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How to claim your Vault12 Promo Codes for Android and iOS

Instructions for how to redeem your promo / offer codes for the Vault12 Guard app on Android and iOS


Follow these steps to activate your custom promo code or offer code for Vault12 Guard

How to claim your Vault12 Guard Promo Code for Android

 

Follow these steps to activate your custom promo code for Vault12 Guard on Android:

1. Open the Google Play Store, Download the Vault12 Guard app, and open it.
2. Follow the prompts in the app to Create Your Vault.
3. Tap the Settings button in the footer.
4. Select Plan & Payment.
5. Swipe to the Inheritance card.
6. Tap 30-Day Free Trial.

  

 

7. In the Google Play payment screen, click on your default funding source to access the Payment methods screen.

 

 

8. Choose the Redeem Code option.

 

 

9. Enter your promo code, click the Redeem button, then Continue.

9. Back in the Google Play screen, click Subscribe.

That's it! Your promotional code has been applied, and your trial subscription has begun. You can manage your subscriptions from the Google Play Store.

💡 Note: Promo codes can only be used once per account and must be redeemed before their expiration date.

 

How to claim your Vault12 Guard Promo Code for iOS

 

Follow these steps to activate your custom offer code for Vault12 Guard on iOS:

1. Click on your Offer link or scan the QR code. This will open the Appstore Redeem page.

2. If you don't have Vault12 Guard app installed, you will be prompted to download the app first.

 

3. After installing the app, you can redeem the offer — just tap the corresponding button.

 

4. Confirm the 1-year free offer to connect with your Apple ID. Your premium subscription or promotional access will be applied automatically — you are good to go! Open the app and set up your Vault and Inheritance plan with your choice of Guardians.

💡Note: Offer codes can only be redeemed once per Apple ID and must be used before their expiration date.

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Voice-Level Security: A New Dimension of Digital Trust

Personal Voice Memos add a new layer of protection to your Digital Vault recovery requests

Expanding the ever-evolving landscape of digital security, Vault12 has enabled Voice-Level Security for the Vault12 Guard app. This innovative feature adds another mechanism to the ways that Vault12 Guard users can authenticate to each other. Now Vault Owners can use personal voice memos during Vault recovery requests. Voice memos can be used in multiple simple but powerful ways for better safety during recovery requests, adding a new layer of protection to your Digital Guardianship.


Simple Voice Authentication: Added Security for Vaults

Incorporating simple voice authentication as an additional security layer ensures that only the Vault Owner can initiate recovery requests. This method verifies identity through unique vocal characteristics.
Benefits:

  • Enhances security by including the Vault Owner's voice message for verification
  • Adds an extra layer of protection to recovery processes

The Canary Protocol: Your Early Warning System

The Canary Protocol acts as a subtle security measure, embedding a familiar verbal cue into your voice memos for recovery requests. An agreed-upon phrase, known only to you and your Guardian, serves as a covert password. Its absence suggests a compromised request, signalling an unauthorized recovery attempt.

How it Works:

  • Record a voice memo with a pre-agreed verbal cue
  • Use this cue in all recovery requests or safety checks
  • Guardians recognize the cue, ensuring the request's authenticity

Example:

A friendly greeting or inside joke could serve as the Canary, seamlessly integrated into your communication, adding a layer of fun and security.

Emergency Words: Discreet Alerts

Emergency words provide a discreet method to alert Guardians of potential threats. These phrases, understood only by the recipient, can signal a call for specific behavior (e.g., to avoid confirming recovery requests, or to implement an emergency plan).

Key Features:

  • Pre-agreed phrases that indicate distress
  • Only recognizable by trusted Guardians
  • Prevents unauthorized recovery confirmations, and may help signal for assistance

Example:

A subtle phrase within a memo can alert a Guardian to halt the recovery process, protecting you and your Vault contents.

The backbone for Voice-Level Security implementation

Voice memo data is transferred over the secure and decentralized messaging protocol Zax, developed by the Vault12 team as a foundation of the Vault12 Guardian app. This means that in the case of a private Zax relay, your communication and voice memos will be transferred only by your own private network.

Privacy and Ethical Considerations for Voice-Level Security

Vault12 is committed to maintaining the highest standards of privacy and user consent. All voice authentication data is:

  • Encrypted end-to-end
  • Stored exclusively on user devices
  • Never shared with third-party services
  • Fully under user control

Summary: Enhancing Security with Voice-Level Authentication

By treating your voice as a unique, dynamic authentication tool, Vault12 is creating a more intuitive, secure, and human-centric approach to safeguarding digital assets. Voice-Level Security, with its innovative use of voice memos and verbal cues, provides a robust, personalized security solution, ensuring your digital assets are protected with an additional layer of trust.

