FactorWeightWhat it measuresTop score looks like
Custody model18%Whether keys sit with one party (custodial) or are distributed across multiple parties or the user themselves.Collaborative multisig where no single party — including the provider — can move client coins alone.
Key management16%The exact signing structure: single-sig, 2-of-3, 3-of-5, MPC, threshold schemes, and how keys are generated and stored.Institutional MPC or multi-of-many distributed signing with hardware-isolated key generation.
Insurance & recourse14%Whether the provider carries crime, theft, or key-loss coverage — and whether the policy scope is explicit enough to be useful.Named Lloyd's-syndicated policy with disclosed cover amount, key-loss inclusion, and a known claims process.
Regulatory status12%The legal envelope around the custody business: state trust company, qualified custodian, federally chartered bank, or no oversight at all.Federally chartered crypto bank (OCC) or NYDFS-licensed trust company with active supervisory examinations.
Recovery story12%What happens after a key loss, owner incapacitation, or death — including inheritance triggers, co-signer paths, and seed-phrase backup design.Explicit inheritance trigger with named co-signers and a documented recovery procedure.
Transparency & audits10%Public disclosure cadence — SOC-2 reports, proof-of-reserves, incident history publication, and customer-agreement legibility.SOC-2 Type-2 audited, periodic reserve attestation, and a public incident retro for any past event.
Track record10%Years operating under the current custody design, and the absence (or presence) of operational incidents during that time.8+ years operating with zero client-asset loss events and a published security-incident retrospective.
Loss history8%Whether any client-asset loss event has been disclosed or implicated against this provider specifically.No loss event in provider history; if one occurred, it was disclosed promptly with a clear corrective-action record.
Total100%Overall score = weighted sum across all 8 factors.
Launch scores ship with an 'estimated' confidence flag — they're best-effort grades from publicly disclosed information cited on each provider profile. As deeper provider-level verification completes (key-management diligence, recovery walkthroughs, insurance claim review, regulatory filing checks), scores flip to 'verified'.
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