For those of you who really want to hold your own funds (and get rid of centralized entity) the first thing to do is to make sure you hold your own private keys.
As you well know « not your keys, not you coins ».

But it’s also important to be able to set up a recovery method to retain access to your funds in the event that:
– If you use a software wallet: you change hardware and have to reinstall it on another device;
– If you use a hardware wallet: in the event of loss, breakdown or theft of your device.

For exemple, if you’re using a Ledger or a Trezor; how would you access your funds if the screen or buttons no longer worked?

For all these reasons, it’s important to take precautions when it comes to store your seedphrase. You have to do it very carefully. But first, you need to understand what a seedphrase really is.

Your wallet recovery phrase can go by many names: Secret Recovery Phrase, Mnemonic, Seedphrase.. All these termes refer to the same concept. A sequence of words (from 12 to 24) which, if entered in the right order will give you access to your wallet from any device.

More technically, it is a human-readable version of the entropy used to generate your private keys. Originally, entropy is just a large sequence of numbers which is not easy to remember for a human being.

A seedphrase is the translation of this sequence of numbers into several words that you can remember.

This transcription was made possible by the adoption of the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 39 (BIP-39) in 2013. Since then, 2048 words from the english dictionnary can be used to translate the entropy into a recovery phrase.

And because this sequence of 12 or 24 is something a human being can easily remember, some people choose to be their own backup by remembering their seedphrase by heart. A commendable method, but not one that can survive all life’s accidents.

Each time you set up a new wallet you’ll be asked to memorize or retain your recovery phrase aka seedphrase.

As mentioned above, this sequence of words is the only thing that will enable you to regain access to your funds if you lose access to your device and need to reset your wallet.

Be particularly vigilant in keeping your seedphrase. The crypto world is full of inverstors who have permanently lost acess to their funds because they didn’t take care to carefully write down their seedphrases.

That being said, it’s natural that your reflections should go through a relatively lentghy process before you choose the best option for you.

You must choose was suits best your personnal needs. By definition, the best storage method should be simple, secure and cheap.

On the Internet, you’ll find several methods of storing recovery phrases:

• The piece of paper

Some investors write down their seedphrase on a simple piece of paper. Yes, this is simple and cheap but not very secure. They could lost the paper, or even destroy it by accident. Sun, water and even dogs are threats to this storage method.

We do not recommend to store your seedphrase on a non-durable medium.

• The steel plate

On the other hand, some investors write their seedphrases on sturdier media, such as steel plates that resist heat and cannot be destroyed as easily as a simple sheet of paper.

However, while this method has the advantage of durability, it is not without its drawbacks. Transportability and discretion are among them. The question of cost also arises, as such a solution can cost from 50 to 100 euros depending on the size and quality of the metal plate chosen to inscribe the backup.

So, what is the best option?

If you’re looking for a simple yet safe, affordable and easily transportable way to secure your seed phrases, take a look at Seedkeeper.

Why is Seedkeeper one of the best (if not the best) option to store and secure your seedphrases ?

First : Seedkeeper is an inexpensive storage medium. For €25 you can get a smart card that will enable you to store several seedphrases. Unless you gave hundreds of wallets, all you recovery phrases can be stored in one Seedkeeper.

Secondly, like all Satochip products, SeedKeeper’s code is open source and freely available on our GitHub. So anyone can check that the firmware works as it should, and that there’s no risk to the security of your funds => Don’t Trust, Verify.

Unlike some of the solutions described above, Seedkeeper is easily transportable and can also be easily stored away from prying eyes.

It’s certainly the best way to store your recovery phrases without attracting attention.

It’s also a durable medium for keeping your secrets over time, without the worry that it won’t work after a few years. No screen, no battery, no risk of your smart card no longer working when you need it most !

Finaly, Seedkeeper is extremely easy to use, and we’ll be publishin an article in the next few days to duide you through the few steps involved in saving your seedphrases.