BLOCKPLATE: A simpler way of storing your recovery seed (in metal)

[blockplate]

UPDATE 11:
Introducing NEW Tamper-Evident Bags:
Opening and re-sealing without showing signs of tampering is impossible. Opaque film prevents visibility of contents. Shows evidence of HEAT or COLD-based tampering. Best of all, they are INCLUDED with every order.

https://www.blockplate.com/blogs/blockplate/fraudstopper-tamper-evident-bag

UPDATE 10:

FREE Domestic Shipping to the US

$9.95 Flat Rate International Shipping

UPDATE 9:
Now shipping to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Australia

UPDATE 8:
New packaging! and a new album getting a up-close look.

UPDATE 7:
Now shipping to Canada!

Canada has been first in our international shipping plans due the demand and its proximity to the US. It lets us gauge how well our packages are handed off between the US and the receiving country.

If this goes well, we will be continuing to expand to other international countries with high demand.

We'll be honest, shipping costs will be high. In the meantime, we will try to find alternative international shipping options to lower costs but there is no guarantee.

UPDATE 6:
Big thanks to Jameson Lopp for trying to destroy our product and putting it through the most extreme, apocalyptic conditions:

Metal Bitcoin Seed Storage Stress Test (Part II)

UPDATE 5:
Hey folks, It has been awhile since we last chimed in. We updated the Blockplate.

We’re calling it:
 Blockplate (ver 2.0)

Why did we update it?
Quite frankly, we were not satisfied with its quality. It took us almost a year to get it to our high standards. It is still produced in the US.

What’s new?
Manufacturing quality has drastically improved.

Visual comparison:
https://i.imgur.com/gbAcUzp.png

• Deeper Laser Engraving
  The new Blockplate (ver 2.0) is laser engraved whereas the first version is laser etched.
  
  What’s the difference?
  
  

  The terms laser engraving, etching, and marking are commonly used interchangeably. In general, a focused beam of heat is concentrated on the surface of the metal creating an impression. Manufacturing costs depend on the depth and design. (more complicated, deeper, and time consuming the design, the more costly)
  

  • Laser Engraving physically removes material from the metal. It gives depth to the engraving than can be seen at eye level. This is ideal for high wear conditions environments.
  • Laser Etching is a subset of engraving, also taking away material from the metal but a very minimal amount. ( < 0.001”)
  • Laser Marking discolors the metal surface to giving a dark marking. (This is the most commonly used for barcodes, personalization, and identification.)

  Engraving is the most production intensive.

  To give a visualization, the original’s etching could only be felt with your fingernail. The new engraving can be felt any body part.

• Higher Quality Finish
  Blockplate (1.0) had a duller, matte grey finish. Blockplate (2.0) has a more polished workhorse finish commonly used in commercial kitchen equipment.

Why did we do this?
Longevity and Resistance. A deeper engraving withstands harsher abrasive conditions. This allows long lasting visibility even after repeated cycles of abuse. Finishing the surface removes imperfections on the metal providing additional resistance to rust, corrosion, and wear.


We wanted give some insight on why we designed Blockplate the way we did:

Why do you allow only four letters for each word and not the full word?
During our initial design and testing of the layout, we found that the more available letters spaces added, the more difficult it was to match each space to the letters along the edge. Thus, we minimized the available spaces to what was absolutely necessary. This meant the first four letters for each word.

Quoting the BIP39 spec:

the wordlist is created in such way that it's enough to type the first four letters to unambiguously identify the word

Why do you not just use the numbers of each word in the BIP39 list?
We purposely did not do this because the purpose of the BIP39 to be less prone to human error and be able to be easily audited.

Quoting the BIP39 spec:

A mnemonic code or sentence is superior for human interaction compared to the handling of raw binary or hexadecimal representations of a wallet seed. The sentence could be written on paper or spoken over the telephone. This guide is meant to be a way to transport computer-generated randomness with a human readable transcription.

And yes, we are aware of limiting the first four letters makes it less human friendly. We had to balance size and utility. We feel letters in some recognizable order is an improvement over numbers in terms of reading, auditing, and transcribing. Some wallets will also fill in the rest of the word after the first four letters.

