The partnership enables secure and reliable institutional-grade custody solutions of NEAR NEP-141 tokens and comprehensive support for its developers.

SINGAPORE, April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Matrixport, one of the world's largest and trusted digital assets financial services ecosystems, today announced that its institutional qualified custodian service, Cactus Custody, has integrated with NEAR Protocol, a rapidly growing Layer 1 blockchain ecosystem.

The partnership enables seamless support of the NEAR Protocol across all Matrixport services on Cactus Custody. This offers institutional clients an added layer of confidence in safeguarding their native NEP-141 NEAR token assets. Additionally, NEP-141 compatible projects can optimise DeFi operations to further catalyse growth via Cactus Custody's robust DeFi connectivity solution.

Institutional-grade custody has become the cornerstone in building resilient, scalable and sustainable projects, as investors seek reliable and secure ways to manage their operational risks and store their digital assets.

Wendy Jiang, Head of Cactus Custody said, "We are delighted to collaborate with the NEAR Foundation to bring to life its vision of a blockchain operating system. The successful NEAR integration reflects our ongoing commitment to offer critical support services to projects and institutions. Such collaborations with industry-leading foundations enables us to develop and offer market relevant solutions to benefit institutions seeking to create value in a complex and evolving blockchain landscape."

Marieke Flament, CEO of NEAR Foundation, said "Our goal at NEAR is to democratise access to Web3 and make it simple to use. Through the launch of the Blockchain Operating System and the integration of important platforms such as Cactus Custody's institutional offering, we are on track to achieving our ambition to bring Web3 to different audiences -  including investors, and to do so in a secure and reliable way."

Cactus Custody, with its advanced custody solution, has emerged as the leading custody services provider in the market by employing advanced HSM cryptography that eliminates the critical attack vector of private keys. With a focus on creating a developer and user-friendly platform, this partnership will enable NEAR to reach a broader audience and ultimately bring the ecosystem closer to achieving its goal of mass web3 adoption.

About Matrixport

Matrixport is one of the world's largest and most trusted digital assets financial services ecosystem. The company's services include prime brokerage, Cactus Custody™, spot OTC, fixed income, structured products, lending as well as asset management. Matrixport serves individuals as well as over 800 institutions across Asia and Europe.

For more information, please visit www.matrixport.com

About NEAR

NEAR is a collective, a foundation, and a development platform built on a new layer-one blockchain but also a developer-friendly, proof-of-stake, public blockchain. The climate-neutral platform is built on a sharded, proof-of-stake, layer-one blockchain designed for usability. The NEAR protocol allows developers to quickly get started using NEAR without having to rewrite existing dApps or learn new development tools.

For more information, visit https://near.org/