My Mixin Safe ReviewTo create a mixin safe I had several options to choose from(Mornin key, Ledger Hardware wallet, Bitcoin Core) and I started with Mornin key because this is a mobile based app which can be downloaded from the playstore which I thought was convenient for me as I was on mobile ,but unfortunately this is a paying app which forced me to try other available options to see if anyone out there can get started without paying a dime.
Second option was to use a ledger hardware wallet but unfortunately my little gadget isnt in yet so had to pass on this option..but in the future might love to test this out if time allows.
Third option was to use Bitcoin Core wallet which was the most popular methods according to Mixin Safe support page at the time of writing this , and looking at the tutorial on the mixin safe walkthrough page, the process seemed to have a lot of typing/coding which I was really not up for as I was on mobile and went with the first option.
So apparently to get Mornin key downloaded on your device for android users like me, you have to pay a small token of 0.99 dollars which is no biggie as we are covered thanx to Mixin
But another option to download the app is to follow the link shared on their support page to get apk downloaded for free , but to support the project download app from the playstore..otherwise download apk from here ==》 (
https://newbie.zeromesh.net/mornin-18.apk)
Steps to setup Wallet with Mornin key1.Prepare Owner Wallet
First step simply requires you to have the Mornin key manager downloaded on your device, which is also available only on iOS and Android for now.
2.Prepare Members Wallet
This step involves inviting friends and family to the mixin Messenger wallet , which I downloaded to interact with the the mixin ecosystem.
3.Set Mixin Messenger PIN
Think of this as an authentication key to proceed, and btw this was one fun thing I did on the mixin ecosystem...having to enter pin like 4 times was oddly mind blowing and I love different
4.Add Mixin Messenger Contacts
-Think of these as contacts you will be interacting, you can chat with via Mixin Messenger app, can also use these contacts as your multisig members or emergency contacts, the possibilities are endless.
5.Set Emergency Contact
For this step I just added a special someone as the emergency contact because you can't be too careful.
6.Sign in Mixin Safe
-If you get this far, you are ready to create your first safe.
CREATING A SAFE
To create a safe, this is done in 3 easy steps
- Give the safe a name and pick the blockchain or coin available from the drop-down menu and at the time of writing this, this is limited to bitcoin & litecoin for now
- Set Owner and add members
- Lastly Approve!
Btw, before anything its advisable to upgrade your plan to enjoy the perks that come with this such as getting the Recovery service, X number of members to be added depending on plan, create X number of Safes depending on plan etc and I paid for a plan before creating a safe, though the process is Safe first then pay for plan last
Personally, I choose to go with the standard plan as the package suits my needs and most should afford this option....I mean its $2
Did I also mention that mixin Safe wallet makes it easy for anyone that wants to upgrade with their multicoin support, see image below for coins available and let those high transaction fees not stop you.
After making my subscription this is what I saw on my dashboard, and I can still upgrade to other plans if I wanted to have the extra perks.
To continue the Safe creation, I added an extra member before the completion of the mixin safe, as this is a prerequisite and after this process was ready to see how multisig works as safe creation was succesfully done.
PUTTING MIXIN MULTISIG TO THE TEST
For this test, I have 2 members set up for the multisig process, which is myself and my crypto buddy as the other member, and also set it to a
2 out of 2 threshold for this test as can be seen by the image below. With kind of setup, this implies that should someone have unauthorized access to the wallet and I have funds stored in the safe, the user will not transfer coins out unless they have the other member key to complete the required threshold!
Next step was me acting as the owner and sending out some crypto out to see how much of the extra security multisig has when using mixin.
And as can be seen from the image below, coins could not be sent out without the approval of the owner(me) and other member(s).
Upon hitting the send coins, approval was required and this is what is expected to be seen by both parties.
-Image on the left shows what to expect to see on your dashboard after other member approves
-Image on the right shows a nice tidy interface of what to expect after all required members approve the transaction.
After both approvals were done, within 3 to 10 seconds a transaction hash is given where I was able to track my transaction, and tx confirmed within the next block which was impressive thought they would apply small fees to our transactions
Just a few questions for the devs:- Why is creating a Mixin safe only available on desktop and not the mobile app??
- Is an in-app coin exchanger possible for the sake of convenience
- The walkthroughs on the website aren't user friendly based on my experience, is having some kind of mini videos possible to make the various processes easier?
- Is it possible to have card payments added to mixin to have users easily upgrade their subscriptions as not everyone could be familiar with cryptocurrencies
- Lastly this is 50/50, when using mixin on mobile, funds received in safe never get to show as wallet balance in spite of having a positive balance...how does this one work?
***Edit***
Something i discovered yesterday, when you log into Mixin Safe via the web platform (
https://safe.mixin.zone), I have noticed that mixin doesn't log you out automatically even after several hours of you not being near you PC. For a users security is this not suppose to work in such a way, that after X minutes it should log you out automatically or be asking you to sign In with Mornin key 🔑 or something...better yet a sign out period can be included in settings or something, my 2cents.
Thanks
@logfiles for the advice