What if you generate an uber-secure passphrase for a wallet, then
die? Or what if you simply
forget the passphrase? Your Bitcoins will be lost forever.
I’ve imagined a simple solution:
- Encode the passphrase
- Split the resulting text into pieces
- Send the pieces to 4+ trusted relatives / best friends
When you die or forget the password, your trustees will cooperate to assemble the original passphrase, decode it, recover your Bitcoins.
What are the problems with this solution?
... + don't forget to answer the poll! (right above this post)
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FAQ based on comments:
Q: What if the trustees conspire to steal your funds?
A: If some trustees turn against you, the others will still protect your funds. For example, an encoded passphrase can be split between mom, dad, wife, best friend. Even if dad, wife and best friend conspire against you, mom will still hold defense (by not giving them her part of the passphrase)
Q: What if a trustee loses its piece of the passphrase?
A: You can send copies of the same piece to multiple trustees using a "split" technique:
- Split the passphrase in 2 pieces
- Send the 1st piece to mom and wife
- Send the 2nd piece to dad and best friend
Even if best friend loses his piece, dad will still have his own copy.