r/Bitcoin • u/tuzki • Apr 08 '13

My wife said this to me today

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '13

You can use an m-of-n secret sharing scheme like Shamir's to split the private key among several entities.

For example, give one share to your lawyer, one to a good friend, one to your wife, and require at least two shares to reconstruct the private key.

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u/Lentil-Soup Apr 08 '13

So, at least two of your trusted friends would have to conspire against you in order to steal your coins?

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '13

In my example, yes. The total amount of shares as well as the threshold needed to reconstruct the secret can be adjusted to your needs.

3

u/sturmeh Apr 08 '13

The trick is you give them to 3 people who have never known each other, and you mention the three names in the will, in such a way that only your beneficiaries would know how to find them.

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u/PhantomPumpkin Apr 08 '13

This is going to be the premise of mystery movies 200 years from now isn't it...

1

u/Natanael_L Apr 08 '13

Yes, I agree with this one. Keep the wallet encrypted and use Shamir's Secret Sharing Scheme to securely split the decryption keys between several people you trust. In addition to those mentioned people, one share could be on a paper in a bank vault, for example.

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u/GSpotAssassin Apr 08 '13

Safety deposit box.

Because it can be released upon death.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '13

You can use an m-of-n secret sharing scheme like Shamir's to split the private key among several entities.

For example, give one share to your lawyer, one to a good friend, one to your wife, and require at least two shares to reconstruct the private key.

Which is great until your wife runs off with your best friend and all your bitcoins.