Buterin promotes multisignature and endorses Shamir backup method
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed his preference for multisignature (multisig) solutions over Shamir backup, citing the latter’s potential pitfalls for ordinary users. During a discussion among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, concerns about the security risks associated with cold wallets took center stage, prompting Buterin to raise his own concerns. Peter Watts, the founder of NFT marketplace Reservoir, also cautioned against using hardware wallets, highlighting the risk of losing seed phrases or hastily moving assets stored in a bank’s safety deposit box, particularly during unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Buterin joined the conversation to advocate for the use of multisig setups, which require multiple keys for transactions, in order to decentralize security and prioritize safety in the crypto space. He emphasized the importance of a “M-of-N” configuration, where some keys are held by the user and others by trusted individuals, without revealing their identities to each other. In response, Ethereum investor Tobby Kitty suggested using Shamir, a backup method that splits cryptographic keys or passwords into multiple parts called “shares.” While recognizing the benefits of Shamir, Buterin warned that it is easier to make mistakes with this method compared to multisig, as it requires careful handling and storage of multiple parts of the secret. If any of these parts are lost or mishandled, it may become impossible to reconstruct the secret.
