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Collaborative Custody | Easy and Secure Bitcoin Vaults
Get Both the Security of Multisig and the Comfort of Custody!
Not Comfortable Setting up Your Own Multisig?
- Create Extremely Secure Multisig Vaults
- You Will have full control over your Bitcoin
- Don't Worry About One Backup Key and the Wallet File
- An Interface as Easy and User Friendly as Normal Custody
- Enjoy Expert Level Knowhow and Customer Support
What is Collaborative Custody?
Are you looking to setup multisig to secure your Bitcoin, but not comfortable to do it all by yourself? Are you not confident enough to dive straight in or do you simply not have enough time to learn about multisig? Then collaborative custody or assisted multisig is the perfect solution for you!
Collaborative custody is a genius compromise between multisig and 3rd party custody, where you get the best of both worlds. You get the self-sovereignty from multisig, because you will keep control over the bitcoins yourself. Further, you will get the comfort and support as with 3rd party custody, because you can use their software, backup, knowhow and support.
How Does it Work?
There are multiple variations possible with collaborative custody, but this is the standard way how it works: You open a 2-of-3 (?) multisig vault on their website or app, where you hold 2 keys and the assisting party holds one key. For the keys you will use hardware wallets, that you can easily register in their application.
Because you hold two keys and the assisting party holds only one, you will always be able to control your own bitcoins while the assisting party won’t. However, if you lose one key the assisting party can sign with their key on your behave to recover your funds. Also, the backup of your wallet file becomes less critical, because the assisting party has this information too.
So what will you get with collaborative custody: You will get full control over your bitcoins. If you lose one key you can still recover your coins. You get the user friendly interface that feels like normal custody and you get expert knowhow and customer support!
Best Collaborative Custody Providers
If you are interested in assisted multisig it’s time to choose a provider. There are multiple trusted entities that deliver this service. They use different software, the setup is slightly different, you get some different features and some have additional services. You can choose the one that fits you best, or you can diversify your bitcoins over multiple providers. Below the best providers:
The Bitcoin Adviser
If you want to get a wide range of services to manage your bitcoins, The Bitcoin Adviser is a great option.
Beside collaborative custody they deliver services like Bitcoin education, education for your family, inheritance, Bitcoin in your pension plans and much more. The Bitcoin Advise uses 3rd party software and services to set you up with collaborative custody and further financial planning.
If you are interested in this service, you can book a consultation with one of the partners of the Bitcoin adviser. You can choose from 30+ different partners, who are all respected bitcoiners known from Bitcoin Twitter, Bitcoin podcasts or other Bitcoin related media.
The partner of choice will lead you through the options, help you with the setup and function as a signer in your collaborative custody setup. The great thing is that you will be able to choose someone you ‘know’ (from the internet) and trust.
Unchained
Unchained, former Unchained Capital is a pioneer in collaborative custody. They have their own software to setup secure multisig vaults. There are two different vault options that you can use:
One is a 2-of-3 for secure cold storage where you hold two keys and Unchained holds one. With this vault you will have full control over your own bitcoin. Unchained functions as a backup or co-signer.
The other vault option is a 2-of-3 multisig designed for financial services like lending. You will hold one key, Unchained will hold one and a 3rd party lawyer will hold one. With this setup you don’t fully control your own coins, because they are being used as collateral and Unchained have to be able to liquidate them in case of a margin call. You or the lawyer have to sign to make this happen.
Unchained is one of the best for secure vaults for long term cold storage and financial services where rehypothecation can’t be done and counter party risk is as low as possible. Further it’s a highly regarded and respected company with lots of great education and a helpful customer support.
Casa
Casa is a private and user friendly multisignature app where like with other collaborative custody platforms the keys are shared with the user. The user keeps control over the bitcoins, but Casa can sign with the backup keys. With Casa you get recovery and inheritance features in a private way, you don’t need to do KYC.
Jameson Lopp, a security and privacy expert and wel known OG Bitcoin is the chief security officer, which gives the company a lot of trust. With Casa you can choose between 3 different paid plans. Which is best for you is depending on the size of your stack.
- Standard | This plan is a 3 key setup, which means that it’s a 2-of-3 multisig. It is designed for long term hodl including inheritance of amounts under the 100k USD. For most normal Bitcoin holders, this is the best suited plan
- Premium | This plan is a 5 key setup, which means that it’s a 3-of-5 multisig. It is designed for bigger holders with a stack of over 100k. You will get a one-on-one video call to get set up.
- Private | This plan is meant for high-net-worth individuals who have a massive stack to protect. It’s a 3-of-5 multisig, but on request one key can be added. It comes with a personalised approach designed by Casa’s experts.
Beside these 3 plans they also have a product for institutions. Further they use seedless backups and besides Bitcoin they support ETH and USDT.
Nunchuck
Nunchuck is an advanced multisig wallet with very interesting features made possible by miniscript. This enables inheritance without trusted 3rd parties, set spending limits, reoccurring transactions and emergency lockdown. For collaborative custody there are two paid plans available:
- Finney Standard | The standard plan is a 2-of-3 multisig with a wide range of features and services. This plan is designed for Bitcoin holders with a moderate stack.
- Finney Pro | The pro plan is a 3-of-5 multisig with a wide range of features and services. This plan is designed for Bitcoin holders with a bigger stack.
Inheritance is being set up as a 2-of-4 multisig where a time can be set that the funds can be claimed. This is done with a time lock so that there is no need for trusted 3rd parties to hand over the keys or the funds.
Compare Collaborative Custody Providers
Are you looking for the best collaborative custody providers to setup a secure multisig vault? Or do you want to use multiple providers to spread your funds or to enjoy different features and services? In the table below you can compare the best providers and go straight to their official website!
| Provider | Yearly Price | Quorum | Extra Services | Hardware | More Info | Sign Up! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Bitcoin Adviser | On Request | 2-of-3 | Advise, Education, Inheritance | Coldcard, Trezor, Ledger | MORE INFO | Get Started! |
 | Unchained Multisig Vault | FREE | 2-of-3 | Business Vaults, Loans, Buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin IRA, Inheritance | Coldcard, Trezor, Ledger | MORE INFO | Get Started! |
 | Casa Multisig Vault | Standard - $250 Premium - $2100 | Free - Singlesig Standard - 2-of-3 Premium - 3-of-5 | Inheritance | Coldcard, Trezor, Ledger | MORE INFO | Get Started! |
 | Nunchuck Assisted Multisig | Standard - $250 Pro - $750 | Standard - 2-of-3 Pro - 2-of-5 | Multisig Wallet, Inheritance, Spending Conditions, | Coldcard, Trezor, Ledger, Keystone, Passport, Blockstream Jade, Tapsigner | MORE INFO | Get Started! |
