# Direct Custody

Infrastructure for institutions managing digital assets on behalf of customers. You remain the custodian of all assets. Vaultody delivers the cryptographic backbone — secure custody infrastructure, robust governance, and seamless integrations — for exchanges, banks, fintechs, and asset managers to operate self-custodial platforms without compromising security, compliance, or scale.

## Highlights

- You remain the custodian of all assets.
- Configurable approval policies and workflow tiers.
- Secure MPC key management with API-ready deployment.
- Real-time transaction webhook notifications.

## Why choose Vaultody Direct Custody

For organizations that demand full operational sovereignty for regulatory, strategic, or corporate reasons, Vaultody enables enterprise-grade digital asset management without ceding control. Full control over assets via Multi-Party Computation (MPC) eliminates the single point of failure and third-party risk inherent in traditional custody models. Scalable multi-chain account infrastructure with integration-ready REST APIs supports multi-chain operations at scale.

## Key features

- **Enterprise MPC infrastructure** — a secure t-out-of-n MPC architecture where your organization retains one key share. This guarantees non-custodial ownership and absolute control.
- **Configurable governance and automation** — define roles, approval policies, and rule-based workflows tailored to your organizational structure. Granular access control for teams.
- **API-ready integration** — full control over key functionality. Define permissions and rules for different account activities. Manage and secure authorization at every step.
- **Full compliance and audit transparency** — every signature, approval, and workflow is recorded with complete traceability. Full operational visibility for oversight across regulated environments.
- **Flexible deployment options** — every action (signatures, approvals, workflows) is fully tracked. Clear visibility into all operations makes oversight simple and efficient.

## How Vaultody MPC works

Vaultody's MPC infrastructure splits cryptographic keys across multiple secure components. Only your team has access to funds; Vaultody never touches your assets. See [Vaultody MPC](/multi-party-computation).

## Frequently asked questions

**How does Direct Custody differ from using a third-party custodian or traditional cold storage?**
With Direct Custody, the customer remains the custodian of record at all times. Vaultody provides the MPC direct custody infrastructure but never holds keys or funds. Compared to cold storage or single-key wallet setups, Direct Custody replaces static key management with distributed MPC signing, programmable governance, and audit-ready traceability.

**What types of organizations should use Direct Custody?**
Organizations that safeguard and operate digital assets on behalf of their own customers or business users, while retaining the custodian role — exchanges, banks, fintechs, asset managers, and enterprise wallet operators. Unlike Treasury Management (built for a company's own balance sheet), Direct Custody supports segregated accounts per end customer and high-volume transaction throughput.

**How does the MPC custody model prevent internal or external misuse?**
Direct Custody uses MPC t/n signing — private keys are never assembled and signing authority is distributed across isolated environments. On top of cryptography, a Governance Layer enforces role-based access control, transaction thresholds, and approval workflows.

**Can Direct Custody integrate with existing exchange, banking, or fintech systems?**
Yes. Direct Custody is API-first — direct integration with trading engines, payment rails, settlement systems, and internal compliance stacks. Supports high-volume transaction processing while preserving strict governance controls (suitable for exchange hot wallets, settlement engines, and institutional payment flows).

**How does Direct Custody support compliance, audits, and regulatory oversight?**
Built for regulated environments where traceability and control are non-negotiable. Each end customer operates within a fully segregated environment. All actions — policy changes, transaction approvals, MPC signatures — are recorded with detailed metadata and time-stamped logs.

## Related

- [Treasury Management](/solutions/treasury-management)
- [Wallet as a Service](/solutions/wallet-as-a-service)
- [Vaultody MPC](/multi-party-computation)
- [Pricing](/pricing)