“It’s just writing down 12 words, anyone can do it.”
This sentence is often heard in the Bitcoin ecosystem, when discussing self-custody practices. This is just a matter of keeping some words secure, super simple, anybody can do it, right? FUD is the main reason people criticize and give to someone who doesn’t self-custody. With that single sentence, all the FUD could be cut down. Coinbase is now accepting your coins!
Wrong.
It is not different to saying that this argument is a fallacy. “shooting a gun is just pointing and pulling a trigger, anyone can do it.” To safely shoot a firearm, there is much more to it than simply pointing at the gun and pulling the trigger. First, you need to have a basic understanding of what a weapon is and the potential dangers that it can cause. Consequences It is not possible to take anything back.
Guns are not toys, they can be deadly. People can handle a firearm carelessly without realizing this. If they harm someone while doing so, there is no way to undo it.
You cannot turn the clock back and bring someone to life. The same is true for bitcoin transactions.
The simple act of writing down 12 letters doesn’t solve all problems. The first step is to understand what the user wants. appreciate They must really understand what these 12 words mean. It is important that they understand what those words are. Their money. They are It is not necessary to be able to read. Secret and security are needed to protect bitcoin. It’s not enough to have those words in writing.
The next step is to get them into the actual physically secure The copy 12 words will be secret.
Is it possible to physically lock that seed somewhere? They own a lockbox? They live in a shared house? Are there children or a spouse to be considered? Do they live in the same house as you? Can you trust them?
What do you think about social engineers, hackers and con artists? Are they able to tell when someone is interacting with them? Understand the line that malicious actors try to cross to get access to keys? Are they able to validate software that they have downloaded from outside an Appstore or store? Do they know how to identify malicious and fraudulent software on the Appstore?
How about compatibility over the long-term? Is there anything that a device or software does which is not standard? Weird derivation paths? Custom backup schemes? Are users able to understand this to be able to handle it, or are they forced in the end to rely upon a third party to defraud to fix their wallets or backups not working in ten year’s time with modern solutions?
This is not even a mention of hardware devices. How can someone check the device’s integrity? Before that, how many people can assess the integrity of a hardware product’s design and its manufacturer?
It isn’t my intention to demoralize people or scare them away from self custody. It’s time to face the facts. Bitcoin can only remain decentralized if people use their own funds.. If it’s a frightening, dangerous and unknown experience, people won’t do that.
That’s it. The simple act of telling someone over and over to “not screw up” will not stop them from messing up. We cannot make people stop worrying and being afraid by telling them to be calm and not fearful. Even if you think that the very real and technical footguns do not exist, because they’re trivial to handle for me or for you, it doesn’t mean they don’t.
There are many tools available to help us solve these issues. Multisignature schemes You can also have an extra hand available to correct mistakes by allowing key rotation. Schnorr multisignature Schemes optimize this further and create less complexity for the users. Other improvements can be made to both types of scripts for multisignatures in order to increase privacy.
Scammers can be deterred by the design of user-interfaces. Architectures used by different devices or wallets can remove the attack surface completely or render it irrelevant when only one piece of software or device is exploited.
Even today, more than ten years after my first use of a Bitcoin multisignature, I still find it useful. still Multisignature wallets can be difficult to set up using several independent software programs.
These issues must be resolved if we are to achieve self-custody at large scale, which will allow Bitcoin to maintain its decentralization. The interface needs to be intuitive. The software and vendors need to be compatible. User needs You can also find out more about the following: Similar to what they’re used to when it comes to fiat money.
People will not self-control their money if these things don’t change. If they’re not improved, if the compatibility isn’t bettered, and if there’s no improvement in building them, then it’s not worth doing.
It is important to experiment, test and refine these things to ensure that they are safe for the average person.
People will not do something if it does not feel safe.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
