How to keep your bitcoins secure if you suddenly disappear (jail or prison)

[Soros Shorts]

Employ image steganography to encode the private key into some random image and upload to imgur and share it. Nobody would think of looking there.

[Kickstart4]

You can tell one of your friendly members about your wallet and how to use it

[gadsdengraphics]

I thought about creating a service, like boomerang for gmail: Person signs a transaction from A->B, but doesn't broadcast it. My server will broadcast the transaction only if you don't check in for the last 30 days. If you get thrown in jail (or die), no one would suspect that transaction is yours.

nLockTime transactions do that now - they allow you to sign a transaction that cannot be accepted onto the network before a certain block height. If you decide you don't want that transaction to go through, move the coins to a new address, and issue a new nLockTime transaction.

[Winner]

keep your bitcoin in a client, remember password. EZ pZ

[dankkk]

I thought about creating a service, like boomerang for gmail: Person signs a transaction from A->B, but doesn't broadcast it. My server will broadcast the transaction only if you don't check in for the last 30 days. If you get thrown in jail (or die), no one would suspect that transaction is yours.

nLockTime transactions do that now - they allow you to sign a transaction that cannot be accepted onto the network before a certain block height. If you decide you don't want that transaction to go through, move the coins to a new address, and issue a new nLockTime transaction.

I don't see how this would protect your coins if you were in jail. All this would do is move your coins to another address for you while you are locked up. This has nothing to do with protecting your coins nor with you being able to access them after you get out.

[solitude]

bump

[DieJohnny]

get an elaborate tattoo on your body that has your public and private key hidden in the  tattoo, only you will know how to solve the tattoo, not even the artist will know the meaning behind the images he is creating.

[mufa23]

Paper wallet(s) (plain text private keys). Store them as a blank file, and TrueCrypt it. My stuff is already TrueCrypted. If I were to get a no-knock for whatever reason tomorrow my entire funds would be secure. You can additionally publicly store the truecrypted file on any hosting site, write to CDs, SD cards, USB sticks in case your property gets seized. Also, you could enigma/encode your private keys and post the encrypted messages on Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc. Some place where they will always exist. Maybe even write the message in a solved Block via a transaction. When you want the encoded message, just remember which block. A random garbled message isn't likely to make people think it's an encrypted bitcoin private key.

Also 4th and 5th Amendment. Plus "Oh, I'm sorry judge. I can't remember my password..."

[mufa23]

Brain wallets do not work, if the password has ever been on the internet ANYWHERE.



Here is my attempt.

Buy the following:

1 - 2" diameter X 4" long steel pipe nipple (threaded on both ends)
2 - 2" diameter threaded end caps.
1 - 1/8 thick X 1" wide X 4" long flat steel
1 - Set of metal punches. Lowercase and Capitals 0-9 (Yes this will cost you some money)

Stamp your private key into piece of flat steel. Insert stamped plate into pipe, tighten on both ends caps to make it water and air tight.

Get a long narrow planters shovel and head to the graveyard at night. Pretend like you are on your hands preying at your grandfathers grave and slice a small circle of grass out and set it aside. Dig an 8 inch deep hole drop in pipe, fill in hole with dirt, replace grass patch. It will grow back within a week or so. No one is going to be digging up a graveyard looking for bitcoins.

Once out of jail, buy a metal detector and at night go to your grandfathers grave to retrieve steel pipe.  

BONUS: Make the private key BIP38 encrypted and put the password in a second pipe. Bury this one above the grave closest to the exit of the graveyard. You will definitely need that before leaving.  

This will stay in tact for 100+ years and will be easy to remember because no one forgets where their grandfather is buried. (Providing you knew him as a young boy)

Also soak that metal sheet in cosmoline. That stuff can preserve metal for many generations.

