Cirus Foundation Partners with Shift Markets to Develop a Non-Custodial Wallet For Seamless Integration with CEX Platforms

• The high demand for a non-custodial wallet to be connected with global centralized exchanges after the FTX implosion has led to the partnership between Cirus and Shift Markets.

• Shift Markets, a leading Crypto-as-a-Service provider, has facilitated the development of 59+ crypto exchanges that support more than 40 million customers, thus providing a ready market for this new solution.

• With the development of the non-custodial wallet ongoing, the initial beta testing phase of the v1 is expected to kick off during the first quarter of 2024.

A year past the FTX and Alameda Research implosion that sent shockwaves to the entire cryptocurrency industry, investors have been withdrawing their digital assets for self-custody. The old slogan, ‘not your keys, not your coins’ has been a trending topic in the past year as the crypto industry goes mainstream. Interestingly, the Bitcoin balance on all centralized exchanges has hit its lowest level since 2017, indicating more investors are fleeing to non-custodial wallets like Ledger and MetaMask. 

However, the legacy crypto wallets in the market today are not designed for high throughput cryptocurrency trading with centralized exchanges (CEX) which are instrumental in the crypto landscape. As a result, Cirus Foundation, a Web3-powered solution that has been working over the years to democratize ownership of digital assets, has inked a strategic partnership with Shift Markets, a New York-based leading crypto exchange infrastructure provider, to develop a Wallet-CEX protocol to ease the Web3 adoption.

“After last year’s events with FTX, it was an obvious solution to prepare a wallet that would keep the user in control of their assets and be able to still achieve the convenience of CEXs,” Ian McAfee, the Chief Executive Officer of Shift Markets and Co-Founder, noted. 

A Closer Look at the Web3 Wallet Initiative by Cirus Foundation and Shift Markets

According to the announcement,  the Web3 wallet initiative by Shift Markets and Cirus Foundation has been in development for the past year and the initial version is expected to be tested during the first quarter of 2024. Notably, the initiative is a unique solution geared towards helping cryptocurrency traders reduce their reliance and trust on centralized exchanges.  Ideally, the upcoming Web3 wallet will give users complete control of their assets while still enabling them to  transact with centralized exchanges all while removing the risk associated with keeping funds on exchanges.. Furthermore, the Circus-powered Web3 wallet will include industry-leading Multi-Party-Computation (MPC) technology unlocking a better user experience while not having to sacrifice security. 

“It’s time for a new change – the technology that powers current exchanges needs a massive upgrade. We shouldn’t still be running on Windows 95 when we have Apple, to put things in perspective. The exchange tech that exists is old, outdated, not secured or impervious to hacks, and definitely not separated from the hands of a few. This goes back to the origins of Bitcoin, decentralization, and Web3 – why wouldn’t we use our own industry’s technology to better upgrade these systems?.. It’s about time,” Michael Luckhoo, the founder of Cirus, noted.

The cryptocurrency industry is expected to attract billions of investors in the coming years as it currently offers a higher return compared to traditional financial instruments. Already, Shift Markets has been operating in the past ten years providing essential services to 59+ cryptocurrency exchanges with more than 40 million users. 

“It’s a classic example of the first movers, willing followers, and the unwilling followers. Migrating exchanges over to this new standard is a must. This is an inevitable solution and one that ensures the Web3 industry becomes a leader in sovereign asset control – an example the world needs, not just our industry,” Mike Miclea, Director at Cirus, highlighted.

Worth noting that the initial wallet deployment will be a desktop extension, which is similar to the Ethereum-based Metamask, but with a direct account-linking feature to participating cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, the Cirus-powered Web3 wallet will include features that enable high-frequency trades and lower transaction costs.

Market Implication

The partnership between the Cirus Foundation and Shift Markets is expected to have a significant influence on the CIRUS token, which is used to reward users of Cirus. As of this report, the CIRUS token traded around 4 cents, up more than 30 percent in the past 24 hours amid the ongoing Bitcoin breakout. Since the partnership has mutual benefits, the Shift Markets is expected to attract more institutional customers to tap into its blockchain products that range in regulated software among other developments.