TL;DR

– As part of our new B2B focus, We’re finalizing an agreement with a major, third-party custodian (name under NDA).

– This partner will hold the upgrade keys to DOP’s smart contracts, shifting control away from the core team.

– The move reduces the implicit trust users place in DOP and accelerates our decentralization roadmap.

– Deposits (Encryptions) are paused temporarily while we complete legal, technical, and security hand-offs.

 

Why Upgradable Contracts Still Need Trust

At DOP, we aim to build leading privacy tech for the crypto ecosystem. This path often requires us to quickly fix issues and adapt. Smart contract upgradability allows us to do this effectively.

 

However, this capability comes with a responsibility. As the sole key-holders, we theoretically could change the rules at any time. This means users must trust our team not to alter the protocol or block access to funds.

 

Our community and stakeholders have consistently emphasized the importance of trust minimization. We agree, and that’s why we’re partnering with a key industry player to reduce the trust users need to place in the DOP team.

 

Why Now?

The timing isn’t arbitrary—it’s strategic:

 

DOP is weeks away from unveiling its rebrand and shipping DOP-v2, a new initiative to revive the DOP token and link its supply with real-world demand and utility. Credibility has to land before new code does, so shifting control to a neutral custodian is priority #1.

 

Enterprise prospects told us the same thing: “Your privacy tech is powerful, but we need an independent gatekeeper before we can plug in.” Handing the keys to a regulated custodian clears that compliance hurdle overnight.

 

Finally, the market is speaking plainly: protocols and banks that route custody through qualified, regulated entities are the ones closing the big institutional deals. BitGo’s latest industry brief notes that institutional investors explicitly “prefer regulated digital-asset custodians that offer transparency and insurance”, while PNC Bank’s July partnership with Coinbase Custody was touted as “one of the most significant moves by a major U.S. bank into crypto, signaling institutional confidence”.

 

Aligning with that trend now positions DOP to scale from crypto-native users to the world’s largest balance sheets—without asking anyone to take our word for it.

 

 

Who the Custodian Is (and Why We Chose Them)

While the contract and full terms are still in discussions—and the name must stay under wraps for a few more weeks—our chosen partner is hardly a newcomer.

 

This firm already safeguards billions in digital assets across multiple chains with a flawless security record. They operate regulated trust entities on three continents and hold every certification that matters—SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, and ISO 22301—so their processes are audited as relentlessly as their code.

 

A 24/7 incident-response desk, real-time proof-of-reserve dashboard, and publicly browsable audit logs mean anyone (not just our team) can verify that nothing moves without multi-sig authorization.

 

In short: bank-grade rigor without the bank-grade red tape—exactly the control layer we need as DOP scales from crypto natives to enterprises that can’t deploy without a qualified custodian.

 

How Custodianship Will Work

Instead of one private key sitting in a single hardware wallet, control will migrate to an MPC (multi-party computation) scheme operated jointly by the custodian and the DOP core team. In an MPC setup the key is mathematically split into shards that never combine in one place; a valid signature can be produced only when both parties run the signing ceremony together. That means neither side can push an upgrade—or touch user funds—on its own.

 

In the rare event of a critical vulnerability, the custodian can initiate a short “pause” period while a fix is prepared, but the pause itself—and the subsequent patch—will still pass through the same dual-signature flow.

 

For everyday users the experience stays simple: balances remain accessible, and once the migration window closes, new encryptions will reopen on infrastructure that no single actor controls.

 

Immediate User Impact

– Deposits: Paused until the MPC solution is implemented.

– Balances & withdrawals: Unaffected; you can still move existing assets.

– Gas fees & UX: No change today, but improvements shipping with DOP-v2.

 

Long-Term Benefits

1. Trust-minimization — Users rely on a neutral, regulated entity instead of a single team.
2. Governance clarity — A defined, auditable process for upgrades replaces informal sign-offs.
3. Enterprise readiness — Institutional partners can tick the compliance box faster.
4. Path to DAO control — Multi-sig structure leaves a seat for future on-chain governance.

 

To conclude, reducing the trust you place in us is the highest form of respect we can show you. This custodian partnership is one more step toward a protocol that stands on its own—transparent, resilient, and ready for mass adoption.

 

How to Get Early Access or More Info

• Enterprise pilots: Email marketing@dop.org for early access and dedicated onboarding.
• Community: Follow our social channels for real-time updates.