Why didn’t you make the layout smaller?
We wanted to minimize alienating those who have difficulty with a steady head or precise vision. We designed the dimensions of each space with safety factor based on the diameter of a center punch tip.



Last few notes:

• We updated the How it Works video with the new Blockplate.

• With every new version, the previous version is sold at a discounted price. A limited amount of the first Blockplate (ver 1.0) are available. No more will ever be made after they are gone.

• Center punches are not included. They can purchased separately but quite frankly, we don’t want you to. We strongly recommend purchasing one from a local hardware store or an online marketplace (It’s cheaper!). We’re not in the business of manufacturing center punches and have no control over their quality. Typically, they have a lifetime guarantee and if there is an issue, it saves you time to go directly to the manufacturer rather than us (as a middle man).

• We are still working international shipping. The biggest issue we have is cost. Carriers charge upwards of 20 USD to ship internationally which we feel is cost prohibitive to customers. Unfortunately the previously cost effective “flat envelope” shipping is no longer available (It has been explicitly restricted to documents). We appreciate any suggestions. We would love to reach internationally.

tldr: new Blockplate, you can feel it all over your body now.

With Bitcoin, instead of a "trusted entity" (like a bank), security is your own personal responsibility. This difference can be daunting to some and prevent them from undertaking that obligation when buying their first bitcoin.

If we are to expect mass adoption, that uneasiness has to change.

Our goal is to promote acceptance and introduce simplicity to the one thing that will save your ass when your wallet fails, your recovery seed.

We're sharing a clean, permanent, and professional way of storing your wallet recovery seed phrase on a durable, long lasting material.

https://i.imgur.com/ama9XPa.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/DYPG9n3.png?1
https://i.imgur.com/Jd0gO2R.png?1

Using an automatic center punch (an easy tool that creates dimples in strong materials) you create a series of physical, permanant indentations on the plate to represent each letter/word of your mnemonic 12-24 recovery phrase.

A video of this in work: https://youtu.be/Mzt1ztX-_xE

Made of 304 stainless steel. Center punch is included.

Specifically for the BIP39 English wordlist. (using the first 4 unique letters of each word to minimize size)

Each Blockplate stores 12 words (6 on the front, 6 on the back, again to minimize size).

The grid is physically engraved into the plate.

Both sides can be safely punched without damaging the other due to the thickness (2mm) and hardness of the stainless steel.

For more information, our website is:

https://www.blockplate.com

We feel this is easier, simpler, and less intimidating than other methods (like metal stamping) and hope that it's a step in the right direction for cryptocurrency to be a regular, everyday thing.

Currently, we're doing an early pre-sale 2-pack (edit: that includes x2 plates (for up to 24 words) and a center punch which is included free with every order) for our first batch that we expect to ship in March 2018. Given that this is our first batch, it's limited to US shipping only. We'd like to work out international shipping logistics first to prevent losing units in transit.

This is the beginning and we hope to grow along with the community and the need for crypto-security. We'd love any input and support (even just mentioning us to a friend!).

Thank you for reading and if you have any other questions, let us know here or feel free to email us at info@blockplate.com

Thanks again!

UPDATE: We tested fire tested the Blockplate in a two part series: https://www.blockplate.com/pages/blockplate-torched-and-burned

• Part 1 (Torched) consists of applying a direct, extremely high temperature flame (about 3600 F) to its surface
• Part 2 (Burned) simulates your typical house fire (1100 F) where a Blockplate is exposed to prolonged high temperatures and flames.
  

UPDATE 2: We have less than 25% of our early pre-sale inventory left! Thank you to everyone who purchased, shared, commented, and even just took the time to take a look.

UPDATE 3: Almost out. We've have less than 10% of our pre-sale inventory left.

UPDATE 4: We’re out!

[BestWebCreator]

With Bitcoin, instead of a "trusted entity" (like a bank), security is your own personal responsibility. This difference can be daunting to some and prevent them from undertaking that obligation when buying their first bitcoin.

If we are to expect mass adoption, that uneasiness has to change.

Our goal is to promote acceptance and introduce simplicity to the one thing that will save your ass when your wallet fails, your recovery seed.

We're sharing a clean, permanent, and professional way of storing your wallet recovery seed phrase on a durable, long lasting material.





