Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently expressed his preference for multisig over Shamir backup, stating that Shamir is more prone to user errors. Concerns about the security risks associated with cold wallets have been raised in discussions among crypto enthusiasts, with Buterin highlighting potential pitfalls. Peter Watts, founder of NFT marketplace Reservoir, warned about the dangers of using hardware wallets, such as the risk of losing seed phrases or hastily moving assets during unexpected events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Buterin advocated for multisignature solutions to secure personal funds, emphasizing decentralizing security. He recommended using multisig setups where multiple keys are required for transactions, highlighting the importance of security in the crypto space. Buterin emphasized the need for a “M-of-N” configuration, where some keys are held by the user and others by trusted individuals, without revealing their identities to each other.
In response to Buterin’s suggestion, Ethereum investor Tobby Kitty proposed Shamir as a backup method for splitting cryptographic keys into multiple parts. Buterin cautioned that Shamir is more prone to errors compared to multisig, as it relies on careful handling and storing of parts of the secret. Losing or mishandling any part of the secret could make it impossible to reconstruct the secret.