Fordefi

Fordefi is an institutional-grade Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallet and security platform purpose-built for decentralized finance. Founded in 2021 with offices in New York and Tel Aviv, it gives crypto hedge funds, market makers, trading firms, and web3 companies a way to self-custody digital assets while retaining the ability to transact across hundreds of DeFi protocols — without choosing between security and operational flexibility.

The Core Problem

Institutional participants in DeFi face a structural bind. Hardware wallets and traditional custodians offer strong key security but slow, manual signing workflows that break high-frequency on-chain operations. Hot wallets and software solutions enable speed but expose private keys to single points of failure. Fordefi resolves this by splitting private keys using MPC cryptography: no complete key ever exists in one place, while signers can still approve and broadcast transactions in near-real time.

Architecture and Technology

Fordefi's platform is organized around its MPC key management infrastructure, which eliminates single points of failure by ensuring that no single server, device, or employee possesses a complete private key. Transaction signing requires distributed cooperation between components, meaning compromise of any one element does not expose funds.

On top of this foundation, Fordefi layers a proprietary browser extension that acts as a chain-agnostic wallet connector. It integrates directly with dApp front-ends the same way MetaMask or Phantom would, but routes signing through the institutional MPC backend. Every transaction is simulated before broadcast, smart contract addresses are independently verified, and time-of-transaction risk alerts surface potential threats before a user approves. The platform calls this "Transaction Clarity" — replacing the "blind signing" problem that has contributed to large institutional losses.

A policy engine enables organizations to define granular rules governing who can sign what, under which conditions. Policies can be scoped to specific users, dApps, transaction types, value thresholds, and protocol-level actions, providing compliance teams and risk managers with audit-ready controls without requiring manual human review for every transaction.

Platform Components

The full Fordefi product suite includes:

• Web Console: A dashboard for creating vaults, building and managing policies, monitoring portfolios, and reviewing transaction history.
• Browser Extension: A multi-chain wallet connector enabling direct interaction with dApp interfaces across EVM chains, Solana, Aptos, Sui, StarkEx, and others.
• Mobile App (iOS and Android): Transaction approval tracking with detailed visibility into pending operations.
• REST API: A developer-facing interface for programmatic transaction construction, submission, and lifecycle management.
• MPC SDK (Wallet-as-a-Service): Allows platforms to embed Fordefi's wallet creation and key management technology into their own products.

Solana Support

Fordefi added native Solana support in June 2023, becoming one of the first institutional MPC wallet providers to extend institutional-grade controls to a non-EVM chain. The browser extension connects directly to Solana dApps — including AMMs like Orca — without requiring third-party wallet extensions. Transaction simulation, contract address verification, and risk alerting apply to Solana transactions the same way they do on EVM chains. The platform subsequently added support for Fogo, a Solana-based blockchain, extending its Solana ecosystem footprint further.

Supported Chains and Assets

Fordefi supports operations across more than 90 blockchains. In addition to Solana, these include EVM-compatible networks, StarkEx-powered platforms (a partnership with StarkWare made Fordefi the first institutional MPC wallet to support StarkEx dApps), Aptos, Sui, and Bitcoin DeFi through a partnership with Babylon enabling institutional BTC staking. Staking integrations are available through Figment for Ethereum and Chorus One for additional assets.

Security and Compliance

Fordefi has achieved SOC 2 Type II certification, audited by Ernst & Young, making it — at the time of certification — the first institutional DeFi wallet to reach that compliance bar. The platform has undergone penetration testing by Skylight Cyber and an independent audit by NCC Group. Insurance coverage is provided through Munich Re. Notable institutional clients include Wintermute, Pantera Capital, and Keyrock.

Funding History

Fordefi raised $18 million in a seed round in November 2022, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Electric Capital, Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, Castle Island Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Defiance Capital, StarkWare, and others. In February 2024, the company raised an additional $10 million in a seed extension led by Electric Capital, with Paxos and Alchemy joining as new investors.

Paxos Acquisition

In November 2025, Paxos — the regulated blockchain infrastructure company behind USDP, PayPal USD, and settlement services for major financial institutions — announced it had acquired Fordefi. Paxos cited the combination of its decade of regulated infrastructure experience with Fordefi's wallet technology as the foundation for building a broader enterprise custody and on-chain finance layer. Fordefi continues operating its product independently under Paxos ownership, and over time Paxos plans to integrate Fordefi's technology into its wider infrastructure stack.

Position in the Solana Ecosystem

Fordefi occupies the institutional custody and access layer for Solana DeFi — the infrastructure that allows professional trading firms, crypto funds, and fintech companies to interact with Solana protocols at scale without sacrificing key security. Its browser extension provides the same on-chain connectivity that retail wallets offer, but wrapped in MPC key management, policy controls, and compliance-grade audit trails. For Solana, where DeFi activity has grown significantly among professional counterparties, Fordefi represents one of the primary institutional entry points to the ecosystem's protocols.