# Bitcoin custody must put security first, with multiple approvals and supply-chain controls

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/48545
Published: 2026-11-04T14:21:18.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-04T14:21:18.000Z
Section: Investing

> Swan Bitcoin CEO Corey Klipsten said custody providers should put asset protection first, emphasizing layered approvals, automatic transfer pauses and hardware-wallet supply-chain controls.

Protecting customer assets should take priority over profitability in cryptocurrency custody. Monitoring large transfers, automatically pausing suspicious activity and controlling hardware-wallet supply chains are central to that responsibility.

In a discussion on Cointelegraph’s X account on November 4, Swan Bitcoin CEO Corey Klipsten said the industry needed stronger defenses to stay ahead of attackers. He said safeguarding customer assets should be a company’s first responsibility, with profitability pursued on that foundation.

Klipsten illustrated the need for layered safeguards with the custody arrangements for the Czech Republic’s crown jewels. He compared the requirement for seven officials from separate departments to turn their keys simultaneously to a seven-of-seven multisignature arrangement. Compromising a laptop and altering permissions or code should not be enough to move substantial assets, he argued.

Unusual movements involving tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, or billions, should trigger an automatic pause, he said. He acknowledged that he was not a security engineering specialist and cautioned against judging another company’s operations. Large exchanges serve hedge funds, proprietary trading firms and major traders that routinely transfer substantial sums, he noted.

Klipsten questioned the assumption that hacks would necessarily become more frequent. He said the industry needed to strengthen its defenses and continually examine what could go wrong. Swan Bitcoin, he added, had consistently devoted disproportionate resources and attention to security relative to other business activities.

Hardware-wallet security also requires control over the entire supply chain through delivery to the end user, he said. Discussing device tampering involving Trezor and Ledger resellers, he stressed the need to vet distributors thoroughly. Expecting customers to dismantle devices themselves to check for added components places a substantial burden on them, he said.

Those custody concerns were also driving demand for collaborative custody, in which customers and service providers share responsibility for securing assets, Klipsten said. He reported a sharp increase in users coming to Swan Vault. Focusing exclusively on Bitcoin also makes security more manageable, he argued, by reducing exposure to attack routes across numerous blockchains and decentralized finance transactions.