Using an automatic center punch (an easy tool that creates dimples in strong materials) you create a series of physical, permanant indentations on the plate to represent each letter/word of your mnemonic 12-24 recovery phrase.

A video of this in work: https://youtu.be/Mzt1ztX-_xE

Made of 304 stainless steel. Center punch is included.

Specifically for the BIP39 English wordlist. (using the first 4 unique letters of each word to minimize size)

Each Blockplate stores 12 words (6 on the front, 6 on the back, again to minimize size).

The grid is physically engraved into the plate.

Both sides can be safely punched without damaging the other due to the thickness (2mm) and hardness of the stainless steel.

For more information, our website is:

https://www.blockplate.com

We feel this is easier, simpler, and less intimidating than other methods (like metal stamping) and hope that it's a step in the right direction for cryptocurrency to be a regular, everyday thing.

Currently, we're doing an early pre-sale 2-pack for our first batch that we expect to ship in March 2018. Given that this is our first batch, it's limited to US shipping only. We'd like to work out international shipping logistics first to prevent losing units in transit.

This is the beginning and we hope to grow along with the community and the need for crypto-security. We'd love any input and support (even just mentioning us to a friend!).

Thank you for reading and if you have any other questions, let us know here or feel free to email us at info@blockplate.com

Thanks again!

Quoted to display the images
It is a good way of storing a wallet seed, paperwallets are less durable so it is a good solution. However 39$ for a piece of metal and scratch pen is very expensive. I could go to the local shop and make this item myself for alot cheaper.

[RGBKey]

I gotta say, I'm a fan of all these metal hardware-wallet options out there. Although unfortunately unlike some metal "wallets" out there, this one can't be undone once you mark the metal, so you couldn't re-use it, but that could be a desirable quality. Glad to see another option on the market. On your site, is the $40 for the two pack or for a single plate?

[blockplate]

Quoted to display the images
It is a good way of storing a wallet seed, paperwallets are less durable so it is a good solution. However 39$ for a piece of metal and scratch pen is very expensive. I could go to the local shop and make this item myself for alot cheaper.

Thanks BestWebCreator for quoting! I completely understand where you are coming from. I highly encourage those who have to means to manufacture to make something personal themselves. As a maker myself, there is a certain accomplishment and independence that comes from creating something from your own two hands.

I gotta say, I'm a fan of all these metal hardware-wallet options out there. Although unfortunately unlike some metal "wallets" out there, this one can't be undone once you mark the metal, so you couldn't re-use it, but that could be a desirable quality. Glad to see another option on the market. On your site, is the $40 for the two pack or for a single plate?

Hey RGBKey, thanks for the compliment! And yes, since its physically punched and recorded on the blockplate, it cannot be changed. The $40 is for the two pack (so up to 24 words) and a free center punch.

[blockplate]

We recently took a torch and burned a Blockplate beyond what an average house fire would.

https://youtu.be/fsrv3N8oK78

[Patatas]

We recently took a torch and burned a Blockplate beyond what an average house fire would.

https://youtu.be/fsrv3N8oK78

Interesting.Can someone write a tldr version of it please ?
Considering the size of the product,don't you think it is difficult to carry it or store it around ? Can't I just use a physical wallet instead ? I don't know about the market by personally I feel I don't need a huge metal device to store my seeds when I can keep that in my brains which is the most secure way and if I'm a little forgetful,I can always tattoo it on my butt.

[RGBKey]

We recently took a torch and burned a Blockplate beyond what an average house fire would.

https://youtu.be/fsrv3N8oK78

Interesting.Can someone write a tldr version of it please ?
Considering the size of the product,don't you think it is difficult to carry it or store it around ? Can't I just use a physical wallet instead ? I don't know about the market by personally I feel I don't need a huge metal device to store my seeds when I can keep that in my brains which is the most secure way and if I'm a little forgetful,I can always tattoo it on my butt.

I would imagine it's not meant to be carried around, but stored someplace secure in your home or possibly in a safe deposit box somewhere. If you feel confident in being able to memorize your seed, that's fine, but personally I wouldn't want to be asked what the seed I used 7 years ago was. That's why we write things down.