This additive security function complements the existing high-security measures of Vault12 Guard, such as end-to-end threshold encryption and decentralized messaging. By integrating voice authentication, Vault12 enhances the robustness of its security framework, providing users with personalization tools to ensure that only the legitimate Vault Owner will be able to recover assets from the Vault, thus protecting digital assets with an additional layer of confidence.

How to use Voice memos?

Have questions on how to use voice security? Proceed with our step-by-step help article:

Upgrade your phone and transfer your Vault12 Guard app data

Changing devices is simple for both Digital Vault Owners and Guardians.


Summary

Upgrading your phone can be an exciting time, whether you are buying a new phone, switching your operating system from Android to iPhone, or upgrading your tablet. Beyond the many positive changes you'll experience, the last thing you want to do is to invest a lot of effort in migrating individual apps from your original device.

Vault12 is pleased to announce that it's now easier than ever to safely transfer all your Vault information to your new device — whether you're a Vault Owner, or the Guardian of someone else's Vault.

  • Vault Owners with a new device can complete the transfer without involving Guardians or spare devices.
  • Guardians with a new device can upgrade without interrupting the security of the assets they protect.
  • Settings, subscriptions, and preferences will seamlessly transfer along with your data to the new device.

Read our step by step guide here.

Time to Upgrade

For various reasons, you might consider upgrading your phone every year or so. The process can be pretty simple by using cloud backups/restores from Apple and Google. Nevertheless, people always wonder whether everything has been transferred correctly — especially when digital assets are involved.

Vault12 has always had a seamless upgrade process between phones for Vault Owners. For Vault Guardians, historically, you have had to go through one extra step of notifying the Vault Owner that you changed phones. With this new update, no one needs to notify anyone, and the transfer process ensures that all information is transferred from the old device to a new device, with no need to bother Vault Owners or Guardians.

Time to Transfer

The most common scenario is of course buying a brand new phone with nothing on it. In this scenario, you can easily initiate the Transfer process by simply installing the Vault12 Guard app.

Other scenarios include switching device types (e.g., switching to an iPhone from an Android, or vice versa). With the new Transfer function, you can ensure that everything is cleanly and safely transferred to your new device, without the need to call Guardians and Vault Owners.

Follow the steps from our Help portal, here.

How To Back Up Your Crypto Wallet

Backing Up Your Crypto Wallet With Vault12 Guard Preserves Your Personal Crypto Security

Crypto can be difficult to store securely, but backing up your crypto wallet is essential so you can recover funds if your crypto wallet is ever lost, stolen, or damaged. A proper crypto wallet backup is also important for inheritance purposes so your assets live on, even after you die.

Why should you back up your crypto wallet?

Proper crypto wallet backups protect you from threats ranging from criminal actors and accidents to natural disasters and damage. Once securely backed up, you can recover your assets in times of need.

A proper backup of your crypto wallet involves recording:

  • Each crypto wallet asset
  • Seed phrases and passphrases
  • Any supporting files for your assets

All crypto backup solutions should be physically secure, digitally secure, and resilient to degradation – but unfortunately, not all of them are.

What are some limitations of common crypto backup methods?

These are some common backup methods, but each has drawbacks:

  1. Back up to metal plates - This method sounds simple, but to do it right takes some planning, cost, and time.
  2. Back up to a local drive - This method is quick, but fraught with risks!
  3. Back up to the Cloud - This method is also quick, but it has significant risks related to the involvement of third parties.
  4. Back up to “brain wallet” - This method is slow, unreliable, and only justifiable in cases of extreme limitation or duress.
  5. Back up to paper - This method is extremely vulnerable and surprisingly subject to error.

How does Vault12 back up your crypto wallet?

The video demo below shows you how Vault12 Guard is used to back up a crypto wallet, making sure your assets live on, even after you pass:

YouTube

Vault12 Guard crypto backup is decentralized, resilient, and secure.

Vault12 Guard allows you to breathe easy, as it avoids the pitfalls of other backup methods:

  • Guard's backups are decentralized. There is no single point of failure, allowing you to recover even if your phone is lost or stolen.
  • Guard does not rely on Cloud servers. Your assets remain private from third parties and resilient to Cloud outages.
  • Guard implements post-quantum encryption - giving your assets the highest possible level of security.

Vault12 Guard is the most advanced yet simple crypto backup solution

Not only is Vault12 Guard secure and resilient, but it is also simple to use. It allows you to back up all types of wallets, as well as NFT-related files, to construct a full inventory of your crypto assets. This includes multi-wallet management, which Vault12 simplifies with an integrated backup and inheritance solution. When you need to restore your Vault, Vault12 makes the process easy by requesting access from your most-trusted Guardians.

