“Tringlr Is a Cut Above Other Digital Asset Storage Solutions”: Choise.ai Founder Speaks About Their New Hybrid SMPC Technology
Balancing security and convenience is a constant challenge in managing crypto finances. Hot and cold wallets, along with centralized and decentralized storage systems, have unique benefits, but they also come with risks like forgetting seed phrases, losing wallets, or unauthorized access to funds. This leads to a persistent dilemma: how can wallet providers ensure robust security without sacrificing user friendliness?
Last week, Choise.ai, a versatile ecosystem emerging as a Web3 digital banking development marketplace, introduced a new hybrid SMPC technology that aims to strike this balance and enable the creation of digital wallets with ultimate security. According to the team, the solution, called Tringlr, will offer safe yet flexible and convenient management of funds, minimizing risks from personal errors or unauthorized access.
To learn more about Tringlr’s potential impact on the crypto world, Cryptopolitan interviewed Vlad Gorbunov, founder of Choise.ai. He discussed the growing trend of hybrid digital asset storage and emphasized Choise.ai’s focus on enterprise-level security, illustrating how Tringlr could drive mass adoption in the crypto industry.
Vladimir, with the recent collapse of FTX, how urgent is the need for decentralized storage of digital assets?
The collapse of FTX in 2022 was a wake-up call for the crypto industry. It highlighted the inherent risks of centralized storage and reminded us that entrusting large sums to a single entity can lead to disastrous outcomes. However, this isn’t a new problem. Centralized storage has always had vulnerabilities. When you put your money in a bank or a centralized exchange (CEX), you’re relying on their stability and security. If they go under, your funds might vanish along with them. FTX was just one high-profile example, but other centralized platforms also went bankrupt in 2022, leading to an estimated 100 billion dollars in losses.
This has left countless people without access to their assets, emphasizing the need for decentralized storage where you retain control over your funds. But even though decentralized solutions can mitigate some of these risks by allowing you to control your own funds, they have their own challenges. The most significant is the potential loss of access due to forgotten seed phrases or lost hardware wallets. There’s no central authority to help you recover your assets if you make a mistake or fall victim to a hack.
So, I’d say that these issues have led to a growing demand for a hybrid approach that would combine the advantages of centralized and decentralized storage while mitigating their respective weaknesses. The crypto industry has been desperate for a solution that provides robust security without compromising the convenience and accessibility of centralized services. Tringlr is designed to meet this need. It pioneers a broader trend where people are reclaiming control over their finances. We believe that if someone earns money or obtains any digital assets, they should maintain full ownership, with no one else having the power or authority to take it away.
What does it mean to say that Tringlr radically changes how people control their assets?
Tringlr is about creating a new paradigm in asset storage. Historically, you had two options for storing your money: keep it with someone else, like a bank or an investment fund, or manage it yourself. As already mentioned, both choices come with significant downsides. If you opt for centralized storage, you must trust that institution’s security, governance, and financial stability. If it fails, you could lose your assets, and insurance might not cover all your losses. Additionally, centralized systems often require strict identity verification and compliance with regulations, which can be cumbersome and limit your flexibility. On the other hand, decentralized storage gives you complete control but demands a high level of responsibility. Furthermore, it can be complex and intimidating for many users, leading to mistakes that result in financial loss.
Tringlr changes this dynamic by offering a hybrid Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) model that merges the best of both worlds. SMPC has been used in the market for decentralized storage, allowing certain aspects of authorization to be managed by third parties without compromising security. Unlike two-factor authentication, which can be breached if someone gains access to your device or email, SMPC’s secondary authorization happens separately, offering additional security. In the case of Tringlr, each transaction must be verified by at least two of three possible parties: the user initiating the operation, a centralized authority, and a designated validator that we call a “secure agent.”
One key aspect of Tringlr’s hybrid functionality is that you can store your assets in a decentralized way while still using centralized operations when needed. This allows you to conduct crypto-to-crypto exchanges and transfers while also enabling crypto-to-fiat conversions, bank card recharges, or IBAN transfers. Tringlr ensures that both components work together smoothly. A decentralized transaction requires centralized confirmation and vice versa, providing a seamless integration that enhances both security and convenience. And the second part of Tringlr’s capability addresses the typical security issues found in both centralized and decentralized storage systems.
Could you please elaborate?
Apart from requiring compliance with KYC and AML regulations, the biggest drawback of centralized storage is that the institution in control can restrict your access to funds or even seize them under certain conditions. Tringlr’s decentralized component provides several safeguards to counteract this risk. First, it allows you to set transaction limits within the centralized component. For example, you can restrict transfers to 100 dollars per day, ensuring that even if someone gains unauthorized access, they can’t move large sums of money. Second, it lets you set up a backup wallet that cannot be accessed by an institution. You can move your funds to this wallet with the help of a secure agent in the event of centralized interference.
Beyond this reliable exit strategy, another key feature is the ability to pre-define specific events that trigger the backup mechanism. For example, if your centralized wallet remains inactive for a certain period, the system automatically transfers funds to the backup wallet and sends all access information to a designated individual, such as a relative or friend. This ensures that even if you’re unable to manage your assets due to unforeseen circumstances, someone you trust can access them without manual intervention. As for decentralized storage risks, the backup wallet also serves as a robust recovery option if the user is no longer able to access their assets due to a loss of keys or a hardware failure.
As mentioned earlier, Tringlr’s backup system will use multi-party authorization to ensure that sensitive information remains secure during the backup process, preventing unauthorized access. Adding new wallets to the backup system will require approval from both the wallet owner and a secure agent, making it extremely difficult to tamper with.
