Great question! We covered "seed phrase splitting" in our corresponding blog article that this video is based off of. This approach can reduce the risk of theft, but it increases the risk of loss, because if either half of the words are lost, bitcoin can become unrecoverable. Also, this strategy is particularly dangerous, because if someone splits their seed phrase into too many parts, or began with 12 words instead of 24, then they will not be achieving the protection they think they are (a thief might be able to guess the remaining words after finding a portion of them). In my opinion, a strong BIP39 passphrase or Seed XOR are better methods of reducing the risk of theft at the cost of increasing the risk of loss. Of course, reducing both risks is even better, using SSS or multisig!
What these things always gloss over or miss entirely is just how incomprehensibly secure normal single signature is all by itself. So secure that multi-sig really only adds complexity, without much if any real improvement in security. It really only makes sense to talk about multi-sig in situations like business or family wealth where multiple people are involved. In other words it really is mostly if not entirely about access - who has it, and when - and not security.
Incomprehensibly secure? 😂 More like moderately secure. No one’s gonna guess your seed phrase but it can still be lost or stolen. Single points of failure are a serious flaw. Multisig is easy to set up, and helps people sleep better, win-win. Main excuse not to do it is laziness
@@harlemsfinest I have my seed memorized and 2 halves are stored in 2 secure locations (noted in my will). So the only way my Bitcoin becomes unrecoverable is if I die the exact same day one of the secure locations gets robbed/burns down. My family has also memorized the passphrase. I really just want to stick with singlesig for now but I'd love more input/suggestions for my setup. I also have decoy passphrases for $5 wrench attacks. I'M PREPARED BRO. 🤣
@@pepsico815 I think the core thing to think critically about is what @harlemsfinest noted above... single points of failure. You currently have 3 single points of failure (secure location A, secure location B, and your passphrase). You might say the fact that you memorized it helps keep either location from being a SPOF, but I'd still argue that your brain wallet strategy is, on its own, a single point of failure... concussions happen, and memory loss can happen. If you memorize it, it could be coaxed out of you while under duress. If your loved ones need to trek to two separate locations *and* apply a (hopefully accurately remembered) passphrase just to recover your wealth, there's room for improvement. Even if you choose not to use collaborative custody like Unchained (which would drastically improve your inheritance scenario), you should still seriously consider 2-of-3 multisig for the fault tolerance it provides. Plus, you can still employ your brain wallet strategy for one key in your multisig, and it's not a SPOF in that scenario.
Contact the Unchained team to onboard to better security for your bitcoin: unchained.com/consultation?
Well done. Thanks for the very informative video!
Thanks!
I like the graph. Well done Tom!
Thank you!
Can't you just do a single sig wallet with 24 words and hide each half of the words in two different locations?
Great question! We covered "seed phrase splitting" in our corresponding blog article that this video is based off of. This approach can reduce the risk of theft, but it increases the risk of loss, because if either half of the words are lost, bitcoin can become unrecoverable.
Also, this strategy is particularly dangerous, because if someone splits their seed phrase into too many parts, or began with 12 words instead of 24, then they will not be achieving the protection they think they are (a thief might be able to guess the remaining words after finding a portion of them).
In my opinion, a strong BIP39 passphrase or Seed XOR are better methods of reducing the risk of theft at the cost of increasing the risk of loss. Of course, reducing both risks is even better, using SSS or multisig!
Yes, but if you lose one you're in trouble. Also just use 12 words, easier to memorize.
What these things always gloss over or miss entirely is just how incomprehensibly secure normal single signature is all by itself. So secure that multi-sig really only adds complexity, without much if any real improvement in security. It really only makes sense to talk about multi-sig in situations like business or family wealth where multiple people are involved. In other words it really is mostly if not entirely about access - who has it, and when - and not security.
Incomprehensibly secure? 😂
More like moderately secure. No one’s gonna guess your seed phrase but it can still be lost or stolen. Single points of failure are a serious flaw. Multisig is easy to set up, and helps people sleep better, win-win. Main excuse not to do it is laziness
@@harlemsfinest I have my seed memorized and 2 halves are stored in 2 secure locations (noted in my will). So the only way my Bitcoin becomes unrecoverable is if I die the exact same day one of the secure locations gets robbed/burns down. My family has also memorized the passphrase. I really just want to stick with singlesig for now but I'd love more input/suggestions for my setup. I also have decoy passphrases for $5 wrench attacks. I'M PREPARED BRO. 🤣
@@pepsico815 I think the core thing to think critically about is what @harlemsfinest noted above... single points of failure. You currently have 3 single points of failure (secure location A, secure location B, and your passphrase). You might say the fact that you memorized it helps keep either location from being a SPOF, but I'd still argue that your brain wallet strategy is, on its own, a single point of failure... concussions happen, and memory loss can happen. If you memorize it, it could be coaxed out of you while under duress.
If your loved ones need to trek to two separate locations *and* apply a (hopefully accurately remembered) passphrase just to recover your wealth, there's room for improvement.
Even if you choose not to use collaborative custody like Unchained (which would drastically improve your inheritance scenario), you should still seriously consider 2-of-3 multisig for the fault tolerance it provides. Plus, you can still employ your brain wallet strategy for one key in your multisig, and it's not a SPOF in that scenario.