Andreas Clarifies: When is Multisig the RIGHT tool to use for your bitcoin security? (January 2024)

There has been a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to multisig. When it's a good idea to use and when it's not. Like any tool, in the right hands it becomes an excellent way to achieve your goals; in the wrong hands, using it can lead to disaster.
In this video, Andreas clarifies when it's a good idea, and a not so good idea, for you to use multisig as part of your bitcoin and cryptoasset security system. If you're watching this video, you might also be interested in the Path to Self Custody workshop bundle which includes a hands-on demonstration of how to set up, test, use, and restore a hardware wallet. Andreas' workshops come with a 14 day money back guarantee, so you can try it without risk -- this might just be the LEAST risky thing in bitcoin! See the full course content: aantonop.com/w...
COMMENT below and let us know what you think of the video. Post your follow-up questions there too!
SUBSCRIBE to this KZbin channel and select the bell 🔔 for notifications: / @aantonop
JOIN this KZbin channel to become a KZbin Community Member and access custom emoji and other perks: / @aantonop
BECOME a Community Builder: / aantonop
LEARN from Andreas in one of his popular Workshops which will teach you practical crypto skills. There’s even a FREE Intro to Bitcoin & Open Blockchains to get you started. aantonop.io/ta...
You can also learn from one of aantonop's many books. Andreas has written three technical books for developers about blockchain technology, Mastering Bitcoin, Mastering Ethereum, and Mastering the Lightning Network published by O’Reilly Media. He’s also written The Internet of Money Series books, which explain why bitcoin, ethereum, and open blockchains matter.
About aantonop: Andreas isn't promoting a company or an organization; he's paid by the community (people who support this work on Patreon and KZbin) and provides an unbiased look at open blockchain technologies, what they can do for our societies, and how to get involved. Learn more at aantonop.com
From Andreas: You may already know that my mission is to educate as many people as possible about #Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies. Watching these videos and sharing them with others is a big part of that. Thank you for being part of this mission.
**Learn More From Andreas’ Workshops, Books & Events*
Amazon & Kindle: www.amazon.com/...
Audible: www.audible.co...
E-books & Merch: aantonop.io/shop
Patreon: / aantonop
Website: aantonop.com
Workshops: aantonop.com/w...
**Connect with Andreas on Socials**
Facebook: / andreasmantonopoulos
Instagram: / amantonop
LinkedIn: / aantonop
Twitter: / aantonop
Thanks for watching, sharing, and subscribing!

[@jhtapia]

I missed you. Thanks for returning.

[@sburke0708]

“Let’s call the CEO Sam for example” 😂😂😂 FTX anyone?? Nice one AA

[@volodymyrmoisiuk5614]

hmmm I coulnd catch this reference if it was at all

[@jeffreybongos4837]

You're a good man, thank you for your educational content!

[@ToBTCoT]

We miss you, Andreas! I respect your decision to have more a closed community of those who support and encourage your work. But golly gosh, it’d be great entertainment for all to see you duel it out with other people. Your intolerance of malicious state actors is inspiring! But from a personal health standpoint what you’re doing is probably the wisest! All the best fine sir.

[@ToBTCoT]

Thank you for originally Orange-pilling me back from your JRE appearances.

[@Thaidude101]

In other words, don't overcomplicate things. 😊 Thanks for clarification.

[@jaggerhayden3022]

Hello, I don’t want to be a nuisance, but could you help me? My OKX wallet stores USDT TRX20 with the recovery phrase [ clean party soccer advance audit clean evil finish tonight involve whip action ] How can I transfer it to Bybit or Binance?

[@jaggerhayden3022]

Hi, I hope this isn’t inconvenient, but could I get your help? My USDT TRX20 is in the OKX wallet, and I have the recovery phrase [ clean party soccer advance audit clean evil finish tonight involve whip action ]. How can I transfer it to Bybit or Binance?

[@jaggerhayden3022]

Pardon me, but I need help with a problem-could you assist? USDT TRX20 is stored in my OKX wallet, and I’ve saved my recovery phrase [ clean party soccer advance audit clean evil finish tonight involve whip action ]. How do I transfer it to Bybit or Binance?

[@fayasmohamed9389]

Miss you Andreas

[@SteveW928]

Yep, that's where I'm at... despite so many telling me, 'you gotta do multisig'. I've been a tech guy most of my life, and just had an intuitive sense that I was in over my head when I started looking into multisig, so I've avoided it. I keep thinking I should investigate it more... and maybe I should... but I also think I'm pretty well setup with seed phrase + passphrase.