Of all your choices for backing up a crypto wallet, Vault12 Guard uniquely backs up your crypto wallets in a manner that is physically secure, digitally secure, and passes the test of time.

How Vault12 Guard Helps You Manage Your Crypto Inheritance

Managing digital assets like cryptocurrencies can be complex, especially when it comes to inheritance—but it doesn’t have to be. Vault12 Guard ensures that your digital inheritance is securely managed, and that only the right people—your chosen Guardians—can approve your beneficiary’s access at the right time.

Implement Your Inheritance Plan

Vault12 encourages you to create a carefully considered inheritance plan that covers all of your digital assets. Once your inheritance plan is set, Vault12 Guard will help you manage access to these assets and ensure everything is handled as you intended.

A Comprehensive Digital Vault

Vault12 Guard isn’t just for backing up crypto wallets. It’s a comprehensive solution for backing up all types of digital assets and storing sensitive information:

  • Seed phrases from any type of wallet and even private keys including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Vault12 Guard allows you to select from a pre-determined list of wallets or add your own.
  • Non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
  • Digitized copies of legal documents, medical records, or any other personal records.
  • PINs and instructions for accessing devices and password managers.

Vault12 keeps everything safe and organized in one digital vault.

Backed up and Protected By Trusted Guardians

Your digital assets are protected by your most trusted people: your chosen Guardians, who can use Vault12 Guard for free.

In the event that you lose a device like your mobile phone that holds crypto wallets, Vault12 Guard offers you and your Guardians a straightforward process to restore your assets.

In the case of inheritance, your Guardians must approve the beneficiary’s request to access your Digital Vault.

Manage your Digital Inheritance with Vault12 Guard

Vault12 Guard is available on iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows. For detailed guidance on setting up your digital inheritance with Vault12 Guard, including step-by-step app screenshots, check out our guide here.

Here’s a brief overview of the essential steps after you download the app:

  1. Set Up Your Vault: Implement your digital inheritance plan by adding your digital assets and designating Guardians (including your beneficiary).
  2. Manage: Use Vault12 Guard to do the heavy lifting:
    1. provide truly high-security storage for your data
    2. add or remove wallet seed phrases and other digital assets
    3. add or replace Guardians, and verify their “active” status
    4. securely transfer access to your Digital Vault with your Guardians’ approval.

Regular Asset Reviews

As with all assets, it’s a good idea to periodically review your digital assets to check for legal or regulatory changes that may affect your holdings, related technology or product updates, and current market value. Adjust your digital inheritance management strategies as needed.

Check in with your Guardians, too, to confirm their continued readiness to help guard your digital assets.

Vault12 Guard makes managing and inheriting digital assets simple and secure. Whether you’re new to cryptocurrency or looking to safeguard your digital legacy, Vault12 provides an easy-to-use solution for modern estate planning and inheritance.

Managing Multiple Crypto Wallets with Vault12 Guard

An Easy Solution To Securely Manage Access To Your Diverse Portfolio, Including Backups & Inheritance

It’s not uncommon for investors these days to juggle multiple wallets for their cryptocurrency. Most crypto investors (and creators) have multiple wallets, whether they like it or not, because different wallets are compatible with different digital assets. There are also benefits of managing multiple wallets, such as risk management, better organization, and more granular security.

At times, handling multiple wallets can seem overwhelming. Vault12 Guard simplifies this with an easy solution to securely manage access to your diverse digital portfolio. The Vault12 approach for backups and inheritance ensures that you can access your wallets in the future, even if your phone or laptop is stolen, lost, or damaged. It also means that all of your assets, across all your wallets regardless of blockchain, can be inherited. Vault12 Guard helps you keep an inventory of all your wallets so that you don’t forget any, and your beneficiaries won’t lose any assets after you pass.

Why Manage Multiple Crypto Wallets

There are several advantages to multiple wallets, including risk management and organization. You might own multiple wallets in order to:

  • Organize your crypto based on different transaction tracking needs: you might choose to separate high-privacy transactions from low-privacy ones, or individual wallets for unique NFT collections.
  • Limit the maximum value of each wallet to reduce risk.
  • Invest across different blockchains such as NFTs that are built on different blockchains and not supported by the same wallet.
  • Maintain separatehot wallets and cold wallets which might be both custodial and self-custody types.
  • Try new wallets to explore new features.
  • Duress/Dummy wallets for use when criminals try to hijack your crypto or even worse, attempt a “$5 Wrench Attack.”

