Safe Crosses $100 Billion in Assets Secured, Appoints Banking Veteran to Spearhead Institutional Smart Account Adoption

Julian Grigo, former Managing Director at Solaris, appointed by Safe as Head of Institutions and Fintech, aims to onboard institutional finance onto web3 with Safe's industry-standard smart accounts and account abstraction stack, aligning with industry needs.

Zug, Switzerland – 7th March 2024 – Safe, the leading smart wallet infrastructure provider, has announced that more than $100 billion in value of digital assets is now secured on Safe smart accounts. In addition to this milestone, the total number of active Safe accounts has surpassed 7 million, with more than 30 million transactions conducted on Safe infrastructure. On the back of this growth, Safe is announcing the appointment of Julian Grigo as Head of Institutions and Fintech. Grigo will be responsible for driving the usage of Safe’s advanced account abstraction stack Safe{Core} to meet the burgeoning demands of institutions navigating the complexities of digital assets.

As the previous Managing Director at Solaris, Europe's largest banking-as-a-service provider, and Head of Digital Banking and Financial Services at Bitkom, the influential German digital economy association, Grigo brings a deep understanding of the needs and challenges facing institutions and fintechs in the emerging world of decentralized finance (DeFi).

In addition to the appointment of Grigo, Safe’s institutions and fintech focus will see further development of Safe{Core}, its modular and open-source stack enabling account abstraction. The manual processes and reliance on intermediaries in traditional custody often result in substantial overheads, hindering operational efficiency. Safe{Core} addresses these pain points, abstracting away the burdens of institutional custody –  including costs and complexity – to enable institutions to explore innovative business models and offer their customers the ability to self-custody.

“Transitioning towards a model where institutions can facilitate crypto services without the cumbersome responsibilities of direct custody represents a major leap forward," says Grigo. "With Safe as the leading self-custody solution, institutions can rethink traditional custody models, enhancing operational efficiency and minimizing vulnerabilities. We offer unparalleled security and customizable control, enabling institutions to explore new business models.”

The versatility of Safe{Core}, which powers over 200 projects, is already evident in its application across various sectors. Gnosis Pay, BasedApp in Singapore, and the Zeal wallet for neo banking are pioneering examples of how smart account infrastructure reduces onramping costs and empowers more users to leverage self-custody.

Lukas Schor, co-founder at Safe, added: “The impressive growth figures around the usage of Safe’s infrastructure validate the commitment of our team to empowering ownership for everyone, including traditional institutions and fintech organizations. Julian's expertise combined with our account abstraction stack will enable us to put in the hands of institutions the ability to operate with more security and efficiency that not only meets but surpasses the existing standards in the industry.”