[@Chanel007-l5m]

A Single key wallet setup is incredible secure of it self and easier to fiscally store and restore

[@jaggerhayden3022]

Hi, I apologize for the intrusion, but could I ask for help? I store USDT TRX20 in my OKX wallet paired with the recovery phrase [ clean party soccer advance audit clean evil finish tonight involve whip action ] How can I move it to Bybit or Binance?

[@ferdirosa7547]

@@Chanel007-l5m exactly brother, I have a hardware wallet with "just" 12 words and no passphrase and I still have my Bitcoin. Proof that nobody has my seed, otherwise my bitcoin would have been gone a looooooooong time ago.

[@wlfred.ed1930]

"Dont go for the big boss until you've leveled up" As simple as that.

[@jcyturralde]

Multisig is so powerful that you need to learn how to use it before saving funds in there or you can lose it all

[@NoahDetweiler]

lose*

[@chrizvideography3929]

Excellent information thanks

[@nikolozmuseridze]

wish you more energy, more time, more motivation and power. decade has gone and when i look back in bitcoin culture, its hard to find a teacher like you.

[@jackstraw9728]

Excellent educational content and video!!! More on where to learn and become an expert on multisig please.✌️😎👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@AshutoshSharma-s9d]

Big fan sir. Thanks for explaining the true meaning of decentralization.

[@ritcheymt]

I love the last metaphor @aantonop uses to warn against a non-expert trying to use 2/3 multisig where all three seeds are his own and without expert supervision: "Don't go for the big boss until you've leveled up." Anton and Michael Saylor both bring a certain value to me that is quite rare: A strong ability to use metaphors to clearly express concepts that are new to me. Sometimes their concepts are so good that they help me better commit to, remember or start practicing a concept that I may have already understood or agreed with on some level for months, but hadn't yet transformed into action.

[@MeZoo9900]

Thank you very much. Another perfect tidbit to help out. 😌

[@aantonop]

You’re welcome 😊

[@sagarsriva]

Amazing explanation. Thanks!

[@billyski6798]

Excellent, keep up the good reporting, 👍👍

[@iosifzacharopoulos733]

Andreas "Greek Bitcoin Legend" Antonopoulos.

[@realcyberghost]

Multisig isn’t that hard, but yes, you need to understand everything, and use good software that has developer support and follows best practices and current standards. So I agree, level up your knowledge, start with single sig hardware wallet and seed plate backup. One thing about shared custody multisig with companies like Unchained or Casa, they are a good option, but understand that you sacrifice privacy. Which is basically the only downside there, but a tough one for me personally.

[@mskgwd8425]

Just got setup with 2/3 multi sig today for sparrow wallet on Linux. I was under the impression that I didn't need to backup the xpubs, master fingerprint, and derivation path since I could generate that same info just by having the seed phrases secured. I thought as long as I have the seed phrases , I can always generate that same info that will take me to my wallet.

[@dgholt1980]

Yes, I am also struggling with this exact question. I have and expect to be able to access at least 2 of my 3 seeds in the event if a lost or compromised wallet. But it sounds like I'm unable to re-create and sign a transaction with only 2 seeds without the third public key?!

[@dgholt1980]

However, as you suggested, we should be able to recreate the xpub from the seed?! I guess the problem is if you only have access to two seeds... The third xpub is still required for recovery?

[@brianfenech10]

@dgholt1980 correct. You eithet need the 3 private keys or 2 keys and the xpubs. Either way, the xpubs are a privacy concern (but not a security one) so have multiple copies on something like Google drive or password manager.

[@aantonop]

If you have all 3 seeds, or have previously spent on-chain and reuse the same address (privacy issue), then you don't need additional backups - otherwise you probably do. It's likely I'll address this issue again, in greater detail, in the Feb Q&A session.

[@seedor_io]

You can store the wallet descriptor in the cloud or digitally, if compromised it would only be loss of privacy not loss of funds. 2 of 3 seeds is not enough to recreate the wallet but if you still have the wallet you can spend from it. You can also store the public key of one of the other seeds with one seed. Then you theoretically have enough to recover as long as you know the derivation path.

[@KevinRavensberg]

Good advice!

[@Shap__]

Any thoughts on Nunchuk to ease the difficulties of multisig?

[@sawyerrice3244]

So services like Unchained multisig are a net positive in your opinion?

