The custody of digital assets: A conversation with Finoa

Finoa is a company specialized in the custody of digital assets for institutional investors and companies. Cashlink spoke with the managing director Henrik Gebbing about the special solutions in the area of custody.

Cashlink: Dear Henrik, it’s nice that you are a guest in our interview series today. Please introduce yourself and your company to Finoa.

Henrik Gebbing: With pleasure! Finoa is a Berlin-based FinTech, which specializes in financial services for digital assets. We offer our clients high-security custody, staking services and trading with OTC platforms and brokers.

Cashlink: You are one of our most important partner companies, which was recently demonstrated once again by our joint issue with Bankhaus Scheich. Please tell us again how Finoa contributed to this successful issue with Bankhaus Scheich.

Henrik Gebbing: We have provided Bankhaus Scheich and the transaction participants with Finoa with the securities accounts for the safekeeping and settlement of the tokenized assets and have integrated the token standard into our infrastructure for this purpose. After the successful issuance of tokenized assets, secure, technical custody in specialized depots is essential to prevent the loss of the assets and to enable the investing parties to actively manage their investments.

Cashlink: How do you guarantee the high level of security required at Finoa? What measures do you take to ensure it?

Henrik Gebbing: Finoa works with the highest security standards in the field of cryptography, military and banking technology. For example, we use so-called Hardware Security Module (HSMs), which are also used by intelligence services or in the area of credit card security. For this purpose, we have put together a highly heterogeneous team of banking, cryptography and blockchain technologies.

Cashlink: What are the specific advantages of your custody system?

Henrik Gebbing: We use so-called warm storage technology, which stores digital assets under the highest security standards, but at the same time continues to make them accessible to users. In combination with biometric identification via fingerprint or Face-ID on the smartphone, the user can access their assets within seconds. At any time, at any place.

Cashlink: The new Bafin regulation for crypto-custody has now been in effect for several months. What is your first feedback?

Henrik Gebbing: Highly positive. Finoa itself is a provisionally licensed crypto custodian according to §64y KWG and currently in exchange for a license confirmation with Bafin. We see the progressive regulation as a great opportunity, as these traditional companies bring confidence and understanding to a new asset class in the financial sector. As Finoa, we believe we are excellently positioned to serve the market as a regulated crypto-custodian.

Cashlink: How did you come to choose custody solutions for professional investors and companies?

Henrik Gebbing: Professionally investing individuals and companies not only have a very special understanding of quality and service, but are also the most important financial market participants in quantitative terms, i.e. in terms of their share of total capital. We identified early on that this customer group was inadequately served in the area of digital assets.

Cashlink: How do you estimate the future development of digital asset custody in the coming years?

Henrik Gebbing: The custody of digital assets will completely redefine the role of traditional custodians. In addition to a tech stack to be established from scratch, extended services such as staking will redefine the market.

Cashlink: What exactly does your product portfolio include?

Henrik Gebbing: In addition to the highly secure safekeeping of almost all digital assets such as crypto currencies, usage tokens and security tokens, we also offer our customers staking services as well as trading with OTC platforms and brokers. Our portfolio will of course continue to be adapted to the latest developments in the ecosystem. We believe that blockchain technology is only at the beginning of its development.

Cashlink: And finally, how do companies benefit from the collaboration between Finoa and Cashlink?

Henrik Gebbing: Professionally investing individuals and companies with a Finoa deposit are not only able to securely store their crypto currencies with us, but also gain access to all digital issues launched through Cashlink. This enables the creation of a one-stop digital asset portfolio from two of the leading regulated companies and financial service providers in the digital asset sector.