A method of managing an inventory of secure coprocessors and processing a plurality of transaction requests in a distributed system having one or more data centers. The method includes maintaining a secure coprocessor control list that includes information identifying one or more of the secure coprocessors, receiving the secure coprocessor control list and one of the transaction requests at one of the data centers, and providing the secure coprocessor control list and the transaction request to a particular secure coprocessor located at the data center. The method further includes allowing the particular secure coprocessor to fulfill the transaction request only if (i) the secure coprocessor control list is able be verified, (ii) the secure coprocessor control list is determined to be fresh, and (iii) information identifying the particular secure coprocessor is included in the information on the secure coprocessor control list.