Extreme Cold Storage: A Fortress of Solitude for Bitcoins
Many bitcoin investors use hardware devices, paper wallets, and multi-signature solutions to keep their wealth safe from online threats such as hackers and malicious viruses. However, there are more extreme cold storage options for those who have lots of bitcoins, like $100,000 worth of BTC or more. One such process, a method called the Glacier Protocol, provides a step-by-step high-security convention for bitcoin cold storage.
of people rely on hardware wallets or other methods of secure bitcoin storage so they can keep their cryptocurrency safe. Most people are ok with the amount of security these types of wallets provide, but there are more extreme measures of cold storage. One of these methods is a self-managed solution called the Glacier Protocol which offers free software for a method that keeps private keys secure, isolated, and offline. The solution is not intended for those who want to use their bitcoin on a daily basis and is more for those looking for a more critical security framework. The Glacier Protocol’s target audience is meant for those who don’t trust USB connection vulnerabilities, and general offline key creation. Although, the Glacier creators do understand and state on their website that there is no 100 percent secure method for key storage, as all processes can be vulnerable.
As Bitcoin Grows More Valuable Extreme Measures of Security Will Likely Follow Suit
It’s likely there are many large bitcoin holders these days, ‘hodling’ millions of dollars worth of BTC in hopes their portfolio will be worth billions someday. Further exchanges and enterprise businesses are also clutching vast reserves of bitcoin; like Xapo’s Swiss Mountain facility where unconventional measures of security are not out of the ordinary.
With bitcoin being so valuable, interest in more extreme measures of storing a lot of cryptocurrency will likely grow, and Glacier is just one method of taking security to the next level. Bitcoin proponents have also come up with alternative ways to execute the process of cold storage, and some people like their own methods better than third-party offerings. Another similar cold storage solution is the service Armory, which offers multi-signature features and enterprise-grade solutions. And there will always be people who definitely want to simply buy a hardware device, as they don’t want to spend excessive amounts of money and rely on a cold storage walkthrough that’s 93 pages long.