Xapo will work with Satellogic to take its security into space

It follows an article published yesterday on the financial website CoinDesk, highlighting that the bitcoin services provider Xapo signed an agreement with Satellogic tending to locate specific elements of its security architecture within satellites in the outer space.

XAPO LOOKS TO OUTER SPACE IN LATEST BITCOIN SECURITY PUSH

The normally tight-lipped bitcoin services provider Xapo has announced a slew of new updates focused on bolstering its security offerings.

Though the move allows the company to remove fees for its signature vault storage service, adding multi-signature authorization to that offering and completing a Service Organization Control 2 (SOC2) Type I Audit. But it is perhaps its partnership with Silicon Valley startup Satellogic that showcases the extent to which it seeks to secure the bitcoin it holds for customers.

Today Xapo announced it will work with Satellogic to locate specific elements of its security architecture within a low Earth orbit satellite that its partner aims to use to take high-quality images in real time. Though it didn’t elaborate further on the measure, citing security reasons, Xapo suggested that the ability to maintain data as well as physical and jurisdictional security were key elements that encouraged the deal.

CEO Wences Casares explained that the measures are all aimed at increasing the company’s security, which he suggested is paramount in light of the industry's continued security struggles.

He told CoinDesk:

”A lot of the people who have large amounts of bitcoin, that’s what they care about most – security. Nothing is more important to security than keeping private keys offline. We’ve seen the problems of that recently, you can keep them offline but when you bring them online, that’s when compromises happen.”

Sattelogic CEO Emiliano Kargieman also explained that with the partnership his company aims to showcase the power of its technology to new markets.

"Our partnership with Xapo allows us to showcase the integration of our satellite platform into mission-critical, daily processes in the financial industry, while we play a key role in helping the company develop the most secure storage service in the bitcoin space," Kargieman told CoinDesk.

Xapo's emphasis on security is not surprising given that at launch it was billed as “bitcoin’s Fort Knox", a reference to the famous US bullion depository.

However, it could be seen as a return to the company’s original value proposition, as 2014 saw Xapo introduce a number of features in addition to its service aimed at more everyday bitcoin users, including hot wallet accounts, a dedicated tipping button and bitcoin debit cards for international users.

Source: CoinDesk