General Security Recommendations
- Never input your seed phrase anywhere except on your hardware wallet
- Never upload your seed phrase to any system, even if it claims to be a password service
- Never download any unfamiliar software associated with your seed or private keys
- Avoid participating in questionable airdrops and refrain from activating any unfamiliar tokens on your wallet
- Avoid ever taking a picture of your seed phrase or holding it in front of a camera
Home
Storing your seed phrase at home can be a secure option, but there are things to consider. Use a 25-word passphrase and have multiple copies of your seed phrase in case of a robbery to avoid losing access to your funds. Opting for a steel wallet provides an additional layer of security, safeguarding your assets against both fire and water risks.
Benefits:
- Semi-secure against robbery
- Easy to implement
Downsites:
- Risk for robbery, but it's mitigated with multiple copies
Banks
Banks provide vaults where you can safely store your seed phrase. You have to trust your bank, but you could split your seed phrase into multiple parts and store them in different banks.
Benefits:
- Secure against robbery
- Easy to implement
Downsites:
- You have to trust one or multiple banks
- Only viable in non-oppressive countries
Multisig
In a multisignature scheme, each participant generates their own private key and associated 24-word mnemonic seed phrase independently. It could be a 3-of-5 multisig setup, you would have five participants, each with their own 24-word mnemonic seed phrase. The key point is that to spend funds from the multisig address, you would need signatures from at least three out of the five private keys.
Benefits:
- Secure against robbery
- One breach or leak does not endanger your funds
Downsites:
- You have to trust other people to keep the signatures safe
- More complex for newcomers to the space
Conclusion
In our view, the most secure approach is to divide your seed phrase into two segments and securely store them in separate banking institutions. For those residing in countries with oppressive regulations, the alternative would be to consider utilizing a multisig wallet for added security. If the banking option seems too complex, an alternative is to create multiple copies of your seed phrase and store them securely at home.
