Best way to store physical copy of Key weather & tamper proof

[buddhasource]

Hey guys,

So we have some multi-sig wallets for which I own one key and some other folks in my family own rest.
I wanted to keep the coins secured and store the keys away from each other such that it is weatherproof and you have to break it to see the paper key.

The key can be seed to Ledger.

I was considering sealing the paper in epoxy and add a paint layer which you have to scratch.
If there is already some solution then please guide me.

[Ailmand]

Hey guys,

So we have some multi-sig wallets for which I own one key and some other folks in my family own rest.
I wanted to keep the coins secured and store the keys away from each other such that it is weatherproof and you have to break it to see the paper key.

The key can be seed to Ledger.

I was considering sealing the paper in epoxy and add a paint layer which you have to scratch.
If there is already some solution then please guide me.

Why go thru with such security. Just keep it in a piece of paper and secure the key. Are hou holding that much in your ledger? I also have a ledger and I have most of my assets there and never thought of sealing the papr where i put the seeds to my ledger. Just put it somewhere safe and secure.

[crairezx20]

That's not a good way to store your keys it will end up losing them if you forgot where you hide it.

For me, the best way to store private key is to install it to another computer which is offline no internet connection and keep it there and just make a watch only wallet on other PC as your monitoring or where you can see your balance. The good thing is you can make a transaction and sign a message through your offline PC with the wallet and private key. This is much secured and you are far from losing your private keys.

[Beerwizzard]

This is definitely an unnecessary move until you are going to store this painted key somewhere, where the other people can find it (and even then it won't stop them from scratching this paint and getting a key). If you store your key in secure place then you don't need this creative weatherproof shit and if the place is insecure then even all those stuff with paint won't stop a potential thief.

[buddhasource]

The other option is to keep them safe in lockers.

The objective is if the key secret has been tampered with then physically we should know, as a tamper seal.

[BrewMaster]

I was considering sealing the paper in epoxy and add a paint layer which you have to scratch.

that does not add any security though because it can easily be scratched!
if you want to protect it even if it was stolen or someone simply saw it, then you have to encrypt it with a strong encryption technique. usually all the paper wallet generators and wallets offer these methods such as BIP38 or AES which you should use instead.

[hugeblack]

The best solution is to keep it by a piece of paper, but if you are afraid, I recommend you choose one of these methods:

 - https://cryptosteel.com/
 - https://secretsteel.com/

There are some algorithms that encode words in the form of images but I do not recommend them.

[Genemind]

I think that's too much. Being responsible and mindful of your private keys is enough for you to keep it well. It's a good idea that you're doing everything to secure your earnings but I don't think sealing it with epoxy and paint would help. Just keep it in a safe place and that's enough.

[Haunebu]

I think that's too much. Being responsible and mindful of your private keys is enough for you to keep it well. It's a good idea that you're doing everything to secure your earnings but I don't think sealing it with epoxy and paint would help. Just keep it in a safe place and that's enough.

Op is just trying to be extra careful. Imagine forgetting the safe place. What then? I personally use a hardware wallet which I feel is enough for me. Op could store his paper wallet in a bank locker which only and his close family has access to. This would provide that extra layer of security.

[Kakmakr]

I have laminated documents from 15 years ago in my Vault and it looks like they have not aged a day. No water or bugs can get to them and it is secured in a safe place. <Always have 2 copies stored in 2 different locations>

Your best bet would be to print a paper wallet and laminate it and then to create a second laminate with a blank piece of paper over that one to hide the key from plain sight. You can even put a news paper clipping on the second one to hide it from curious eyes, when they break into your safe. <They will think that it is a plain news paper clipping with zero value> 

[Herbert2020]

Your best bet would be to print a paper wallet and laminate it and then to create a second laminate with a blank piece of paper over that one to hide the key from plain sight. You can even put a news paper clipping on the second one to hide it from curious eyes, when they break into your safe. <They will think that it is a plain news paper clipping with zero value> 

the only problem is that nobody puts newspaper clippings in his vault! so it most be something precious and with a second look it will be clear that it is. so unless the thieves have no idea what they are looking at and have never heard of any cryptocurrencies, your seed is at risk.
besides, why do that when you can simply encrypt it with a simplest password to add a very strong layer of security on top of it?

[hatshepsut93]

Don't rely on just one method, create multiple backups of your seed in different forms - on paper, on USB, on metal, in your memory, etc. Ideally you wouldn't want to store them in one place, because if something happens to that place, your coins would be gone, but it can be hard to find more than one trusted place. Another thing with physical copies is encryption - usually people just write down their seed or print private key all in plaintext, but this means that whoever gets that piece of paper can get the coins. You could encrypt the data before writing it down with strong cryptography, like the AES cipher, but this requires a bit of knowledge of crypto, and people who don't know what they are doing risk screwing it up and locking themselves out.

[xvids]

You don't really need to do that just make sure that the copy of the key is safe even in just a piece of paper or in a flash drive.
I only keep my private key in a usd flash drive and only put it on my trusted computer.
You just need to make sure that your flash drive or computer is safe from any virus.

[bob123]

I only keep my private key in a usd flash drive and only put it on my trusted computer.

Does this mean.. your only backup is a file on your usb flash drive ?
That's not recommendable. Flash memory chips can break, bits can flip (corrupting your data) or they can simply die due to environmental influences.

You shouldn't rely on electronic devices only.

You just need to make sure that your flash drive or computer is safe from any virus.

And how can you guarantee that?

[Pmalek]

I only keep my private key in a usd flash drive and only put it on my trusted computer.

Like bob123 said that is not the safest option. At least password protect and encrypt the files on your USB and make 2 or 3 copies. If your USB breaks for any reason what are you going to do then?

Make a physical copy of your keys or seed in case your digital copies fail and keep it somewhere safe.

[buddhasource]

The best solution is to keep it by a piece of paper, but if you are afraid, I recommend you choose one of these methods:

 - https://cryptosteel.com/
 - https://secretsteel.com/

There are some algorithms that encode words in the form of images but I do not recommend them.

This I think is the best solution so far.

[LeGaulois]

A pen and paper are better than USB, laptop, etc. Imagine you get into a coma for 20 years, wake up and discover that USBs no longer exist, like floppy disks today. At home, you can feel safe but there are many things that can happen as well (fire, water damage, burglary, homejacking, and so on...).
As for @OP you can use a notary service or rent a vault, it will cost you some bucks but it can be an additional back up outside your own environment. As someone pointed how you save it matter but where you save it too.
Cryptosteel/Secretsteel can be an alternative if you're looking for something weather/tamper proof. Or, you can do graffitis on walls in your street. By the time someone understands that it's a BTC private key you have the time... (ok just joking ....)

[abercrombie]

Get a metal stamping kit and a bunch of blank dog tags.  Stamp your Ledger words on to the dog tags, usually about 8 words fit on each dog tag.  Get a home key lock and put the dog tags in there.  Store this offsite like at a bank vault or storage space.