Metal Seed Security — The Producers of Low-Quality Copycats are Hurting Cryptocurrency Users

While the growth and maturity of the cryptocurrency space is a positive development for the industry as a whole, the shortsightedness of various players threaten the security of cryptocurrencies for everyone. Read on to learn why.

At Cryptosteel, we believe that the greatest risk to safety and prosperity today lies with the centralisation of information, resources, and power. This is backed by data showing that security breaches and large-scale hacks continue at an unmitigated rate at public exchanges and at public company data stores of private information. By allowing people to physically safeguard their own digital keys, Cryptosteel champions the decentralisation of digital assets, virtual identities, and personal data.

We developed an extremely dependable data storage solution that is free from third-party participation and combines uncompromising utility with ease of use to help users secure and store their digital keys and passcodes with complete confidence and peace of mind. Proven to withstand 3rd-party hacking, natural disasters, fire, flood, high-impact stress, corrosion, and other forms of damage. Cryptosteel helps users enjoy the freedom and security of total control over their own assets — while at the same time remaining safe and secure from external interference, hacking, and asset loss due to natural disasters or other unforeseen circumstances.

As with any new and growing market, we have seen hardware copycats try to imitate the Cryptosteel design which was open-sourced by the IP owners for the benefit of all. However, they use sub-par materials and do not use precision machining to manufacture their metal seed storage devices, resulting in a flood of new devices that do not deliver the levels of security they claim to provide.

Jameson Lopp Stress Test Results Presented at MCC2019
Jameson Lopp research presented during Magical Crypto Conference #MCC2019 more: https://youtu.be/zFN__b6ARH4?t=20600

What this means for the average consumer is obvious: instead of being able to rest assured that their digital assets are secured against damage or accidental loss, users are unwittingly risking the loss of their digital assets by ‘securing’ them on devices that are made of sub-par materials deliberately chosen to cut corners and reduce production costs.

Although many of these devices are made using reliable materials, some manufacturers are, for example, using rivets or fasteners made of different materials, or using casings of shallow width, or combining materials that do not go together. What is the result of this cost-cutting and who pays the price? The result is that unreliable data stores do not deliver the security and reliability that they claim, and the user is the one who risks losing it all.

Time and time again, we have seen low-quality copycats try to match the precision and quality of our hardware, the expertise of our assembly process, and the robustness of the original Cryptosteel. And, time and again, we have seen those same devices fail in basic stress tests, whether from heat, corrosion, impact, or otherwise.

Data, once lost, is irretrievable. Your investments, your life savings, and your portfolios are worth more than what you are saving by purchasing a cheaply-priced Cryptosteel copycat.

Catastrophic data loss with HODLwallet. Source: https://medium.com/@lopp/metal-bitcoin-seed-storage-stress-test-part-ii-d309e04aefeb

We need to build user awareness and point out the risks of being misguided, or defrauded, by short-sighted companies looking for short-term gains.

Stick with Cryptosteel, the mother of all backups — the recovery seed storage device that has been tried and tested. Cryptosteel is the standard bearer of reliability and dependability in this market. Learn more by visiting https://cryptosteel.com/

About Us

Cryptosteel is the premier backup tool for optimal offline storage of private keys, passwords and wallet recovery seeds without any third-party involvement. The technology combines the age-old idea of engraving with a DIY assembly format and materials that are stainless, rust-free, and fireproof up to 1200°C/2100°F to survive extreme conditions and unthinkable abuse.

Cryptosteel backup tools are compatible with most cryptocurrency wallets, including but not limited to Trezor and Ledger Wallet.