Challenges of Multiple Crypto Wallets

Keep in mind the following before making the decision to use multiple wallets:

  • Need to make sure that you can recover each and every wallet. You must have a backup for everything - otherwise your assets can easily be lost.
  • Remember to record every seed phrase so you can access all wallets in the future.
  • You must practice good Key Management- or else you could forget or lose access to your wallet seed phrases.
  • You could forget that you even have some wallets in your inventory. To avoid this risk, keep your wallet inventory up to date.
  • It is complicated to communicate information about multiple wallets to beneficiaries, especially keeping access private until the time comes to transfer that knowledge.
  • For inheritance, your assets must be backed up and documented to pass on properly.

How Vault12 Guard Simplifies Multi-Wallet Management

What's needed is an integrated backup and inheritance solution, so that everything is backed up, recoverable, and can be passed on. Vault12 does all of this - it gives you the ability to generate, back up, and restore seed phrases. It’s easy to use for the person setting up the Digital Vault, the Guardians protecting it, and the beneficiary receivingthe inheritance.

With multiple wallets, inheritance can become complex. Vault12 Guard simplifies this process, so you can designate the right beneficiary and Guardians, and the transition of assets after your passing is seamless. Keep in mind the following goals:

  1. Creating an inventory of multiple wallets with associated seed phrases and passphrases.
  2. Designating a technical beneficiary who can manage assets in the event of your passing or incapacitation.
  3. Providing a simple and easy-to-use process both for the crypto asset owner and the beneficiary.
  4. Being independent of the legal process in any jurisdiction, but part of the overall trust and estate plan.

Managing Multiple Crypto Wallets with Vault12 Guard

The process to set up multiple wallets in Vault12 Guard couldn’t be easier.

Vault12 can optionally be used to generate seed phrases which can be imported into your wallets and stored in your Digital Vault for easy organization.

Whether you used Vault12 Guard to generate your seed phrases or some other method, Vault12 Guard can back up your seed phrases as described in step-by-step detail with screenshots in this guide, “Back up your Recovery Phrase or add an asset using Vault12.”

Do this for each wallet and you’re all set. Now everything is in one place and you can rest easy – Vault12 Guard is ready to distribute the encrypted backup of your assets to all of your Guardians.

When you need to restore your Digital Vault (whether it holds one or multiple wallets) follow the simple steps to restore your Vault. In the case of inheritance, your Digital Vault beneficiary will use the Vault12 Guard app to request and receive approval from your chosen Guardians to access your Digital Vault’s inventory of wallets.

Once set up, Vault12 Guard offers you peace of mind and the confidence of knowing that your assets are secure, organized, and ready to pass on.

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Seeking Alpha Podcast: Protecting Your Ass(ets)

Death comes for us all, but your Bitcoin doesn't have to die with you—unless you're James Howells, who accidentally tossed $800 million into a landfill. This week, we're talking crypto estate planning with Wasim from Vault12, because nothing says "I love you" to your family like not forcing them to explain to a therapist why they're digging through garbage to find your hard drive.

  • Follow Seeking Alpha on X and instagram at @seekingalphapod
  • Submit questions and share feedback at seekingalphapod.com
  • Follow Larissa on at @larissabundziak and Instagram at @larissabundz
  • Follow Lindsay on X at @lindsayposs and instagram at @lindsayposs

*** Special Offer for Podcast listeners ***

Promo codes for Vault12 Guard

The iOS codes are good for 1 year subscription at no cost, then will revert to standard price for Inheritance plan. iOS codes can be redeemed in the Apple App Store.

The Android codes are good for 90 days subscription at no cost, then will revert to standard price for Inheritance plan. Android codes are redeemed when selecting and paying for the Inheritance plan in the app.

Instructions for how to redeem here.

Code: ALPHA25
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/redeem?ctx=offercodes&id=1451596986&code=ALPHA25
Android: Enter code ALPHA25 when you select the Inheritance plan

Larissa:

Welcome to Seeking Alpha, the podcast where we're diving deep into crypto, careers, and the chaos of modern dating. I'm Larissa Bundziak.

Lindsay:

And I'm Lindsay Poss. Together we're two women who somehow found themselves at the intersection of crypto Twitter, Silicon Valley, and Tinder.

Larissa:

Let's get into it.

Lindsay:

Okay. So we have kind of a little bit of a nerdy episode today because I'm the one leading it. You always bring really, really fun topics to the table, and I'm like, let's talk about economics.

Larissa:

All right, I got the next one, guys. I got the next one. We'll see who writes that one first.

Lindsay:

But anyways, okay, so I wanted to talk a little bit more about Bitcoin today. Also, because you're secretly a Bitcoin maxi-

Larissa:

I'm not.

