This is an opinion editorial by Sean Amick – all views and recommendations are solely author’s and are not official bitcoin magazine Approval.
cryptotag recently allowed me To test one of its latest products, Odin, which is a unique product meant to secure self-custody keys with a set of titanium, laser-etched hexagons that each partial key (“share”) Stores that which is divided using Shamir. secret sharing.
Shamir Secret Sharing
Shamir Secret Sharing allows you to divide your seed into M “share” where any n Among them can be used to rebuild your original seed. But the one holding less than n shares does not even have a partial copy of your seed. It also means you can lose M , n recovery share and still be able to rebuild your seed. A more detailed explanation is available here.
To use Odin, you must select the correct amount of words per recovery share—in this case, it would be 20 words per share, as Odin only supports 20-word capacity.
Shamir Secret Sharing generates a random word for each of the 20 words included in a share. The generated words are pulled from a predetermined list of words that have been chosen to optimize for security (the word list can be found here).
Each word has an equal number of times. For example, “academic” is related to number one. This number is shown as 0001 in the SLIP-0039 (Shamir Secret Sharing) word list sent with Odin.
Shamir uses a setup similar to Multisig, instead of creating a wallet from multiple seeds you only have one seed that can be aggregated from multiple recovery shares. The Shamir setup includes the following parameters: Total Shares and Threshold.
Total Shares: The number of recovery shares to be maintained for a specific seed. For example, if a client wants to have a total of five recovery shares, they will create a total of five shares. We’ll return to the actual process of creating these elements further down.
Threshold: The required number of recovery shares required to be able to rebuild your seed. Continuing the example above, if we have a total of five shares, we may want to set a limit of three. This means that out of the total shares (five) available for this wallet, we only need three recovery shares to reinvest our seed.
Odini
The product is packaged in a large black box with “THE ONLY FOR HODLERS” written on it. In the box you will find titanium hexagons, silicone sleeves with them, an anvil (later used to hold the hexagons to engrave), a HODL BODL (very cold water bottle), matches, ear plugs, a high quality Center will be available. Punch (for engraving), setup guide, some snacks and, in my case, a Trezor hardware wallet.
The Titanium Hexagon measures 0.87 inches tall, 4.7 inches tall, and 0.98 inches wide.
While it fits easily into a pocket, I don’t recommend taking your keys with you everywhere you go people-watching, even if the silicone sleeve with the “cryptotag” embedded on it looks great .
Odin is sleek and compact in design. The titanium hexagons used to make the recovery stock are black with four squares.
One side reads: Total Shares, Threshold, Share Number and Wallet Number (if you have multiple wallets, you can specify which wallet applies to the particular hexagon).
There are four numbers in each of the remaining five sides. For example, the first side is the numbers 1-4, then 5-9, and so on. Each number has a four-digit grid containing the numbers 0-9 each. The numeral grid is used for Shamir Backup as a way to encode each word in the recovery share.
Each word has a corresponding number from the word list. For example, the word “academic” is number one. For Odin, this number is represented as 0001. Remember, there is a four-digit grid for each number. So, if the first recovery shared word is “academic”, we would proceed as follows:
Represented by a large “1” on the first segment of the hexagon – indicating that it is recording the first word of the recovery share – you first see a “0” in the three-digit grid, and then a “1” in the fourth and last. “Will punch. Points grid for the first Recovery Share word.
Now what do I mean by punching a number? How exactly does this pair up with the correct number on the points grid?
User Experience and Guide
Considering that the consumer has zero experience with hardware wallets or self-custody, it needs to be said that the process was exceptionally easy and only mildly time consuming.
Once you’ve got the setup guide, the first page will walk you through the simple steps to setup Shamir Secret Sharing Backup, backed through Trezor’s hardware wallet (Shamir has limited support from other hardware wallets) ).
The steps were simple. First, connect the Trezor Wallet to your computer via a USB cable. You’ll be prompted by the device to visit Trezor’s website where you’ll be asked to download Trezor’s application to your computer. Download is quick and easy.
Once the application is up and running, the computer will prompt you to install a firmware upgrade on the device. Once completed, the application will give you two simple options with pictures. Do you want normal backup or Shamir?
After clicking on Shamir, Trezor walks you through a few simple steps to set up a PIN number, generate each share, and specify the threshold and wallet number discussed earlier. It is extremely easy and user friendly.
After the amount of shares is chosen, you will generate words associated with each 20-word recovery share for the number of shares chosen. Trezor will prompt you to type these words—manually!—and remind you to make sure it’s not stored anywhere digitally.
It’s the next part where things go a little slow. You will receive a “conversion sheet” for each hexagon purchased in the Goody Bag cryptotag sent. Here you will find a slot for all 20 words associated with the recovery portion of each hexagon. Below where you can type words, you’ll see four boxes under each word. Simply type the words, ignoring the boxes below the blanks for the words.
You’ll also find “SLIP-39 Word List” in the box. As I mentioned earlier, each word is represented by a four-digit number. Find each of your 20 words per share on the word list and write the corresponding number under the word.
Now we locate the Center Punch Tool. Remember, these hexagons are titanium, which means it takes some pressure to leave a mark. That’s why Cryptotag sends out earplugs. I didn’t feel the need to use them, but neighbors would have appreciated it if I had given them earplugs.
For each word of Shamir Backup, you will punch out a four-digit number in each section.
This process should be repeated for all 20 words for each hexagon used (one per recovery share). It takes some time, but once it’s done, you’ll have a fire- and water-resistant, laser-etched titanium backup that’s able to dissipate in such a way that if one gets lost or stolen. So you won’t get hurt.
conclusion
Odin is a practical and durable solution to reduce the worry about the security of your keys (seed phrases). I’m thrilled Cryptotag has given me the opportunity to become a fan of their product. That being said, I had some concerns.
While anyone holding the recovery share for you can view the public list of words and then decode each word from the punched numbers on Odin, it can still be compromised by only one share which means that Threshold will not be broken, maintaining the safety of your keys. This requires clean management of your shares and trusted parties (if applicable), but it is hardly different from your standard self-custodial solution.
The center punch used to carve each digit on Odin wasn’t perfect, but I wasn’t sad. I managed to get a hexagon all the way through before I had problems with it. After that, the mechanism holding the end began to shift. The fix was a simple movement to return it to place, but I was afraid it might clog up mid-process.
The setup guide isn’t written for advanced users, but it isn’t for beginners either. As mentioned above, I reached out to clarify the definitions and procedures just to be sure. I would like the guide to be a little more detailed.
The number grids used to punch in the numbers associated with each word are really small. I am sure this is by design to keep the product compact. However, I didn’t find myself completely happy with the mark I left, which caused me to simply add another mark.
The sleek design coupled with extreme durability offers peace of mind for those looking to take the extra step in safety with a bold aesthetic that’s hard not to like. Upon testing my Trezor recovery process, I found it to be working fine, with the obvious note that any mistake in the creation of the shares would result in an error upon recovery. That being said, this is a product for hodlers who appreciate aesthetics and have extra money to spend. I’d happily do it again, but it’s hardly a necessity.
This is a guest post by Sean Amick. The opinions expressed are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of BTC Inc. or . reflect the thoughts of bitcoin magazine,