Web3 Security Forum Focuses on Underlying Hardware and System Architecture

Recently, a roundtable forum themed "Web3 Wallets and Custody Security" was held at the Global Web3 and AI Summit. The forum explored building a more secure and scalable asset protection mechanism for Web3 from the underlying perspective of hardware and system software.

The guests participating in the discussion include executives and founders from several well-known technology companies. They engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as user security pain points in Web3, advanced custody architecture, and the challenges and breakthroughs of the open-source ecosystem.

The forum host pointed out in the opening: "The security of private key custody and Web3 wallets heavily relies on the security of devices and hardware, yet discussions about the underlying system and hardware security are not common." He emphasized that current discussions on Web3 security often focus on on-chain protocols and smart contracts, while the decisive role of underlying hardware and system architecture is often overlooked.

A guest from a large tech company shared their team's technical architecture in high-security digital asset custody, including partitioning and cold storage signing processes based on EAL5+, and specifically introduced how the offline signing orchestrator system supports bank-grade custody services.

Another guest approached the issue from a practical perspective, pointing out through examples that the existing custody models "delegated custody" and "self-custody" both expose systemic risks. He further introduced a solution based on "distributed custody" and MPC-TSS technology, emphasizing the application value of a flexible and scalable signature structure for enterprises and individual users.

A founder of a startup discusses the practical challenges of open-source technology, sharing his team's practical experience in multi-terminal computing and local security isolation, and calls on the industry to think more systematically about the openness and reliability of the underlying architecture while ensuring user experience.

A guest analyzed the current key bottlenecks and countermeasures in hardware custody solutions based on years of experience in hardware security modules (HSM) and key management. He stated that hardware trust boundaries are crucial when building a global digital asset infrastructure.

In discussions about the future of Web3 wallets, guests generally believe that composable, modular multi-signature architectures will become the mainstream trend, and balancing user experience with security is the core challenge. An expert added: "Financial enterprises have become accustomed to using dedicated hardware for private key and signature management; related security assessments are also widely accepted by regulatory agencies. However, these assessments are not specifically aimed at verifying the security of blockchain signature implementations, so the level of security these systems provide for digital assets still requires auditing by professional blockchain security companies." He pointed out that "custody" is essentially a design issue rather than a single technology stack. An ideal custody solution should effectively prevent operational errors through system mechanisms while ensuring users have a reasonable degree of operational freedom.

In addition, regarding the role of open-source software in Web3 hosting, the guests expressed a cautious yet optimistic attitude. One guest pointed out the legal gaps and market barriers facing open-source chip design, calling for the industry to advance further in terms of security and transparency. Another expert also discussed how to achieve module-level open-source isolation without sacrificing performance, starting from the perspective of operating system-level security.

At the end of the forum, the host concluded: "The underlying technology of private key custody and wallets is still continuously evolving, and we look forward to providing provable and user-trusted security solutions through collaboration in the future."

This forum aims to promote the establishment and development of Web3 security standards from a systematic and structured perspective. In the current context of increasingly clear regulations and increasingly complex technologies, participants hope to provide cross-layer collaborative security solutions for developers, enterprises, and regulatory agencies.