Lindsay:

No so secretly.

Larissa:

I'm not.

Lindsay:

You're for sure a Bitcoin maxi. Anyways, Bitcoin has a weird feature to it in that when in 2009 when Satoshi Nakamoto wrote the white paper, he put a limited supply on the number of Bitcoin, so there's only going to ever be 21 million Bitcoin. And so because of that, basic economics say supply and demand, that's why we think that the price is going to go up, blah, blah, blah, all that stuff. One of the issues though with Bitcoin is that 20% of it, what's been mined, which is I think around 20 million has been lost already. So there's already over 3.7 million coins gone, and that was a 2020 estimate, so that's been like five years. One of the problems that I didn't think about when it comes to cryptocurrencies in general is that when you own your own money, you're also responsible for keeping track of said money.

Larissa:

When you say lost, it's because people lost their fucking passwords and-

Lindsay:

Or they died.

Larissa:

Or died.

Lindsay:

Or they lost the USB drive, like that one guy who's trying to buy a garbage dump because he accidentally threw it away and it has $800 million worth of crypto on it.

Larissa:

Yeah. So it's not like the Bitcoin itself got lost in ether, it was all human error.

Lindsay:

Yes, all of it, human error. But that's why I want to talk about it because this is a weird feature of cryptocurrency. With real money, if you put it in a bank, it's sort of virtual and you don't ever really lose it unless the bank takes it or the government, which is a thing that you don't have control of. When you have control of your own money-

Larissa:

It's up to you and you're fucked [inaudible 00:02:03]-

Lindsay:

Yeah, exactly. So that's just a really strange feature of it. So I want to talk about that alongside of wealth creation because while there's all this independent financial opportunity, and you have to keep track of it, that also means that there's independent opportunities to build wealth. And so I know for you, one of your strategies for a long time, and you said this on the pod before, is to buy Bitcoin every week, which is why you're a maxi to me.

Larissa:

Being a strong proponent of Bitcoin and understanding its value is not being a maxi. I think there's space for other digital assets, and I don't think it's a Bitcoin only world. But I do think that it is the only truly... I mean, I know it's the only truly decentralized currency, and that's important to me. It's an asset that's scarce and digital.

Lindsay:

I joke about being a Bitcoin midi, by the way. I actually don't think that you're a true maxi. You're not a toxic maxi, you're just a maxi. You're a regular maxi. Whether you want to admit it or not, I'm a midi.

Larissa:

You're mid?

Lindsay:

I'm self-identifying as mid. One of the reasons I think it's really cool is because it's the only asset class that had availability to all incomes immediately. We've seen price go up, which first reflects that scarcity, but also because anyone can actually get in on that scarcity in a way that you cannot with any other asset class, which I think is really cool. So I hope that as we see more asset types get added, and more things get tokenized, and more access to investment tools, that we don't lose the ethos of anyone being able to actually access these things.

Larissa:

It's the tools on the other side that are needed. Once you actually access it, how do you manage it and not lose it?

Lindsay:

When we're thinking about all of these different ways of investing and having it be open to everyone, obviously the power in that is that everyone gets to have their own individual wealth creation opportunities, their own individual portfolios, own individual management tools, all of that stuff. What we don't have is all of the apps and other things that go along with how to actually, first of all, teach coach, and just straight up manage all of these things. And that is something that I hadn't necessarily thought about, and it makes me nervous. When we're power to the people, but then we don't give the people the tools to manage the power. What does that mean?

Larissa:

What do you think about Coinbase?

Lindsay:

Well, it's centralized.

Larissa:

Right. So you want a decentralized solution for people being able to manage their own assets safely?

Lindsay:

Well, they go hand in hand. A lot of wealth opportunities for me start with Coinbase, they just don't end there. And so I think that there's a role that centralized servers play, particularly in interoperability with TradFi, I think that it makes it a lot easier. You can move past that and you should move past that as you put more and more assets and resources into crypto, right? Does that make sense to you?

Larissa:

Yeah. Yeah, totally. I have my assets on a ledger, on a cold wallet. But I know how important that is and not to lose the password to it.

Lindsay:

Well, how did you learn how important that was?

Larissa:

Because I'm not an idiot. No, I'm kidding.

Lindsay:

Okay. Rude.

Larissa:

I'm kidding. I lose my fucking passwords all the time. When it comes to the password, singular password that nobody else has to your money... There are other important things that people have that they know not to lose, and they don't lose them like your birth certificate, death certificates, whatever. You just don't lose that shit.

Lindsay:

I just can't wait for all of that to be put on chain, so I don't have to worry about losing that shit. That's more rhyme. Where I'm like, "Why is the onus so much on one person to keep up? Why isn't there better solutions?"

