CobaultDownload your shared-vault recovery kit.
Your seed phrase restores your key. The recovery kit tells the recovery process which shared vault that key belongs to. For a shared vault, you need both.
When to download it
Download your recovery kit after the shared vault becomes active and before you fund it.
Each keyholder needs their own kit. One person's kit is not a backup for another person's seed phrase or device.
If the keyholders change, the bitcoin moves to a new vault. Download a new recovery kit for the new vault.
What the kit is
The recovery kit is a file for this vault. It contains the public vault details needed to reconstruct the vault address and signing path:
- the network;
- the quorum;
- the participant roster;
- the shared-vault descriptor;
- the vault address or deposit script;
- the derivation information for your key.
It does not contain your seed phrase. It does not contain a private key. It cannot sign a transaction by itself.
Why the seed phrase is not enough
Your seed phrase restores your key. It does not, by itself, describe the shared vault.
A shared vault also needs the quorum, the other public keys, the descriptor, the network, and the derivation information for your key. Without the recovery kit, a seed-only restore may not reconstruct the vault address or signing path.
Each keyholder should keep both:
- their seed phrase;
- their recovery kit for this vault.
How recovery works if Cobault is unavailable
Recovery needs enough keyholders to meet the quorum. In a 2-of-3 vault, that means two keyholders. In a 3-of-5 vault, that means three.
Each recovering keyholder uses their seed phrase and their recovery kit to re-derive their shared-vault key. The recovery process reconstructs the descriptor and derives the vault address again. Check that the derived address is the funded vault address before signing anything.
The recovering keyholders then create a transaction, review the destination and amount, sign it, combine enough signatures to meet the quorum, and broadcast it to the bitcoin network. Cobault does not need to be online for that process.
What to keep with your records
For an individual vault, keep your recovery kit where you keep your bitcoin records. For a continuity vault, record that the vault exists, who the keyholders are, and where the recovery guide is kept. For an organisation, keep the guide with the treasury procedures.
Do not put a seed phrase into Cobault, into the recovery kit, or into this document. Each keyholder is responsible for their own seed phrase.
Limits to understand
- It does not recover a lost seed phrase. If a keyholder loses their seed, that key is gone.
- It does not help if too many keyholders lose access. If fewer than the quorum can sign, the vault cannot move.
- It does not change the quorum. A 3-of-3 vault still needs all three keys.
- It does not replace the activation check. Before funding, each participant should check the roster, quorum, and address shown by the vault.
- It does not make Cobault a keyholder. Cobault coordinates the vault but cannot sign for it.