[Oceat]

We recently took a torch and burned a Blockplate beyond what an average house fire would.

https://youtu.be/fsrv3N8oK78

Interesting.Can someone write a tldr version of it please ?
Considering the size of the product,don't you think it is difficult to carry it or store it around ? Can't I just use a physical wallet instead ? I don't know about the market by personally I feel I don't need a huge metal device to store my seeds when I can keep that in my brains which is the most secure way and if I'm a little forgetful,I can always tattoo it on my butt.

I would imagine it's not meant to be carried around, but stored someplace secure in your home or possibly in a safe deposit box somewhere. If you feel confident in being able to memorize your seed, that's fine, but personally I wouldn't want to be asked what the seed I used 7 years ago was. That's why we write things down.

I guess it will be useful for those investors of coins they should probably need it but somehow a piece of simple paper will do if you want to put it on a safe deposit box somewhere don't you think? Well somehow a piece of paper is not yet enough if you don't trust the capability of it either it will be torn apart or destroyed by bugs. A piece of metal something like this will help you to remember your seeds in the future but it has to be small so that it can be carried easily.

[RGBKey]

We recently took a torch and burned a Blockplate beyond what an average house fire would.

https://youtu.be/fsrv3N8oK78

Interesting.Can someone write a tldr version of it please ?
Considering the size of the product,don't you think it is difficult to carry it or store it around ? Can't I just use a physical wallet instead ? I don't know about the market by personally I feel I don't need a huge metal device to store my seeds when I can keep that in my brains which is the most secure way and if I'm a little forgetful,I can always tattoo it on my butt.

I would imagine it's not meant to be carried around, but stored someplace secure in your home or possibly in a safe deposit box somewhere. If you feel confident in being able to memorize your seed, that's fine, but personally I wouldn't want to be asked what the seed I used 7 years ago was. That's why we write things down.

I guess it will be useful for those investors of coins they should probably need it but somehow a piece of simple paper will do if you want to put it on a safe deposit box somewhere don't you think? Well somehow a piece of paper is not yet enough if you don't trust the capability of it either it will be torn apart or destroyed by bugs. A piece of metal something like this will help you to remember your seeds in the future but it has to be small so that it can be carried easily.

I don't see why it would have to be small enough to fit in your pocket. This is already pretty small imo and there's no reason you should have to carry it around with you all the time.

[blockplate]

Heyy, thank you to everyone who bought, shared, commented, or simply took the time to read about us! We've sold more than 75% of our early pre-sale inventory and will be looking towards producing more for the future. It has really shown us that the cryptocommunity is inherently supportive and share the same desire of wanting this space to grow. Anyway, we've got to get back to work to fulfilling those orders. Thanks all and thanks again!

[blockplate]

It has been awhile since we last chimed in. We will start being more active on here and update this post more regularly about what’s going on. We’ll keep an eye on this post so feel free to ask any questions or tell us the brutal truth about how you feel. (It is Project Development after all)

On that note, we made some product updates and wanted to share some information. Thanks again for all the support.

[stomachgrowls]

It has been awhile since we last chimed in. We will start being more active on here and update this post more regularly about what’s going on. We’ll keep an eye on this post so feel free to ask any questions or tell us the brutal truth about how you feel. (It is Project Development after all)

On that note, we made some product updates and wanted to share some information. Thanks again for all the support.

You should really be active yet its been 1 year and 6 months and making no updates at all but i have seen on OP that you do updated that blockplate.
I doesnt change much but i notice that it is more cleared and yet the lines are bolded which is pretty good.Just want to ask on how many blockplates you have
sold out after all this time?

[blockplate]

It has been awhile since we last chimed in. We will start being more active on here and update this post more regularly about what’s going on. We’ll keep an eye on this post so feel free to ask any questions or tell us the brutal truth about how you feel. (It is Project Development after all)

On that note, we made some product updates and wanted to share some information. Thanks again for all the support.

You should really be active yet its been 1 year and 6 months and making no updates at all but i have seen on OP that you do updated that blockplate.
I doesnt change much but i notice that it is more cleared and yet the lines are bolded which is pretty good.Just want to ask on how many blockplates you have
sold out after all this time?

You’re completely right. We definitely should have been more active. It was way too long without any word from us. We won’t make excuses and instead will do better.

