Still using cold wallets? Military-grade "nuclear bunker" combined with MPC takes care of your Bitcoin.

Have you ever thought about using a "nuclear bunker" to store Bitcoin besides cold wallets? Xapo Bank, established in 2013, primarily utilizes Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology instead of traditional multi-signature methods and combines military-grade protection bunkers to safeguard Bitcoin. The media outlet Cointelegraph exclusively delves into this "giant guardian" hidden in the Swiss mountains.

A Close Encounter with the Giant Guardian

As the helicopter landed on a small runway in the mountains, military-grade gates appeared like a scene from a movie. Upon entering the mysterious shelter, visitors were required to surrender their phones, which were then stored in Faraday cages in their backpacks to cut off all contact with the outside world. Subsequent to this, visitors had to undergo multiple security checks, including identity verification and full-body searches, before being allowed into the core area.

Once inside the shelter, one had to pass through a roughly 30-meter-long rock tunnel to reach the next secure door. All entry and exit points were equipped with biometric scanners to detect all visiting personnel.

A Solid Line of Defense Against Threats

The history of this nuclear shelter can be traced back to the 1980s when it was jointly owned by Xapo's owner and the Swiss Air Force. It is now entirely privately managed. In addition to housing two 1-megawatt diesel generators, it also has HEPA air filtration systems capable of filtering out radioactive substances. The most impressive feature is its use of underground lake water as a cooling system to lower server temperatures and save energy. Furthermore, the shelter retains protective equipment from the past, such as grenade launch channels specifically designed to defend against enemy attacks.

From Multi-Signature to MPC: Safeguarding Bitcoin with "Shards"

Xapo spares no expense, investing millions of dollars annually to maintain this shelter, and in 2023, transitioned from traditional multi-signature technology to MPC. Previously, security personnel manually handled Bitcoin assets, transferring them between hot and cold wallets. Now, this process has been fully automated by MPC, significantly increasing security as clients' private keys have never been exposed.

Within the Xapo vault are MPC shards distributed globally and managed by different entities, ensuring that no single individual can access the complete private key. Note: MPC is a multi-party computation technology where each person has their own secret data, collaborating to perform a calculation without the need to share data with each other.

For the security of Bitcoin, from cold wallets to the unexpected use of a nuclear shelter for storage, it appears that Bitcoin may not only serve as a diversified investment tool but also potentially become a true "safe haven asset."