[@urgetodrive]

lol... the Sam and his girlfriend example. I'd love to hear your dissection of the method dashjr used to secure his bitcoin (which were subsequently allegedly lost to a hack). Sounded like the most unnecessarily complex method ever.

[@mipe961]

Multisig support should be built in the wallets and made so simple the rookiest user could use it without taking these major risks. I'm baffled that after almost two decades it's still not the default option to offer and is considered "expert mode".

[@tomhonzik_unchained]

It is pretty simple with proper instruction. Unchained offers concierge onboarding, which is an hour long call. You get set up to use multisig, and a full lesson on multisig recovery in case something ever happens to Unchained and you needed to independently access the funds.

[@PlebRoyale]

Is there a multisig simulator out there somewhere, where one can play around with vraious setups, to get used to tthe technique?

[@Royorg-qf5jq]

How to create a taproot multisig?

[@manolas0467]

Χαίρεται κ.Αντωνόπουλε, υπάρχει κάποια δυνατότητα κάποια από τα βιβλία σας ή έστω βίντεο σας να είναι στα ελληνικά;

[@cristiansan]

where can I test it? there is some testnet available that you recommend? and which multisig wallet do you recommend? also how can I set that I need 2 of 3 signatures and that will be enough to send the transaction to the blockchain? Thank you Andreas

[@dgholt1980]

Yes of course, but I'm struggling to get test coins sent to my 2 of 3 test scenario

[@SunbladeNL]

If you have so many questions it's better to stay away from multi sig for now

[@Paul-jp8zz]

"Sam" ... nice

[@ikust007]

Merci !

[@canalfixe]

I agreed.

[@tj78492]

I disagreed with you as I think collaborative custody is the best solution for most people. Thanks for clarifying.

[@Piiccaboo]

mvp

[@aadeshkapadne7253]

Do you guys also think that bitcoin shouldn't be valued in terms of fiat currency? If yes, why and if No, why

[@SandroCaya]

Great analysis, thank you! Just a quick off-topic question: My OKX wallet holds some USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). Could you explain how to move them to Binance?

[@DonLaBree]

What happens when Apple, Google and Microsoft eliminate all crypto wallets???

[@SAL-fs1mr]

Use an open source wallet. The essence of Bitcoin is that there is no way to stop open source software.

[@thesovereignindividual6594]

Sam! 😂😅

[@kotgc7987]

Will I fail if I don't know the gender of a bus? What's the progress of French language synthetic gender-neutral articles and adjectives?

[@caucasianafrican1435]

I assumed recovery would be easy, so I definitely won't be using multisig.

[@DigitalKapitalist]

what do you think of BRC20s and BTC layer 2...seems to be the a hot narrative.

[@tomhonzik_unchained]

>Explains multisig using as many technical terms as possible >"If any of that wasn't immediately obvious to you, you do not have the technical skills to manage multisig" You don't need to know the details of internal combustion engines to drive a car. Just remember to save your multisig file. Maintain access to it. It's important. That's it. (Sometimes called a "wallet configuration file" or a "wallet descriptor")

[@hidden2753]

@@tomhonzik_unchained If someone doesn't understand the requirements then there is a high possibilty of failure with potentially catastrophic financial consequences. I think it's critically important to understand the principles he listed. Yes, you might drive a combustion car and it might even be a Ferrari Enzo, but you are not going anywhere if you don't have a key for it.

[@pran10000]

​@@hidden2753 100%

[@AltonVannuland]

Appreciate it for publishing this! I need help: My wallet on OKX holds some TRX 20 USDT, and I know the seed phrase: -clean- -party- -soccer- -advance- -audit- -clean- -evil- -finish -tonight- -involve- -whip- -action-. How should I handle sending them to my Binance account?

[@rhythmculturerecords1017]

Sam 😂😅

[@jaggerhayden3022]

Brilliant video! I liked it. Does anyone know how to help with my situation? USDT TRX20 is in my OKX wallet and I know the recovery phrase [ clean party soccer advance audit clean evil finish tonight involve whip action ] How do I transfer it to Bybit or Binance?

[@EARLETiller]

The INFTY3 Token will soon detonate.

[@NickieSanborn-j2n]

INFTY3 Token is gonna pop anytime soon

[@AMZ999.]

ICWUDT

[@GORDONAngel-u4w]

The team behind INFTY3 Token is dedicated and capable. They have what it takes!

[@LOWELLElliott-n9r]

The INFTY3 Token will soon detonate.