Liminal: Securing the Web3 Economy with institutional-Grade Custody and Wallet Infrastructure

January 3, 2026 12 min read

"In the wallet infrastructure business, you cannot run like a traditional startup. You cannot roll out an MVP and 'fix it later'—security, reliability, and availability must be flawless from day one." This high-stakes mantra comes from Mahin Gupta, the founder of Liminal and a ten-year veteran of the crypto industry. Having co-founded ZebPay, one of India's largest crypto exchanges, Gupta is now building the "operating system" for the Web3 economy, ensuring that institutions can manage digital assets without the nightmare of private key management.

Digital assets are transitioning from a retail curiosity to an institutional necessity. However, storing millions of dollars in crypto requires more than just a password. Liminal provides an automated, secure, and compliant wallet infrastructure using advanced MPC (Multi-Party Computation) and HSM (Hardware Security Module) technologies. By productizing the pain points he faced while running ZebPay, Gupta has created a B2B platform that secures billions in transactions for exchanges, treasuries, and startups across the globe.

The Custody Paradox: While crypto was designed for self-sovereignty, most people and institutions are still uncomfortable managing their own keys. Liminal solves this by providing "bank-grade" security that removes the risk of a single point of failure (the private key) while maintaining the efficiency of digital transactions.

The Genesis: Building for One's Own Pain

Mahin Gupta's journey into crypto began in 2011, long before the industry went mainstream. As a computer science gold medalist, he co-founded ZebPay and witnessed firsthand the "nightmare" of managing high-volume digital asset transactions. "We had to employ a large team just to keep the infrastructure running securely," Gupta recalls. "It was manual, it was inefficient, and it was constant firefighting."

When he left ZebPay in 2019, he didn't just start another exchange. Instead, he decided to build the infrastructure that he wish had existed. Liminal is essentially the productization of Gupta’s decaded-long experience. "Some of the issues our clients haven't even thought of yet are already taken care of in our code because we lived through those failures ourselves," he explains.

The Liminal Security Stack

MPC Integration: Distributing "key shards" so no single device or person ever holds the full private key.
HSM Backing: Securing shards within specialized hardware devices that are immune to remote malware attacks.
Automation Engine: Reducing manual efforts in signing and processing transactions to eliminate human error.
Regulatory Readiness: Built-in compliance layers that adapt to changing global regulations before they even take effect.

The Evolution of a Web3 Operating System

Building a global custody provider is a massive undertaking. Rather than waiting three years to launch a finished product, Gupta broke the journey into strategic phases. Liminal started with **non-custodial cold wallets** for treasury management—storing assets safely for the long term. Only after proving reliability in that niche did they move into the complex layer of operational integrations, SDKs, and APIs.

"We decided to break down this gigantic infrastructure into pieces," Gupta notes. "This 'sell before build' strategy allowed us to acquire customers and refine our mindset for different personas—from small startups to massive institutions—without building something that nobody needed."

Liminal by the Numbers

$6 Billion+: In transactions facilitated through the platform by late 2023.
$550 Million+: In Assets Under Management (AUM) protected for institutional clients.
CCSS Level-3: Adherence to the highest global standard for cryptocurrency security.
8 Countries: Presence across diverse markets with localized payment structures.
$4.7 Million: Seed funding raised from Elevation Capital and a host of blue-chip crypto investors.

The Talent Challenge: Hiring for Passion over Resume

One of Gupta's biggest challenges was finding people who truly understand the underlying mathematics of crypto. He admits that in the early days of his career, he hired people simply to make the "pain go away," only to realize that wrong hires create more pain later. Today, his strategy is different: he recruits for passion and the ability to learn.

"This generation of developers is more intelligent than mine," Gupta says. "In my day, if I wanted to learn AI, I’d think about a course. Today’s developers spend three hours on YouTube and they are confident enough to attempt it. We look for that excitement—if they understand the core logic and are genuinely excited about Web3, we can mold them."

"Crypto and blockchain will go through the same ubiquitous phase as the internet. In the 90s, you took a 'Cyber Cafe' course to learn how to access the internet. Today, internet access is assumed—the problem is what you do with it. Blockchain will follow that same curve until the tech becomes invisible."
— Mahin Gupta, Founder, Liminal

Leadership and the "Sudoku" Mindset

Reflecting on his fourth venture, Gupta defines entrepreneurship as a "puzzle-solving journey." He views every challenge—whether in marketing, PR, or security—as a Sudoku or a Rubik’s Cube that the team must solve together. He warns against starting a company just because it's "cool," noting that a founder is responsible for the livelihoods of their team and their families.

Mahin’s Lessons for Web3 Founders

Sell Before You Build: Get client approval and an acknowledgment of willingness to pay before you spend months on a feature.
Productize Failure: Your greatest startup success is often hidden in the "nightmare" processes of your previous job. Solve your own problem first.
Standards Over Hype: Standardize your processes. Even as a young startup, Liminal invested in ISO and SOC 2 audits to build institutional trust.
Clarity is Currency: Investors don't want to hear how you'll build it until they understand exactly what you are building. Focus on 'What' first.

The Future: A Ubiquitous Blockchain World

Gupta remains a staunch optimist despite the volatility of the "crypto winter." He believes that as the generation matures, the current "how-to" barrier of blockchain will disappear, just as it did for the internet and cloud computing. Liminal's goal is to be the invisible infrastructure that makes this possible, serving as the secure rails for the global transfer of value.

"Entrepreneurship is about going on a journey with people you love to work with," Gupta concludes. "In the process, you make money and name, but the real reward is building something satisfactory that changes the way the world functions."

The CBI Connection: Liminal's institutional credibility was solidified when it partnered with India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to manage seized digital assets, proving that bank-grade custody is a vital tool for both the private and public sectors.

Key Takeaways

For B2B Entrepreneurs: Standardized audits (SOC 2, ISO) are not just "legal costs"; they are your most powerful sales tools when dealing with risk-averse institutions.

For Crypto Startups: Focus on the bear market to build. Sidney volatility is a distraction—infrastructure longevity is the real game.

For Developers: The ability to "unlearn" and adapt to infrastructure-level technologies like MPC is the most valuable skill in the coming decade.

About the Guest

Mahin Gupta is the Founder of Liminal. A veteran of the Indian crypto landscape, he is a computer science gold medalist who co-founded ZebPay and established BuySellBitco.in in 2012. With over a decade of experience in building secure financial infrastructure, Mahin is recognized as a pioneer in digital asset management and institutional-grade wallet solutions.