Larissa:

It's a hard problem to solve. I mean, the solutions are centralized.

Lindsay:

It sucks.

Larissa:

How can you have it both ways?

Lindsay:

But that's a shit system for wealth management, I would say.

Larissa:

I suppose there is an opportunity for a technology company to build the solution.

Lindsay Poss interviews Wasim Ahmad, Vault12 on the Seeking Alpha Podcast sitting in chairs doing an interview

Lindsay Poss interviews Wasim Ahmad, Vault12 on the Seeking Alpha Podcast

Lindsay:

So as we alluded to, the second half of this episode is an interview with Wasim Ahmad, who is co-founder of Vault 12. Vault 12 is pioneering crypto inheritance management, which was the exact problem that we just discussed. They help users secure and pass on their digital wealth to future generations using social custody with decentralized quantum safe encryption. If you don't know what those words mean, don't worry about it. We totally explain the user experience, and what it's like to be on Vault 12.

Their main app, Vault 12 Guard, makes security simple and user-friendly while keeping you in control. It works on any phone, it can be put on any device, super easy to access and use. It's free to start and protects, not just Bitcoin, but other cryptos as well, and personal files such as financial and medical records. The idea of Vault 12 is that you can make your own personal vault to store key information that can be passed on to loved ones or shared across devices to allow you to access all of your most important information. You can pick trusted people or devices as your guardians who together protect your assets in your vault.

The social recovery approach makes recovering or inheriting assets straightforward and without sacrificing privacy. As you listen to this interview, I hope that you learn a little bit more about how to actually manage your digital assets, and how to protect them in any case of emergency or otherwise, but also just strong safety guards for privacy and protection of what you own. So enjoy the interview.

Wasim:

Hi, I'm Wasim Ahmad. I'm one of the co-founders of Vault 12. Vault 12 is a company that does crypto inheritance, and hopefully we'll get to talk about that. My background is in cryptography, commercializing cryptographic solutions including public key cryptography and other things like that. I've been a serial entrepreneur, and I've been in the US for about 30 years, but these days I spend half my time in London.

Lindsay:

I know you split between London and New York. And I'm so, so excited to have you in studio today in New York. You're our first in-studio guest, which is so much fun for me. I'm really happy to have you here. I would love to start with just walking through kind of the inception story for Vault 12 because I know that there's been some interesting crossovers with other crypto companies and other things that were out there. And also that you all are an OG in the space, you've been around for years. So can you just walk me through how Vault 12 came about?

Wasim:

Yes, absolutely. Well, yes. We've been around since 2014, 2015. CEO, Max Skibinsky was part of the blockchain team at Andreessen Horowitz, and he was one of the ones that worked with the Coinbase team to usher in that deal. He was very much around thought leaders in the crypto space in 2012, 2013, that kind of timeframe. They talked about how security, because the blockchain disintermediates institutions and activities that are not needed. Security is now the responsibility of the individual investor. They thought about what happens when there's millions of new investors coming in, and they're going to have to deal with security. What happens if they lose their crypto keys, seed phrases, private keys? And also what happens if they pass away, or if they're incapacitated? Of course, at that time, there really hadn't been these scenarios. You fast-forward 10 years, 10 years of Vault 12 this year we've had-

Lindsay:

So exciting congratulations.

Wasim:

Yeah, thank you. And we've had a pandemic where people could not get to their safety deposit boxes, and we've had many, many cases of people losing their crypto keys, or passing away and their families not being able to access the assets.

Lindsay:

Yes. I actually wrote down that point about individuals being in charge of their own security. In saying that, you're pointing out both an issue and a feature of decentralization. So one of the things that I hadn't thought about previously was just the amount of individual power that's given in blockchain spaces, and through decentralized systems is obviously full power to the individual. And we talk about that a lot on the show, and we talk about that a lot in the industry with your data is your own, your keys are your own, all of this stuff. But you're totally right that I never thought about, well, then you are also responsible for your own backups.

Wasim:

That's right.

Lindsay:

And for protecting your own assets and all of that, which is somewhat of a newer responsibility than traditional wealth management, of course.

Wasim:

There's a nuance though, which is that many people coming into crypto for the first time, they're coming in through Gemini, or Coinbase, or some well-known centralized exchange-

Lindsay:

Entity.

Wasim:

... and so they have accounts, and they have password resets. And actually they don't have their own keys, so they're in a bubble and they're protected, and that's fine, that's great. That is what is needed in the crypto economy as these people come in. But what happens when they hear about some new DeFi token, or some new meme coin, or some new blockchain that they want to access, and it's not on Coinbase, it's not on Gemini, and they have to go somewhere else to go get that? That's when immediately their assets are at risk because unless they backed it up, they're not protected.

