What is the difference between built-in protection and a company promise?

A promise depends on a company choosing to keep it. Built-in protection means the ability does not exist. Sovra does not hold your funds and does not hold your key, so there is nothing Sovra could hand over, freeze, or move, even if it were told to. You are not trusting our intentions. You are relying on how the system is built.

Can a government or court make Sovra hand over or freeze my money?

There are three layers to this answer, and we will give you all three.

Your wallet funds. Sovra cannot move or freeze them, so no order directed at Sovra can move or freeze them either. Like any company, Sovra can be required to share information it holds about you, as described in the Privacy Policy, but information is not access. No bank or institution where you live can freeze the funds in your wallet.

The dollar itself. USDC is issued by Circle, a regulated US company. In rare, legally mandated cases, such as court orders or sanctions, Circle has the ability to freeze specific addresses. This applies to USDC everywhere, not just on Sovra, and in practice it has been directed at criminal activity. We tell you this because transparency is the point of this page.

Services run by partners. Banking, card, and local payment services are operated by licensed partners who follow the laws where they operate. In principle, a partner can pause or restrict a service in a region. If that ever happened, it would affect that service, not the funds in your wallet.

What about the money on my card?

The balance you top up onto your card is a spending balance held with the licensed partner that issues the card, similar to a prepaid card. Self-custody applies to your wallet. You decide how much to move onto the card, and you can keep that amount as small as you like.

Is Sovra itself regulated, and who licenses the partners underneath?

Sovra is a technology company incorporated in Delaware, US. It does not hold customer funds, and it does not perform regulated financial activity itself. The regulated pieces are carried out by partners licensed for those activities in the places they operate.