This article demonstrates how to use the Domino stainless-steel Bitcoin seed phrase backup plate, by BitPlates, to secure the recovery information for a Bitcoin wallet against fire, flood or other disaster.
Congratulations on taking the leap into bitcoin self custody. By doing so, you no longer need to rely on third-party permission to access and use your bitcoin however or whenever you see fit. An added benefit of self custody is mitigating third-party risk — you no longer need to worry about an exchange hack depleting all of your bitcoin from your trusted custodian’s control. Self custody puts you in control of your bitcoin, ensuring that you maintain access to your bitcoin in case of a catastrophe.
By stamping your BIP39 Bitcoin wallet recovery words into a stainless steel medium like the Domino®, you can rest assured that you have the necessary information secured to restore your Bitcoin wallet and regain access to your funds whether you lose your mobile, desktop or hardware wallet and/or you are the victim of an environmental hazard such as fire or flood. If you secured your Bitcoin wallet with an added passphrase during initial setup, it is possible for you to purchase multiple Domino plates to secure that information as well.
BitPlates offers several different options in two different grades. The industrial grade is made of 304 stainless steel and the marine grade is made of 316L stainless steel. There are three sizes available in each grade: pocket, original and grande.
The larger the plate, the more space there is in each square for stamping the appropriate dots.
Each plate is 3 millimeters (mm) thick and 100 mm tall, but the widths vary depending on model:
- Pocket: 3 mm x 100 mm x 75 mm
- Original: 3 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm
- Grande: 3 mm x 100 mm x 125 mm
The generation two line of plates feature an etched alphabet on the left side, as compared to the generation one plates which did not include the alphabet. Every Domino also includes a 3 mm hole which can be used for a range of storage techniques, like hanging the plate behind a picture on your wall or attaching the plate to a lanyard.
For this guide, I will be demonstrating the industrial grade, original Domino. I used a 24-word seed phrase generated by a ColdCard, which is the hardware wallet I recommend for reasons I outline here, but you can use any BIP39-compatible Bitcoin wallet. If you are looking for guidance on the available choices, here are recommendations I make for getting started with Android, iPhone and desktop. The Domino can be used for any BIP39-compatible seed phrase such as those with 12, 18 or 24 words.
Only the first four letters of each word are necessary, as no two words on the BIP39 word list share the same sequence of the initial four letters. Start with a permanent marker just in case you make a mistake and then double check your work before proceeding with the spring-loaded punch. The alphabet template can assist in keeping the letters properly aligned while moving across the grid.
On the first side of the plate, use a single dot for words one through six and a double dot for words seven through 12. If any words share a common character, stamp three dots in that square. Some words from the BIP39 list are only three letters in length so the fourth square in those instances will be left blank if not needed. Use the reverse side of the plate and repeat the process for words 13 through 18 and 19 through 24. Ensure that the words are kept in order of one through 24.
Here is a video demonstrating the process:
Once finished, you can clean the permanent marker off of the plate with rubbing alcohol or acetone and the results are a clean, legible and organized backup.
Now that the Bitcoin wallet recovery seed words are secure, let’s test the durability of the Domino against white-hot temperatures of about 1,500°C, just below melting point. Then we can verify that this backup method is guaranteed to withstand a house fire. After you have checked and double checked your backup by restoring your wallet, consider safely burning the paper copy.
The Domino survived the test and all 24-words are 100% recoverable!
In conclusion, the Domino is a robust Bitcoin wallet backup method. One of my favorite features is that it is thicker than most steel backups at 3 mm. I also like that it is available in multiple sizes to fit a wide range of needs or hiding places. Multiple plates can be used for backing up more advanced security methods, such as an additional passphrase, a SeedXOR or multisig. For example, a secondary Domino could be used to stamp a second set of words from the BIP39 list and this could even generate a decoy wallet with some duress funds stored in case of emergency. Then the first six words, for example, could actually be the passphrase for the primary wallet secured by the first Domino. This video demonstrates the technique.
There are many clever solutions you could implement to secure your Bitcoin wallet using a high degree of entropy.
To learn more about BitPlates and its line of secure Bitcoin backups, check out its website, follow it on Twitter or check out its how-to video guide here.
This is a guest post by Econoalchemist. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.