The platform manages custody, transactions, and settlement across multiple blockchains for financial institutions entering digital asset markets.
IBM announced the launch of IBM Digital Asset Haven on Oct. 27, 2025, a platform for financial institutions, governments, and corporations to manage digital asset operations. The company developed the solution in collaboration with Dfns, a wallet infrastructure provider.
The platform supports the digital asset lifecycle from custody to transactions to settlement, according to the announcement. IBM Digital Asset Haven operates across more than 40 connected public and private blockchains.
The system includes pre-integrated third-party services for identity verification and financial crime prevention, with connectivity to core banking systems via REST APIs and SDKs.
Security Infrastructure and Key Management
IBM Digital Asset Haven incorporates multiple security layers built on IBM’s infrastructure. The platform supports Multi-Party Computation for distributed signing and IBM Crypto Express HSMs for hardware-based key protection.
IBM’s confidential computing capabilities through Hyper Protect Virtual Servers provide hardware-enforced isolation for key generation and transaction signing.
The platform integrates IBM Offline Signing Orchestrator, which Dfns announced support for on Oct. 16, 2025.
This feature enables automated cold storage operations through a policy-based system that creates a digital air gap between online and offline signing environments.
The orchestrator uses three isolated partitions on IBM Z hardware that communicate through secure channels without direct internet connectivity.
Competitive Landscape
IBM Digital Asset Haven enters a market where major cloud providers operate competing blockchain services. Oracle offers its Blockchain Platform, Microsoft provides Azure Web3 solutions, and Amazon operates Managed Blockchain.
The launch comes amid reliability concerns for competing cloud providers and overreliance on centralized infrastructure, highlighted by a recent AWS outage that disrupted Coinbase and other crypto platforms.
IBM’s move targets the same institutional tokenization market that Amazon Web Services is pursuing through its AWS partnership with Cronos for real-world asset adoption.
Dfns, IBM’s technology partner, completed a $16 million Series A funding round in Jan. 2025 led by Further Ventures.
The platform addresses growing institutional demand for secure digital asset storage, illustrated by recent developments like Absa Bank’s custody deal with Ripple in South Africa.
IBM Digital Asset Haven is expected to be available via SaaS and Hybrid SaaS in Q4 2025, with on-premises deployment planned for Q2 2026.
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