[leannemckim46]

Paper wallet(s) (plain text private keys). Store them as a blank file, and TrueCrypt it. My stuff is already TrueCrypted. If I were to get a no-knock for whatever reason tomorrow my entire funds would be secure. You can additionally publicly store the truecrypted file on any hosting site, write to CDs, SD cards, USB sticks in case your property gets seized. Also, you could enigma/encode your private keys and post the encrypted messages on Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc. Some place where they will always exist. Maybe even write the message in a solved Block via a transaction. When you want the encoded message, just remember which block. A random garbled message isn't likely to make people think it's an encrypted bitcoin private key.

Also 4th and 5th Amendment. Plus "Oh, I'm sorry judge. I can't remember my password..."

The part you are missing is about saving the file somewhere that is not associated with your identity. The police could potentially seize any account that is associated with your identity. They could also compel facebook/twitter ect. to take down your posts with this file (if the accounts are associated with your identity). In this scenario your money would be safe, but you would also not have access to it once you got out.

[Cranky4u]

Tattoo your wallet passphrase and private keys on the inside of you anus.

I know, it is a tough tattoo but were else is tit gonna be secure whilst your in prison? You know you ass is gonna be searched time and time again, probably by your cell mate Bubba, so why not hide it in plain sight...

[rokkyroad]

Good question.

1. No internet access in prison ( I assume). Storage in the cloud or email account is out of the question. They time out, cease operating, or have technical issue, and everything is erased or lost.

2. Paper wallet. Paper burns, melts when wet, and degrades fast over time. Spot of mold in the right place and its hooped.

Encrypted wallet.dats placed into encrypted archive. This archive, then placed in another encrypted archive.  One could put these encrypted archives onto cds and flash drives. Bury some, give some to relatives, buy a safety deposit box in a bank, etc.  This is not full proof either. A strong magnet can corrupt cds and memory. Example: your relative hides the cd behind his stereo speaker.

Then you would have to memorize three good passwords. What happens if you get bonked on the head in prison? So, you have to hide these three passwords somewhere safe before you go in. You place them in an encrypted archive .... yadda yadda yadda .....

Then you have to remember one good password to get access to your previous three passwords. It goes on and on. But it could work. LOL.

[Pente]

Just store them in your head with Pagan Mind Wallet

[BIT-Sharon]

So funny that your bitcoins could not be discovered and collected if you suddenly disappear. I never thought of this usage of Bitcoin as a safe storage for treasure. Whatever it is absolutely safe or not, it is safer than depositing money in banks. 

[solitude]

How safe are your butts if you suddenly got lasso'd up and thrown in the slammer?

All your computer equipment is now (hopefully) in your families possession.

Cloud storage will likely vanish or just auto-delete after one or two years of no logins

wat do

[FUR11]

Well you could transfer them to a brain wallet, that is safe - meaning the passphrase really is complex - that way only you can access the coins, whatever happens. They could take your computer and everything.. Your coins would be safe. Another method would be memorizing an Electrum seed!

[blumangroup]

Well you could transfer them to a brain wallet, that is safe - meaning the passphrase really is complex - that way only you can access the coins, whatever happens. They could take your computer and everything.. Your coins would be safe. Another method would be memorizing an Electrum seed!

I like the idea of memorizing your seed. The issue with this however is that it is not guaranteed that electrum would be around when you get out of jail so you would risk that your private keys would permanently be lost.

This really only leaves using a brain wallet. This is really the only way that you can be sure that your bitcoin is safe, assuming that you are able to use a sufficiently secure pass phrase.

[solitude]

bump

[master-P]

So funny that your bitcoins could not be discovered and collected if you suddenly disappear. I never thought of this usage of Bitcoin as a safe storage for treasure. Whatever it is absolutely safe or not, it is safer than depositing money in banks. 

This is probably what Mark Karpeles is doing He can easily have a bunch of bitcoins stashed somewhere safe for when things calm down for him, he can take it out, cash out the coins and still be a multimillionaire.

[Dabs]

RAR 5+ with 100% recovery record. Store. Encrypted.