Fintech CEO: Tesla Crypto Mining Quality Debate Illustrates Custody Quandaries

CNBC broke a story about Siraj Raval, a man claiming significant profits off his 2018 Tesla Model 3, turning the car into a Bitcoin mining machine. Others interviewed in the article downplayed the possibilities for significant profit. One fintech CEO offered his comments on how the controversy has corollaries to the existing custody market.

“As long as there is profit to be made in digital assets, there will be folks looking for ways to cash in, utilizing any edge available to them. While many consider the efforts of Rival to be not worth the hassle, folks will always look for a way to get their slice of the pie — even if it isn’t optimal. Just look at the custody situation playing out right now. The companies, even those which are considered industry leaders, are lacking,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.

Fireblocks, which is among the best known custody providers, found itself embroiled in a lawsuit with StakeHound, which alleges the custody company lost roughly $70MM of Ethereum, after the key vanished. As a result, StakeHound could not access over 38,000 ETH.

“It is like back in the gold mining days. It wasn’t just those that found gold that hit it big. So, too, did the providers of pickaxes and blue jeans. Remember Levi Strauss? It isn’t just about making money on the investment side. Here, folks will look for ways to mine or find other ways to involve themselves in the ecosystem,” Gardner said. “The custody providers we have now aren’t those who have a long track record in fintech or cybersecurity. Instead, they’re folks that jumped in, gathered some big name investors, and called it a day.”

Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry’s most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.

“The current crop of custody providers smelled blood in the water and identified the need. They didn’t consider what would happen when their product was exposed for being less than what the industry required. Custody in the digital assets space is much more than an administrative process. There is a lot more to it, and we’re already starting to see the cracks among the Johnny-come-latelies,” said Gardner.