Topic: Shamir backup sounds dumb to me - page 2. (Read 266 times)

Although I really haven't heard of this method of seed storage, I think from what the OP is explaining it is different from how the regular multi sig wallets work. From the name, multi Sig wallets literally split the signature, meaning both Parties would have to sign a transaction from that wallet for it to be valid and have a transaction hash.

Anyways with that being said, I really don't fancy the idea of splitting your seed phrase into different pieces and storing them in different places. Well  one of my reasons is because say you split  a 12 word seed into 4 places then you end up losing one piece to probably naturally disaster, you would  then need to go through a stressful recovery process to brute force what you have left.
I think duplicating and storing in safe places is a better option.

Assuming it is 2-of-3 multisig. If the wallet has been setup already, only 2 keys are required for making transactions. But if you want to recover the wallet, you will need the 3 keys.

Not necessarily all the backups. I explained that above. It depends on the number of sheets that you set when you generate the shares. You can generate 5 shares and only set it to require 3 for the recovery.

Yes Shamir backup is similar to multisig. But with multisig I believe you need two or more of the keys to execute any transactions, or just sending transactions.
But with Shamir you only need the backup keys to restore your wallet, ie: your hardware wallet becomes lost, stolen or destroyed.

You can keep the backups yourself.

Assuming you generate 3 shares for it, you can set it in a way that only 2 is required for the recovery. You can even make it 1 for the recovery but no purpose of having 3 shares in this regard. I just use it to explain.

You can keep all the shares yourself. But it can help just like multisig but it is different from multisig.

Reputed members on this forum like gmaxwell does not recommend it.

SSS has pros and cons, One of its advantages is that it is safer than using a single wallet seed. In the case of the seed, if someone can access it, they will get your money, while in SSS, they may need 2 thresholds out of3 shares.
But in any case, the multi-sig wallet is better and gives you multiple options according to what you want.
There are many detailed discussions here:

 - https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.62893823
 - https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.61545852
 - https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.56726302

I haven't heard of this before, sounds similar to mulitsig but then sharing your seed with others in piece?.. well I won't recommend it though.. as a someone who really want to enjoy the freedom of a decentralized system and being your own bank.. it's best to keep your keys your self. I don't see how difficult it is to store your seed offline and in a place where only you will be aware of..

Let me see if I understand this correctly of how Shamir backup works.
So you have to find several people you trust, and each one is supposed to hold a part of your backup key or seedphrase?

Even if you trust each of these people, how do you know one or more of them won't accidentally lose it or forget about it and throw it away? Then you are screwed.
They make it sound so easy to just find a few people who are willing to take on such a major responsibility for you. Bitcoin is supposed to be about avoiding counterparty risk and avoid having to trust third parties. But with Shamir backup you are introducing several third parties into the equation and entrusting them with your life savings.

Yeah sure you can trust your mom or dad, but how can you trust them not to accidentally lose their secret part of the phrase? Which is very easy to do. Especially with older people who tend not to understand crypto at all or usually think of it as a scam and want nothing to do with it. Of course they will want you to explain to them exactly what you are asking them to do, which likely they won't ever understand even after you explain it. They barely understand how to use a computer. It just sounds like a dumb idea to me. When it comes to crypto you can't trust anyone but yourself.