IBM targets banks and governments with new crypto platform

IBM is aiming to serve organizations that need blockchain tools to look and feel like traditional financial infrastructure. The new platform centers on secure custody and policy enforcement, reflecting how compliance now shapes digital asset adoption.

According to a press release dated Oct. 27, the tech stalwart has launched IBM Digital Asset Haven, a platform developed with custody specialist Dfns, to serve banks, government agencies, and other entities that want to manage tokenized assets without sacrificing control.

The IBM team said the system gives regulated entities a single solution for the entire digital asset lifecycle, from custody to settlement, while embedding policy enforcement and key residency controls directly into its architecture. It is slated for a SaaS rollout before year’s end.

“With IBM Digital Asset Haven, our clients have the opportunity to enter and expand into the digital asset space backed by IBM’s level of security and reliability,” Tom McPherson, General Manager, IBM Z and LinuxONE, said “This new, unified platform delivers the resilience and data governance they have been asking for, empowering governments and enterprises to build the next generation of financial services.”

IBM builds the rails for regulated digital asset finance

IBM is positioning Digital Asset Haven as infrastructure that mirrors the operational rigor of established finance. The platform introduces Transaction Lifecycle Management, a system designed to automate the entire flow of a blockchain transaction.

This feature handles everything from initial routing and monitoring to final settlement across a network of more than 40 supported public and private blockchains. For institutions navigating a multi-chain reality, this aims to eliminate the need to build and maintain separate, complex integrations for each distributed ledger.

The IBM platform also provides a unified framework for Governance and Entitlement Management, allowing administrators to define and enforce precise policies for wallet access and transaction approvals. This is supported by multi-party authorization workflows that can be tailored to specific operational needs, mirroring the internal controls that banks already use for high-value wire transfers and other sensitive financial operations.

To accelerate deployment, IBM has pre-integrated a suite of third-party solutions directly into the platform. These integrations cover essential services like identity verification, commonly known as KYC , and financial crime prevention for anti-money laundering compliance.

The platform also offers developer-friendly tools, including REST APIs and SDKs, allowing clients to weave in additional services or connect their own proprietary systems, creating a customizable operational hub.

Perhaps the most critical component for its target audience is the Holistic Security and Key Management. The system is built upon IBM’s established infrastructure, incorporating both Multi-Party Computation and Hardware Security Module based signing, the latter embedded in its IBM Z and LinuxONE mainframes.

It also integrates a specialized tool for secured cold storage, a requirement in a growing number of jurisdictions. Notably, the platform includes guidance for quantum-safe cryptography, a forward-looking feature that addresses emerging threats still over the horizon.

Potential use cases

The intended use cases for this technology are aimed at the institutional world. According to IBM, financial institutions could embed digital asset services directly into their existing online banking channels.

Payment providers might leverage it for near real-time cross-border settlements using stablecoins. For government entities, the platform is positioned as a vault for securing strategic reserves or the underlying infrastructure for a central bank digital currency.

As a provider of global hybrid cloud and AI solutions, IBM’s foray into this space with a comprehensive digital asset platform marks a significant inflection point. It signals that the infrastructure required for large-scale institutional entry into the digital asset economy is now being built not by crypto-native startups alone, but by the same giants that have long underpinned the world’s traditional financial systems.