Lindsay:

Right. Do you think innovations like passkeys and all of that are going to make this easier eventually? And especially given that you're a security expert, this is kind of more of a security question on my end. And just for the listeners out there, passkeys are kind of biometric identifiers, so either your face, or your thumbprint, or things like that. I've noticed more and more wallets switching to that for logons and whatnot. Do you think that, that is going to help solve any issues in this apace?

Wasim:

Yeah, absolutely. I'm going to call it biometrics, but yeah, however that biometric is kind of delivered, or interacted with I think is key. I mean, that's exactly how we do our kind of basic tier of security, is through biometric access.

Lindsay:

Well, and speaking of, let's actually talk about the product, that's one thing that I would love to do. I talked a bit about this in the intro, but you all use a system of guardianship. And there's just a couple other key features that you have with Vault 12. Can you tell me about how you built out the product, what the key features are, how people actually are using it?

Wasim:

Yeah, absolutely. Let me just set some context just before we jump into the product features. There's many ways to back up your crypto keys. You can engrave it on a steel plate, you can write it down on a piece of paper, which is a very, very bad idea. And you can put it-

Lindsay:

Before we jump into that, I hear you have a story about someone who wrote it on a piece of paper.

Wasim:

There was that Galaxy Digital Trader who created a new crypto wallet, wrote it down a piece of paper while he was eating. And his dog jumped up and ate the ketchup, covered a post-it note-

Lindsay:

Crazy.

Wasim:

So that wallet was useless.

Lindsay:

Yes.

Wasim:

We had the fires in LA, and the people that engraved their crypto keys onto steel plates or steel rods, they weren't allowed to go into that area. Other ways that people back things up is in the cloud, on their computers, on USB drives, or in hardware wallets. All of these scenarios have trade-offs between convenience, and then kind of the risks around security. We've had situations where people change the business relationship with a cloud provider, and suddenly cloud data is not accessible. We saw that with Gemini and Genesis fallout from the FTX.

I had crypto there and it was lost for 18 months. We got every single penny back thanks to the Winklevoss'. This happens and individual devices get lost or they get stolen. There's kind of not a great solution out there for any of these scenarios. And so we set out to build something that didn't expose any of your private details, didn't have a single point of failure like, oh, you lose your device or someone steals it. These are all concepts that are kind of part of decentralization and decentralized apps. So that was the goal, and so that's what we built.

We were in beta in 2018 and 2019, it's been in the app stores, and on Mac Os and Windows. So you download the app, you create a digital vault, and then you put in your crypto key. So it could be your seed phrase, it could be your private key. You could record a video of you with riddles of each of the words. It can be any type of file really, it doesn't really matter. But that is then encrypted, it's split into pieces, and then those pieces go anonymously to what we call guardians. And the guardians can be people, so it could be three friends of yours, three family members, three business partners, or it can be three devices that you have. So I have kind of my spare iPad, and my spare iPhone are also, and my Mac is a guardian for me. And that just means that when I need something really quickly, I can just use my devices and I get hold of it, but everything's still secure.

The benefit of splitting this information up into pieces is that if I lose my phone, or I change my phone every year, I'm on that subscriber plan. When I get my new phone, everything gets recreated. If I lost my phone, I could recreate my vault with all the information on a new brand new phone. So that's the benefit of having guardians, it's distributed backup, so you never lose your information as long as you can get hold of 3 out of 9, or 5 out of 20 or whatever combination you decide.

Lindsay:

I actually was going to ask about that, so I'm glad that you clarified. You can recreate your vault without needing full access to every single shard.

Wasim:

Absolutely. That's right. That's a feature of the underlying cryptography, which is Shamir's secret sharing. This isn't like multi-sig, which everyone knows what assets you're storing, and you're restricted to three shards or five shards, so it's not very flexible. Our solution was designed for that flexibility, and you get to set how many and all of those kind of settings. Once we had that foundation, we were able to say one of those guardians is going to be your technical beneficiary. And the technical beneficiary is the person who is going to receive all of the information about what the crypto key is, or the pin code, or whatever it is, or the passwords that you stored up there. They'll be able to do whatever you wrote in your will, which is a kind of separate thing. That person may or may not be the executor of your will, but it's kind of the technical person that you've trusted to get hold of the assets and distribute them.

Lindsay:

I am newer to learning about cryptography and how it works, so I'm glad to be sitting with an expert. One other kind of question I have just before we move on from how the shards work is, say you do switch over a device, are you able to make an old device obsolete? Does that information then get transferred to the new one? How does that work when a device goes offline?

