In a decentralized system, your key is essential to access your data. No key – no data. With that in mind, how can you create a permanent backup for your key in minutes?
For centuries, we have known about several historical artifacts that prove how engraving is one of the best and most permanent forms of storing information that has ever been practiced.
The so-called Pillar of Delhi is a prime example of how durable engraving can be. A unique metallic pillar, the engraved writing on the pillar is, after 1600 years, still perfectly legible and virtually indistinguishable from when it was originally written. Despite being located outdoors in the harsh Indian climate, there is no damage or impact on legibility whatsoever.
However, hand-engraving requires skilled craftsmanship and is not always easily available to everyone. We created this tile system to help provide a durable solution for every type of user. It allows users to independently construct the information with engraved steel, providing every user with a solid, permanent, and secure solution.
We invented a system designed for you to have a similar degree of power, all the while being completely self-assembled. The concept was to provide a tool that anyone could use without any special equipment or knowledge. We pre-produce letters in the form of steel tiles, providing you with a full system that allows you to create your own steel backup in minutes. No tools, no preparation, no research needed – the complete set comes right out of the box.
Each Cryptosteel system includes a set of tiles. Depending on which device you purchased, the range of tiles will be different. However, every tile is made from steel and engraved, allowing for nearly permanent legibility.
The Cryptosteel Cassette features a tile set of all uppercase letters from the Latin alphabet. The device is able to hold 96 characters. The Capsule, on the other hand, can hold 123 tiles and features the full ASCII character set which includes uppercase (A-Z) and lowercase (a-z)letters, numbers (0-9), and special symbols (!#$%&()*+,-./:;<>=?@[\]^_’{|}~”). In addition, we mark the lowercase tiles with dots to differentiate between upper and lowercase.
You can choose to form a plain string of characters or to divide it up using the included separators, which allows for more flexibility and options. If you are using a 12-word seed, you can spell out the entire word. However, if it is longer, you should prepare an abbreviation of each word instead, using the first four letters. We have videos detailing this process on our official website.
The steel tiles are used to create the sequence inside the Capsule, which represents your password or key. Included with the system are separators, which are tile-sized and steel, but their purpose is to help segment and divide the information stored inside the Capsule.
The sequence is the words and symbols you use to represent your seed or password. With the Capsule, the sequence can be created in many different ways depending on the length, complexity, and algorithm you are using. The Capsule is designed to provide nearly unlimited options as to how you store your data – as it is algorithm agnostic, this can be used as a backup to almost every existing crypto-system to date.
Our tiles give every user the ability to have their data hand-engraved. With the potential to last lifetimes, it is one of the most permanent and durable methods available.
Cryptosteel believes the greatest risk to safety and prosperity today lies with the centralization of information, resources, and power. By allowing people to physically safeguard their own digital keys, we champion the decentralization of digital assets, virtual identities, and personal data.
