Thread

1. matesz · 1789648229 · focus · HN ↗

   I’ve read so many news stories of people gone missing who had been know to have sole access to bitcoin wallets with large amount of bitcoins in them.

   I wonder how people at large crypto exchanges handle that. Perhaps shamir share the access to the pkey password and store parts at secure places like a bank? And make official access protocol akin to dnssec, but simplified?

   1. jackb4040 · 1789650811 · focus · HN ↗

      I worked at a crypto exchange, yes we used shamir shares. But probably not as sophisticated as you're thinking, there was basically one big "break glass" text document with all the keys. And then a hand-rolled software on each person's laptop to distribute the plain text and run / practice the 3/5 recovery ceremony. So anyone losing their device would be equivalent to someone quitting and require its own ceremony to reissue a key, but I don't think that ever actually happened.

      We explored using smart contracts to have logic perform the 3/5 consensus rather than a cryptosystem, but that was never rolled out while I was there. Social recovery wallets in general did not take off, which was a big learning moment for me that very few people actually cared about the technology and what they really wanted was an app with as many gambling features as possible that uploaded their keys to google drive.

      1. IAmBroom · 1789653354 · focus · HN ↗

         > Social recovery wallets in general did not take off, which was a big learning moment for me that very few people actually cared about the technology and what they really wanted was an app with as many gambling features as possible that uploaded their keys to google drive.

         People who are not HN-profile never care about the technology, and always care about usable, convenient features. The shocker is: most HN-profile people feel the same way.

         Also see: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;m.xkcd.com&#x2F;2501&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;m.xkcd.com&#x2F;2501&#x2F;

         1. jackb4040 · 1789655670 · focus · HN ↗

            Yes, I do agree with this. What rubbed me the wrong way was all the cynical people who would talk endlessly about how revolutionary the tech was and all the possibilities it opened to get others invested, but ran companies that were just casinos and actually could have simpler operations without the crypto parts! Most people in pre-NFT crypto has someone in their network who worked on an outright Ponzi scheme.

            1. dspillett · 1789658550 · focus · HN ↗

               &gt; but ran companies that were just casinos and actually could have simpler operations without the crypto parts

               But during the big buzz, the crypto parts were what got those companies any exposure at all.

               1. dcow · 1789659315 · focus · HN ↗

                  Yes. It really was a toxic mess wasn&#x27;t it?

                  1. DJBunnies · 1789660008 · focus · HN ↗

                     Has cryptocurrency gone away?

                     1. dspillett · 1789665418 · focus · HN ↗

                        A lot of the hype has, certainly the hype that propped up the companies the thread starter was referring to.

                        1. jackb4040 · 1789671551 · focus · HN ↗

                           Ding ding! Crypto still exists, but the tech grifters have all pivoted to AI and been replaced by MAGA grifters.

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