instead of a banknote, the owner of a cryptocurrency receives a private key. This key must be protected, similar to a banknote because it too can be stolen or lost. Standard methods include printing the private key on a piece of paper or storing it in a USB memory and carrying it on oneself (also called "cold storage"). Another standard method, which is even more insecure, is to store it somewhere on your computer. This form of cold storage is neither secure, reliable, nor scalable. It is also impractical if you want to use private keys for transactions on a institutional level with regard to cryptocurrencies.
Crypto funds, crypto storage, crypto brokers, and ICO platforms use CloudHSM already today. It offers a secure generation and management of private keys secured on a redundant key storage in an HSM cluster. This way, keys remain accessible even in the event of a natural disaster. The data is mirrored at three geographically separate locations, one of which is a former military bunker in the Swiss Alps.
Moreover multi-signature access and use, targeted at financial institutions like banks, funds, exchanges, and other blockchain systems.
Storing the key securely on a dedicated device is a must: On a hardware security module, as with Securosys CloudHSM. Primus HSM is the powerful basis for the CloudHSM service from Securosys.
