If you’ve only ever held bitcoin on an exchange, this page is for you. Five short ideas, and then you’ll know whether the rest of this site is worth your weekend.
1. On an exchange, you own a promise
Bitcoin on an exchange is a number in their database. If the exchange goes bust, gets hacked or freezes your account, that number can stop meaning anything. Self-custody means the coins are locked to keys that only you control.
2. The keys come from a seed
A wallet generates a list of 12 or 24 ordinary words, the seed or recovery phrase. Every key in the wallet is calculated from those words. Whoever has the words has the bitcoin. That’s why they never go into a computer, a photo or a cloud drive.
3. A hardware wallet keeps the keys off your computer
A hardware wallet is a small device that creates the seed and signs transactions inside itself. Your computer only sees public information. Even a computer full of malware can’t take the keys out, and the device’s own screen shows you what you’re actually signing.
4. One seed is one single point of failure
With one hardware wallet, everything hangs on one seed. Lose it and the coins are gone. Let someone find it and the coins are gone too. Making extra copies against loss creates extra copies to steal.
5. Multisig removes that single point
A 2-of-3 multisig uses three hardware wallets, each with its own seed. Any two can move the coins, one alone can’t. You can lose a seed and still get in, and a thief with one seed gets nothing. The cost is more work up front: three devices, three backups and a little more care when you spend.
Where to go next
- What is a multisig wallet? The same idea in a little more detail.
- Is multisig right for you? A quick check before you buy anything.
- What it costs. Devices, metal backups and a spare laptop, with current prices.
- Already own a hardware wallet? How to use it as one of the three keys.
- The setup guide. Ten steps from ordering devices to a tested recovery.
- Common mistakes. The ones that cost people their coins, and how to avoid them.
- Glossary. Every term on this site in one or two sentences.