Google Cloud officially entered the cryptocurrency custody arena on October 28, 2026, unveiling its new Multi-Party Compute (MPC) system for institutional clients. This significant development arrived during Google’s inaugural digital assets symposium in New York. The move seeks to bolster security for large-scale digital asset holdings.
This strategic announcement comes as leading cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) continue to hold key support levels in the market. Simultaneously, the emerging meme coin project, Pepeto (PEP), has declared an ambitious target: a potential $11 billion market capitalization, drawing comparisons to the original Pepe coin’s prior success.
Google Cloud’s institutional crypto custody solution
Google Cloud is positioning its new Multi-Party Compute (MPC) crypto custody system as a crucial security layer for financial institutions. The technology is currently in a private preview phase with several major partners. A broader commercial release is targeted for early 2027, indicating Google’s cautious yet determined entry into the regulated digital asset space.
The core motivation behind this initiative is to address pervasive industry fears concerning key loss and the complexities of wallet management. Google aims to simplify private key security for enterprises. This approach could significantly de-risk institutional participation in the burgeoning digital asset economy.
Interestingly, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is already leveraging this MPC technology to safeguard its own digital assets. These holdings span across both the Ethereum and Solana networks. This internal adoption underscores Google’s confidence in its proprietary security framework.
The company held its first digital assets symposium on October 28, 2026, where the new custody solution was revealed. This event signals a more direct engagement from Google Cloud with the evolving needs of the institutional crypto market.
How Multi-Party Compute enhances digital asset security
The Google Multi-Party Compute (MPC) system is engineered to prevent a single point of failure in digital asset security. It achieves this by splitting signing keys into separate shares. These shares are then distributed across multiple, independent locations for enhanced protection.
Specifically, the system stores key shares on banks’ own hardware, on Google Cloud infrastructure, and on a third, independent cloud provider. This tripartite distribution ensures no single entity can unilaterally access or compromise the private key. It demands collaboration from multiple parties to sign transactions.
The MPC system employs threshold signing mechanisms, such as 2-of-3 or 5-of-7, for transaction authorization. This means a predefined number of key shares must concur before any transaction is executed. This setup adds a robust layer of collective security.
Moreover, the system incorporates policy checks that evaluate transaction parameters like limits, destinations, and necessary approvals. These checks occur before a signature is finalized. This comprehensive architecture is even designed to accommodate future post-quantum cryptography upgrades, ensuring long-term security resilience for digital asset funds.
A shifting regulatory landscape for crypto custody
Google Cloud’s entry into the custody market aligns with a rapidly evolving regulatory environment for digital assets. Global market projections underscore this shift, with the digital asset custody market valued at $683.4 billion in 2024 and forecasted to reach $4,378.8 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 23.6%.
North America led this market in 2024, capturing a 39.5% revenue share. The growth is largely fueled by increasing institutional adoption of regulated custody solutions, partly spurred by approvals for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds. MPC-based key management is emerging as the dominant architectural choice, with over 70% of new institutional crypto products in 2026 launching with an MPC-first design.
Regulatory bodies in the U.S. have been actively shaping the framework for digital asset custody. On October 1, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to its custody rules. These changes fall under the Investment Company Act and Investment Advisers Act, aiming to establish a clearer custody framework for crypto assets.
The proposed rules would explicitly permit registered investment advisers, registered funds, and Business Development Companies (BDCs) to utilize state trust companies for crypto custody. They also allow advisers to self-custody client crypto assets when qualified custodians are unavailable. However, this is subject to stringent safeguarding requirements and enhanced board oversight for regulated funds.
Further demonstrating this shift, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, alongside the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), withdrew a joint statement on May 15, 2025. This 2019 statement had previously restricted broker-dealers from custodying digital asset securities. Additionally, the SEC Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter on September 30, 2025.
This effectively allowed state-chartered trust companies to be considered “banks” for crypto custody under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940.
The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) also contributed to regulatory clarity by rescinding SR 23-7 on September 15, 2026. This action integrated the supervision of novel activities, including digital assets, into its standard supervisory process. It signals a maturation of understanding regarding associated risks, influencing investor sentiment and market infrastructure development.
Ethereum and Solana maintain support amid market stability
Amidst Google’s institutional foray, major cryptocurrencies Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) have demonstrated resilience, holding critical support levels. As of October 28, 2026, Ethereum was trading around $2,359, while Solana stood at approximately $102.5. Both assets experienced largely sideways movement following recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) events.
Despite this general stability, US Ethereum funds faced some headwinds, registering losses of approximately $170 million over three days leading up to October 28, 2026. This indicates a degree of capital outflow or profit-taking within the institutional ETH investment vehicles, even as the underlying asset maintained its price floor.
By October 31, 2026, Ethereum’s price remained stable, fluctuating between $2,248.98 and $2,253.28 USD. Its market capitalization was firmly positioned around $274.79 billion to $274.81 billion USD. Daily trading volumes for ETH ranged from $1.77 billion to $4.69 billion USD, showing consistent market activity.
The modest price increase of +0.73% to +1.21% for ETH over the past 24 hours suggests a gentle upward pressure. This stability for both Ethereum and Solana is particularly notable. It occurs during a period where institutional players, like Google Cloud, are making significant infrastructure moves into the crypto space.
Pepeto’s ambitious $11 billion market capitalization goal
Beyond the institutional developments, the meme coin sector continues to attract attention, with Pepeto (PEP) making headlines. This new presale project is spearheaded by a co-founder of the original Pepe coin, which previously achieved an impressive $11 billion market cap. Pepeto is now “eyeing $11B” itself, indicating a similar aspirational target.
The project has already garnered substantial interest during its presale phase, securing over $11.1 million in funding from early buyers. This strong initial backing suggests considerable community excitement. It also reflects confidence in its potential, fueled by its connection to the successful predecessor.
Pepeto isn’t merely a speculative token; it offers tangible utility through its PepetoSwap platform. This zero-fee exchange facilitates swaps across six different networks. It also includes a cross-chain bridge, enabling value transfers between chains without incurring additional fees. The exchange aims to provide composable settlement across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana, incorporating AI screening for listed contracts.
The token supply for Pepeto is fixed at 420 trillion tokens across all supported chains, mirroring a strategy often employed by meme coins. During its presale, Pepeto also offered live staking, with an impressive Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 161% at one point. Rewards from staking are claimable upon the token’s official listing.
Comparisons to established meme coins highlight Pepeto’s potential. As of April 18, 2026, Pepeto’s fully diluted market cap stood at approximately $78 million. In contrast, the original PEPE coin reached an all-time high of $11 billion and was trading near $5 billion. Dogecoin (DOGE) was near $12 billion around the same time.
Analysts are even projecting a significant 100x move from Pepeto’s presale price post-listing, though such price predictions are inherently speculative.