We’ve sold a little more than 400 units so far:

Our initial pre-sale included 200 units. Those sold out in a couple months.

We put an order in for another 200 units but when they arrived, they were not up to what was previously delivered. We did not feel it was right to offer them as is and had to send them back to be completely re-done.

This process took almost a year.

We felt it was not right to pre-sell these because we did not have a concrete shipping date. We stayed out of stock for this entire time. They arrived earlier this year and we have a little under half of them left.

During this time, we decided we would revisit improving the manufacturing because the current state was not viable. Since we were already looking into change, we wanted to see if we could improve the longevity of its features as well. This resulted in a higher quality product that was not only better but consistent. It turns out doing that also improved it’s physical appearance. We’ve sold about 110 of these.

[stomachgrowls]

It has been awhile since we last chimed in. We will start being more active on here and update this post more regularly about what’s going on. We’ll keep an eye on this post so feel free to ask any questions or tell us the brutal truth about how you feel. (It is Project Development after all)

On that note, we made some product updates and wanted to share some information. Thanks again for all the support.

You should really be active yet its been 1 year and 6 months and making no updates at all but i have seen on OP that you do updated that blockplate.
I doesnt change much but i notice that it is more cleared and yet the lines are bolded which is pretty good.Just want to ask on how many blockplates you have
sold out after all this time?

You’re completely right. We definitely should have been more active. It was way too long without any word from us. We won’t make excuses and instead will do better.

We’ve sold a little more than 400 units so far:

Our initial pre-sale included 200 units. Those sold out in a couple months.

We put an order in for another 200 units but when they arrived, they were not up to what was previously delivered. We did not feel it was right to offer them as is and had to send them back to be completely re-done.

This process took almost a year.

We felt it was not right to pre-sell these because we did not have a concrete shipping date. We stayed out of stock for this entire time. They arrived earlier this year and we have a little under half of them left.

During this time, we decided we would revisit improving the manufacturing because the current state was not viable. Since we were already looking into change, we wanted to see if we could improve the longevity of its features as well. This resulted in a higher quality product that was not only better but consistent. It turns out doing that also improved it’s physical appearance. We’ve sold about 110 of these.

Its acceptable reason and its good for you to be back!Just to suggest one thing.You should atleast put up Currency sign regarding on the prices of

those Blockplate because im confused on seeing digit only "59"  and so on. Also, you do have plans to ship out worldwide?I do see its only available for United States.

[blockplate]

It has been awhile since we last chimed in. We will start being more active on here and update this post more regularly about what’s going on. We’ll keep an eye on this post so feel free to ask any questions or tell us the brutal truth about how you feel. (It is Project Development after all)

On that note, we made some product updates and wanted to share some information. Thanks again for all the support.

You should really be active yet its been 1 year and 6 months and making no updates at all but i have seen on OP that you do updated that blockplate.
I doesnt change much but i notice that it is more cleared and yet the lines are bolded which is pretty good.Just want to ask on how many blockplates you have
sold out after all this time?

You’re completely right. We definitely should have been more active. It was way too long without any word from us. We won’t make excuses and instead will do better.

We’ve sold a little more than 400 units so far:

Our initial pre-sale included 200 units. Those sold out in a couple months.

We put an order in for another 200 units but when they arrived, they were not up to what was previously delivered. We did not feel it was right to offer them as is and had to send them back to be completely re-done.

This process took almost a year.

We felt it was not right to pre-sell these because we did not have a concrete shipping date. We stayed out of stock for this entire time. They arrived earlier this year and we have a little under half of them left.

During this time, we decided we would revisit improving the manufacturing because the current state was not viable. Since we were already looking into change, we wanted to see if we could improve the longevity of its features as well. This resulted in a higher quality product that was not only better but consistent. It turns out doing that also improved it’s physical appearance. We’ve sold about 110 of these.

Its acceptable reason and its good for you to be back!Just to suggest one thing.You should atleast put up Currency sign regarding on the prices of

those Blockplate because im confused on seeing digit only "59"  and so on. Also, you do have plans to ship out worldwide?I do see its only available for United States.

Thanks for the warm welcome back!

