About CryptoGlacier

CryptoGlacier is a step-by-step protocol for storing crypto assets in a highly secure manner. It is based on the popular Glacier Protocol.

There are two main differences between CryptoGlacier and Glacier:

• CryptoGlacier adds support for other cryptocurrencies
• CryptoGlacier is not intended for personal storage, but situations where various, distinct, keyholders must agree with each other to access funds

CryptoGlacier does not address institutional security needs such as internal controls, and transparent auditing. It does prevent access to funds by a single individual.

Just as Glacier, CryptoGlacier is also intended for:

• Large amounts of money ($100,000+): CryptoGlacier thoroughly considers corner cases such as obscure vectors for malware infection, human error resulting in loss of funds, and so on. Even if your crypto holdings are more modest, it’s worth considering using CryptoGlacier. If crypto proves successful as a technology, it will appreciate 10x (or much more) in the coming years. Security will become increasingly important if your holdings appreciate and crypto becomes a more attractive target for thieves. Consider Glacier Protocol if you’re looking for personal storage.
• Long-term storage: CryptoGlacier not only considers the crypto security landscape today, but also a future world where crypto is much more valuable and attracts many more security threats.
• Infrequently-accessed funds: Accessing highly secure funds is cumbersome and introduces security risk through the possibility of human error, so it is best done infrequently.
• Technically unskilled users: Although the CryptoGlacier protocol is long, it is clear and straightforward to follow. Some technical expertise is required.

The CryptoGlacier protocol covers crypto storage, not procurement. It assumes you already possess crypto and wish to store it more securely.

If you are already familiar with crypto security concepts and are certain that you want high security, multi-signature, cold storage, you may prefer to read Trusting This Protocol and then skip to the section Choosing a Multisignature Withdrawal Policy.

Supported Cryptocurrencies

This document currently supports:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ethereum
• Etherum-based ERC20 tokens
• Litecoin
• XRP

Trusting this protocol

Funds secured using CryptoGlacier can only be as secure as its design. As previously mentioned, CryptoGlacier is based on the Glacier protocol but has some important distinctions and at the time of writing it hasn’t yet attracted widespread Expert Advisory or Community Review.

CryptoGlacier and CryptoGlacierScript, the CryptoGlacier companion software, are open source. The code is straightforward and well-commented to facilitate easy review for flaws or vulnerabilities. View it on Github.

All documentation and code related to this protocol is under open licenses (Creative Commons for the document, MIT license for the code), enabling others to publish their own revisions. Inferior alternatives will tend to lose popularity over time.

If you like, you may review the design document of the Glacier Protocol for details on the technical design.

Background

Glacier vs CryptoGlacier

Let’s start by assessing whether Glacier or CryptoGlacier is right for you. Some advantages of CryptoGlacier include:

• Storing multiple crypto assets: Although Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency, today we have hundreds of crypto assets which are currently not supported by the Glacier protocol.
• BIP39 Mnemonics: CryptoGlacier allows you to derive keys across crypto-protocols by storing a 24-word mnemonic. This adds simplicity for key-storage and supports multiple protocols.
• Multiple key holders: CryptoGlacier was designed for multiple key holders and prevents a single entity from ever having unilateral access to funds. Glacier is meant for personal storage of Bitcoin where a single individual can always access funds unilaterally.
• HD wallets for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin: CryptoGlacier increases privacy by utilizing HD wallets instead of reusing addresses as the original Glacier Protocol does.

Self-Managed Storage vs. Managed by a third party

There is no such thing as perfect security. There are only degrees of security, and those degrees come at a cost (in time, money, convenience, etc.) So the first question is: How much security are you willing to invest in? In the last few years we’ve seen a rise of 3rd party institutional custody solutions for crypto assets. Most allow for multiple signatories, estate planning, etc. The pros and cons of the various 3rd party services are beyond the scope of this document. Some options are BitGo, Coinbase Custody, Ledger Vault, and Vo1t.

However, all 3rd party storage services still come with some notable risks which self-managed storage does not have:

1. Identity spoofing: Your account on the service could be hacked (including through methods such as identity theft, where someone convinces the service they are you).
2. Network exposure: 3rd party services still need to transmit security-critical information over the Internet, which creates an opportunity for that information to be stolen. In contrast, self-managed storage can be done with no network exposure.
3. Under constant attack: 3rd party services can be hacked by attackers from anywhere in the world. People know these services store lots of funds, which makes them much larger targets. If there’s a flaw in their security, it’s more likely to be found and exploited.
4. Internal theft: They have to protect against internal theft from a large group of employees & contractors.
5. Intentional seizure: They have the ability (whether of their own volition, or under pressure from governments) to seize your funds. There is historical precedent for this, even if funds are not suspected of criminal involvement. In 2010, Cyprus unilaterally seized many bank depositors’ funds to cope with an economic crisis. In 1933, the US abruptly demanded citizens surrender almost all gold they owned to the government. Regardless of how one views the political desirability of these particular decisions, there is precedent for governments taking such an action, and one cannot necessarily predict the reasons they might do so in the future. Furthermore, Bitcoin still operates in a political and legal gray zone, which increases these political risks.

Some 3rd party services have insurance to cover losses, although that insurance doesn’t protect against all of these scenarios, and often has limits on the amount insured.

These risks are not theoretical. Many online services have lost customers’ funds (and not reimbursed them), including Mt. Gox, Bitfinex, and many more.

Many people use online or hybrid solutions to store sizeable amounts of money. We recommend self-managed storage for large holdings, but ultimately it’s a personal decision based on your risk tolerance and costs you’re willing to pay (in money and time) for security.

CryptoGlacier focuses exclusively on storage managed by different entities where not a single entity has unilateral control over the funds.

CryptoGlacier vs. Hardware Wallets

Many people who choose self-managed storage (as opposed to an online storage service) use “hardware wallets” such as the Trezor, Ledger, and KeepKey to store their crypto. These products can be setup in a way where multi-signature is required to move funds. While these are great products that provide strong security, CryptoGlacier is intended to offer an even higher level of protection than today’s hardware wallets can provide.

The primary security consideration is that all hardware wallets today operate via a physical USB link to a regular computer. While they employ extensive safeguards to prevent any sensitive data (such as private keys) from being transmitted over this connection, it’s possible that an undiscovered vulnerability could be exploited by malware to steal private keys from the device.

For details on this and other security considerations, see the “No Hardware Wallets” section of the design document. As with online multisig vaults, many people do use hardware wallets to store sizeable amounts of money. We personally recommend CryptoGlacier for large holdings, but ultimately it’s a personal decision based on your risk tolerance and costs you’re willing to pay (in money and time) for security.