Happy bitcoin (BTC) holder, you have a physical wallet (Ledger, Bitbox, Trezor, etc.) to secure or sign transactions in complete safety. Yes, but here it is: you now know, the most important thing is to protect the 12, 18 or 24 words to restore your wallet if you ever lose your “physical” wallet. If Jameson Lopp has tested the performance of different steel or titanium wallets (corrosion, fire, acid or pressure), it is important to know if the different solutions are adapted to your budget and even to your dexterity. Today let’s see the Cryptosteel capsule.
Why and how to back up private keys on steel?
We can’t repeat it enough, if you don’t have your (private) keys, you don’t own your bitcoins (” not your keys, not your coins “). Your bitcoins and/or your cryptos are not stored on a wallet: it is the private keys allowing access which are secure. This means that if you lose your physical wallet (Ledger or Bitbox), you don’t have to worry much, especially if you have entered a complex pin code. In fact, your wallet will be blocked after a few intrusion attempts. These private keys are so essential that Ledger just offered the service Ledger Recover : this service offers to keep the private keys of its users. The latter will be able to recover them in the event of loss against a proper KYC. This new possibility goes against the ideals of financial sovereignty with peer-to-peer payments (without intermediaries). Accustomed to bank insurance that we are, it is not always easy to assume the conservation of our assets without a safety net. It’s a bit like keeping physical gold at home, except that the private keys take up less space and are much more discreet.
There are many products that offer to save keys (called private keys) of your bitcoins. We had tested Zeus from Cryptotag or the Cypher from Safepal, these are mainly opinions related to use. For fire, acid and corrosion resistance tests, the reference site is that of Jameson Lopp.
The Cryptosteel box
The box (made of recyclable material) is full of steel plates: letters, numbers and special characters. There are one or two Cryptosteel capsules depending on the model chosen, separation plates (separators) as well as “blocking” plates (fasteners). A large poster offers a diagram: it is instructions for use for the capsule, but also more general explanations on safety (all in English). Another diagram on the packaging shows you what each location of the pads in the (recyclable) plastic box corresponds to. The whole thing looks a lot like a big construction game. If you have always hated puzzles or your patience reaches its limits quite quickly, this capsule will probably not suit you.
The principle of the capsule
With this solution, no need for a hammer or any engraver. All you have to do is choose the plates corresponding to your recovery words (for the list of words bip39, the first four letters are enough). Separate words with “ separators » and at the end especially fix well all with the help of a “ fastener“. The design of this metal capsule presents the advantage of being reusable. Another advantage is that you can save one or more passphrases, two 12-word wallets, pin codes and other information. Pay attention to the direction of reading, however.
You should not overload the Cryptosteel, because the tighter the pads are, the more difficult it will be to read the backup, although of course you can always use a magnifying glass. Properly blocking the pads is obviously essential: do not use flammable or fragile material! (use a fastener provided)
Check the backup and think about your heirs (or not)
Above all, it is necessary check its backup. A simple solution: take a “physical” wallet, create a wallet, do a reset and restore the wallet. You will simply check if you have written down all the words in the right order and in complete safety.
Then to make your choice between the different storage methods on metal, you must:
- Be certain of the quality of the material. (There cryptosteel capsule gets an A- grade. Following extreme pressure (20 tonnes), it is no longer possible to open it, the stem being attached to the cap. This detail is only important if you live in a region exposed to earthquakes.
- Compare prices (unless this is a detail for you of course).
- You need to know if it is practical (for you and your heirs): your metal storage (metal storage) is it reusable? Easily readable? Understandable for your heirs?
Find all the tutorial videos of Cryptosteel to properly manage your capsule. (How to properly use the blocking plate, read your backup or make a seal).
The Cryptosteel capsule has a much better rating than its previous counterpart the Cryptosteel cassette (resistance). It is indeed the proof that the company cares about improving its products. Elegant and discreet, this capsule is ultimately not that difficult to handle. However, the weak point seems to me to be the blocking of the plates, a simple error can be costly… And then the question remains open: should the name of the company be engraved on the object itself or not? Indeed, if our heirs don’t know what it is, what will they do with it? While the internet could help them with a simple search using the company name. Between security and accessibility, the choice is sometimes difficult… The capsule cryptosteel costs 80 to 109 euros (think of a collective purchase). The different elements can be ordered separately. Also read our tests of Zeus and Cypher, it’s up to you to make the choice that suits you.
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