It’s crucial to note that Tringlr will undergo beta testing within the next few months. During this phase, select users, along with our institutional clients and partners, will test the system, providing valuable feedback to help fine-tune the technology ahead of its official launch. To ensure Tringlr’s triple-layered security holds up under pressure, we also plan to host hackathons, where developer teams will be invited to attempt to breach the system.
This rigorous testing is essential, given that Tringlr’s security framework is designed to be nearly impenetrable. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where this technology could be compromised, which means Tringlr has the potential to set a brand new standard for crypto wallet security. This high level of reliability should encourage widespread adoption, giving people greater confidence in regaining their right to own their assets without external interference.
Could you go into more detail about the role of secure agents within the Tringlr technology?
Secure agents will act as decentralized smart contracts, overseeing transaction authorization. However, unlike traditional systems, they won’t manually approve each operation. Instead, they’ll rely on zero-knowledge solutions, allowing them to impose restrictions on specific operations based on certain conditions and configurations. The number of secure agents required to validate a transaction will depend on the amount of capital in the decentralized component. The greater the capital, the more agents are needed, creating consensus and distributing risk. In this structure, if a thousand secure agents verify a transaction and it later turns out that ten shouldn’t have done so, those ten could lose part of their stake. Also, if some agents make errors, the majority’s consensus prevents unauthorized transactions from being completed.
Additionally, secure agents will earn rewards for every transaction they authorize, creating a natural incentive for them to support legitimate operations. However, if they validate malicious transactions, they risk losing a portion of their stake, similar to what happens with Ethereum staking. This structure encourages caution and careful decision-making, ensuring the system’s integrity.
This entire framework will operate using the CHO token, the native token of Choise.ai. This setup will provide additional tools and use cases for CHO in the tokenomics, both for rewarding secure agents and for covering transaction fees. By the way, the transaction costs, paid in CHO tokens, are expected to remain on par with typical blockchain transactions, keeping the process cost-effective.
Per the official announcement, Tringlr would support multiple blockchains. Please explain how this will work.
Tringlr will use account abstraction technology, allowing users to hold and transfer funds across various chains, including Ethereum and its Layer-2 solutions like Base, as well as Polygon, Tron, and eventually Solana, without needing to maintain a specific amount of capital in each native currency. This is an important feature, as it offers greater flexibility and convenience. We are confident that the blockchain market is moving toward increased interoperability, and the easier and faster it becomes for people to move their funds across different blockchains, the more likely it is that we’ll see mass adoption of blockchains and the broader crypto market.
Alright, we’ve discussed how individuals can empower fund storage. And what opportunities does Tringlr offer to businesses and enterprises?
Great question. I believe this technology should be at the core of most institutions, banks, and companies pursuing the democratization of finance, allowing people to truly regain control over their assets. By launching Tringlr, we expect to trigger a transformation in how assets are stored in the future. Our company, Vault, a leading provider of B2B digital crypto banking solutions with over 60 clients, plans to integrate Tringlr into all its offerings. This means that in the coming years, we’ll bring this technology to hundreds of partner companies, banks, and fintech firms, embedding it in their products. Our goal is to ensure that every user has access to this functionality, making it easy for any company to adopt and benefit from it.
Tringlr is also an ideal solution for businesses seeking safe storage options. As more corporations enter the crypto market, they’re not just storing thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. For these companies, the safety of their funds and the security of their infrastructure are paramount, sometimes involving stakes worth billions. This is why technologies with multiple layers of protection, various authorization levels, and a mix of centralized and decentralized components are so valuable. They allow funds to be stored in a decentralized manner, offering a simple yet highly secure way to manage and use digital assets. At the same time, they retain centralized control over access, with internal and external independent parties further enhancing the system’s security.
Would you say that the hybrid SMPC technology represents the cutting edge in crypto wallet security? Or is there still room for improvement?
Decentralized storage was the first major breakthrough in the industry, allowing funds to be stored on the blockchain while providing access through applications and maintaining personal ownership. The introduction of MPC and SMPC significantly enhanced decentralized storage security. However, the hybrid SMPC technology used in Tringlr takes it a step further by providing a new level of convenience and an additional layer of security when dealing with centralized services.
Previously, transferring funds from a decentralized to a centralized system always involved a certain level of risk. With Tringlr, this process now occurs within a unified framework where centralized and decentralized components can mutually authorize transactions. Therefore, I believe this technology represents the most advanced method for storing digital assets.
However, there’s always room for improvement, and we’re continually exploring ways to advance the technology. New ideas and innovative approaches may emerge from the market, but we believe that Tringlr is already a significant step forward compared to other existing solutions, completely redefining how people store their finances and giving them a greater sense of security and autonomy.
You mentioned plans to distribute Tringlr among your B2B clients. How do you think its widespread use will affect the pace of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies in the next five years?
Safety is the primary concern for people managing their assets. Traditionally, security has come from the stability and reputation of banks. But if a technology like Tringlr can offer security without relying on banks, with a level of protection that’s nearly impossible to breach, it has the potential to attract tens, if not hundreds, of millions of users.
Consider the emerging generation – the kids and young adults who are just entering the financial world. They already have a degree of skepticism about banks and traditional financial institutions. They are more inclined to use crypto assets to store their money. Tringlr offers a security standard far above what conventional banks provide, creating an attractive alternative for this new demographic.
Tringlr’s combination of robust security and decentralized control could significantly impact the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. This technology can build trust in the crypto space and draw more people into the market, not just by promising security but by delivering it in a way that traditional banks cannot.
When we developed Tringlr, our primary objective was to create the most reliable and secure digital wallet, one that genuinely empowers people to take control of their money. With Tringlr, individuals truly own their funds, reaping all the benefits of various storage systems. This adaptable approach represents a significant shift in how not just cryptocurrencies and other digital assets but money as a whole is managed, resonating with a new generation that increasingly mistrusts traditional banking institutions.
