By Michael Scott
Swiss crypto tech firm Metaco announced successfully hiring Peter DeMeo, who previously headed products. Metaco revealed that DeMeo would leverage his experience as a digital asset specialist. The detailed update released by the crypto tech provider identified Angel Nunez Mencias as a critical appointment, given his previous role as the IBM lead architect.
Critical Hires to Steer Metaco’s Crypto Custody Technology
The announcement of the critical appointments portrays Metaco’s devotion to overcoming the rough market conditions. The firm specializing in crypto custody technology seeks to leverage the duo’s expertise to stimulate the subsequent big-business crypto adoption.
The update indicated that the reliable safekeeping of cryptos is crucial for institutions and banks in 2022. Metaco’s preparation to expand the scope in custody seeks to entrench sovereignty rights to users following the calamitous FTX decline. The expertise of the new hires would prove critical in advancing the custody-oriented product. Custody is a prominent agenda in today’s crypto discussions following the implosion of Celsius Network and Genesis Global.
Metaco-IBM Compatibility and Win-Win Outcome
The engagement of DeMeo as the lead product executive is critical given his previous role in heading the IBM department involved in digital assets infrastructure. In particular, IBM admitted advancing the bank-grade digital assets oriented to improve custody and self-management.
The Big Blue entity is reputable in building permissioned blockchains integrated to facilitate supply chain applications. The recruitment of DeMeo and Mencias hardly translates to IBM’s loss. Instead, DeMeo considers that recruitment would cement the working relationship between the two firms.
DeMeo explained the move creates a win-win situation for the two since Metaco has been the lead partner for IBM in building digital assets. In addition, the action creates an opportunity to scale the collaboration to advanced levels.
Scaling Collaboration Across the Digital Assets Infrastructure
DeMeo considers Metaco agnostic to initiate coordination with hardware and cloud services providers. As such, he believes recruiting IBM’s former employers yields a mutually beneficial relationship.
Metaco’s latest recruitment exercise is characterized by experts led by Mencias, the Swiss firm’s chief customer executive. Other individuals hired are Katrin Koller from Accenture to head advisory while Rebecca Aspler from Unbound Security and Paypal steering the product. Lastly, Mei Li Powell from Citi will lead the marketing department.
Inflow of Expertise to Steer Metaco Expansion
Metaco chief executive Adrien Treccani lauded the inflow of expertise by acknowledging that 2022 involved scouting for talent. He added that Metaco has tripled the team size and is set to double company volume later.
Nevertheless, Treccani admitted that the experts are drawn from Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. He revealed plans to diversify hires since its user base is growing in other regions.
Establishing Metaco Labs featuring Multiparty Computation
DeMeo explained that the firm had established Metaco Labs as the research and development unit. He explained that it would undertake cutting-edge projects oriented to sharding technology. It will integrate multiparty computation (MPC) within the hardware security module (HSM), a storage lockbox utilized in big banks.
DeMeo revealed that the firm would run MPC in a safe place. The MPC accessibility would rely upon signing off keys in HSMs. Metaco would not utilize single keys, instead will generate and preserve key shards to avoid the creation of access keys beyond the HSM.
Decentralizing Multiparty Computation
Teccani observed that MPC and HSM solution development is critical to Metaco clients. He noted that clients could opt out of the complex MPC that would become an absolute disaster scenario. Such complexity arises from storing key shards within a single data center.
Teccani illustrated that Metaco was serving banks and custodians who sought to realize complete control. The desire to exercise control over the key material yields complexity for the MPC. Such arises since MPC launches different key shards in separate data centers.
Teccani demonstrated awareness of market convergence as a reason to decentralize MPC. He restated that decentralizing MPC would minimize attacks toward the HSMs.