Multi-Party Computation (MPC)
A cryptographic technique that splits a private key across parties so no single one ever holds it whole.
Multi-party computation lets several parties jointly compute a result — here, signing a transaction — without any of them possessing the complete private key. The key is mathematically split into shares; signing requires a threshold of shares to cooperate, but the full key is never assembled in one place, even momentarily.
MPC has become a backbone of institutional custody and modern wallets because it removes the single point of failure a whole key represents, without the on-chain footprint and cost of multisig. It’s how many exchanges and custodians secure billions, and how consumer wallets offer recovery without seed phrases. The trade-off is trusting the MPC implementation and its share-holders rather than a single key you control.