Great suggestion, we've specified the currency (USD). We agree it can be confusing and they certainly do not cost 59 BTC. (maybe after a seed is stored in it)

We are working on international shipping. The biggest issue we have is cost.

Because the standard two pack of Blockplates have some weight to them (> 8 oz / 227g) the lowest cost carrier charges ~24 USD to ship internationally which we feel is cost prohibitive to customers. (We can ship a single pack for about ~13 USD, but again that's also expensive vs cost of the product)

Unfortunately, the previously low cost “flat envelope” shipping is no longer available (It has been explicitly restricted to documents).

We're most likely going to offer the non-ideal higher cost internationally shipping. We'll start with a couple closer countries to gauge how well the country's postal service handles international packages and gradually add more countries. More to come on that soon.

Meanwhile, we will continue to figure out a way to lower international shipping costs for customers. We would appreciate any suggestions to be more internationally accessible.

[stomachgrowls]

Thanks for the warm welcome back!

Great suggestion, we've specified the currency (USD). We agree it can be confusing and they certainly do not cost 59 BTC. (maybe after a seed is stored in it)

We are working on international shipping. The biggest issue we have is cost.

Because the standard two pack of Blockplates have some weight to them (> 8 oz / 227g) the lowest cost carrier charges ~24 USD to ship internationally which we feel is cost prohibitive to customers. (We can ship a single pack for about ~13 USD, but again that's also expensive vs cost of the product)

Unfortunately, the previously low cost “flat envelope” shipping is no longer available (It has been explicitly restricted to documents).

We're most likely going to offer the non-ideal higher cost internationally shipping. We'll start with a couple closer countries to gauge how well the country's postal service handles international packages and gradually add more countries. More to come on that soon.

Meanwhile, we will continue to figure out a way to lower international shipping costs for customers. We would appreciate any suggestions to be more internationally accessible.

Its nice to hear out that you do have plans on making it globally but according into your explanation i do see that this is indeed a hindrance on making

such thing due to shipping cost where its too expensive but still you should open up international shipping inspite of that yet buyers would have that option if they do like

to proceed or not atleast they know on how much do the shipping cost.If they do need blockplate badly then they dont really care with that shipping amount.
I would follow up the progress with your plan on starting up on nearby countries shipments and might reach up my country soon. 

[blockplate]

We have some new packaging and have expanded our shipping to include Canada, UK, and Germany!

[Kakmakr]

Do you give discount if someone buys more than one plate and how does the weight influence the international packaging cost? A lot of people have several different wallets and they might want to use more than one plate. How do you indicate on these plates for what wallet these seeds are for? <Can the user customize stamping of the plate to indicate what wallet the seed is for? Example : Ledger1 or Trezor2 etc?

I have lots of seed combinations for online wallets / desktop wallets / Hardware wallets and I need to indicate which seed is linked to what wallet. 

[blockplate]

Great questions!

Unfortunately, at this time we do not offer discounts on more than one plate. (we're a pretty small operation at the moment but we'd like to be able to in the future!)

We're currently shipping to the US, Canada, UK, and Germany. Canada has the lower international shipping costs due to its proximity to the US.

To the UK and Germany it's about $30-35 USD for up to 2 packs, $40-45 USD for up to around 4 packs, and so on. (They are pretty heavy!)

Currently there is no option for customization. Our intent for the Blockplate was to support BIP39 seed phrases and thus in an unexpected event, can be recovered on any wallet that supports BIP39. But, that is a good suggestion. We'll keep it in mind for the future! We'll have to get creative though as we virtually used all of the real estate available on the Blockplate in order to minimize its size and keep the absolute necessary. (we didn't even have room to fit our logo!)

Do you give discount if someone buys more than one plate and how does the weight influence the international packaging cost? A lot of people have several different wallets and they might want to use more than one plate. How do you indicate on these plates for what wallet these seeds are for? <Can the user customize stamping of the plate to indicate what wallet the seed is for? Example : Ledger1 or Trezor2 etc?

I have lots of seed combinations for online wallets / desktop wallets / Hardware wallets and I need to indicate which seed is linked to what wallet.  

[blockplate]

We’re working on a SLIP39 compatible Blockplate.

We realized in order to utilize the full potential of SLIP39, the current design isn’t adequate.

Stay tuned!