Wasim:

Yeah, so this idea of sharding has been around for a very long time. And the innovation that we did was not in the cryptography, it was just in the user interface of what you have to worry about and what you don't have to worry about. So you don't have to worry about that, there's actually no information stored on your phone. You can change phones, delete the vault on your phone, or the app and download it again and set up a new vault. You're not going to leak information, that's one thing. And then the second thing, which is more your question, if you decide that you don't want that guardian, you want a different guardian, you fought with your partner, you can just change it in the app. Just change it from one person to another, and behind the scenes it recalculates everything, grabs the shards, redistributes them, and it just takes care of all of that behind the scenes. And that is really the thing that we're doing that is the nerdy stuff that people have done manually for several years, but we kind of just do it in one slot.

Lindsay:

Oh, I love a simplified user experience too. I mean, with all of these issues, and I'm finding it in my conversation with you, you can become so out of your depth so quickly in crypto. It is impossible to understand every single facet of this industry and what happens with it. And so making a solution where I don't need to necessarily fully understand exactly how sharding works, or cryptography, or some of the more complicated privacy concepts, even though I would love to understand those things. Not necessarily needing to, is so critical to just bringing more people in and just making products that are good.

Wasim:

And we're not done with the evolution of cryptocurrency. There'll be another blockchain that is better than what we have. We have a new number one blockchain, Solana. That wasn't the case three years ago. Our solution is completely blockchain independent, it doesn't matter what the asset is on.

Lindsay:

Well, and I love too that it still fully relies on the principles of decentralization, that's the underlying thing that I think makes it so cool. You're keeping the core tenets of blockchain distributed that just without-

Wasim:

We don't know who you are, there's no account. We don't know anything about what you're storing. I mean, there's no servers, it's all peer to peer. That just reduces any risks of leakage of private information, and I think we're living in a world where we're realizing that, yeah, all of that information that we uploaded into social media-

Lindsay:

I know.

Wasim:

... has been used, and in many cases in an unauthorized way.

Lindsay:

I want to switch gears a little bit. And one of the things that we initially connected on was we're talking about what happens when people die? Storing your assets safely from having access to those assets, even just appointing guardians, and building out a plan for those assets. And what we connected on a couple of months ago now, was women and getting women to invest in crypto. And so we had spoken about that from a couple of different perspectives. One was just education in general and getting more women to actually invest. What you're doing is sort of the next step in that as well, which I think you do a great job with the first part too. But Vault 12 is that next step too of okay, so now you've invested. Now, how do you think about protecting your wealth, and protecting your family in any emergency event? And I would love to talk to you about kind of why women are a good target market for Vault 12? And why you're passionate about getting women into crypto, which is a thing that I'm a huge fan of about you?

Wasim:

I want to paint this as they're a target market and we're going to hit that one and then move on to the next target market. I think the reality is when we look at sort of society and who in society takes care of things like making sure there's a will. 65% is women, 35% of guys. They're already thinking about how can we lower the risk of losing everything, losing what we have, keeping our wealth secure and safe for when we need it? I think the opportunity here is something that has been overlooked by the media across the board. If you say crypto to someone, you immediately start thinking about crypto bros, billionaires, millionaires, Lamborghinis, those kinds of things. The big promise of the blockchain and cryptocurrency is, it's not the price of Bitcoin 100,000 or going to 200,000, it's that you can buy a dollar of Bitcoin.

Lindsay:

Yes, absolutely.

Wasim:

You can buy $20 a month and when that goes up, your $20 goes up too. And that I think is a concept that many, many people can work with, but not a lot of education about it. I know there are some politicians who've talked about it like Cory Booker, but it doesn't make the big news. And I think one of the killer use cases of blockchain has definitely been remittances and sending money back. But I think women in general, in any society who are safeguarding assets and resources for their families, this is a key thing. This is a way to preserve what you have, make a little automatic investment every week, every month, and then just make sure that it's backed up.

Lindsay:

Yes. I wrote a piece about this earlier in the year, but you're totally right that women tend to make the purchasing decisions within a household. Women hold estimates range, but hold something like 60 to 85% of the purchasing power in general. They tend to be the ones making the decisions on healthcare, on groceries, on kind of the more practical matters of everyday life. When it comes to now having DeFi and getting more access to regular investing tools, I think you're totally right that we'll see more of a shift in more women in particular coming on board as there's much easier access to less risky investment opportunities. So I think Bitcoin is definitely still seen as somewhat risky, although I think we're getting over that hump slowly but surely as it reaches its, what? 15th year. But I think that just having access to more tools that have the $20 buy-in, the $1 buy-in or whatever it may be, wealth management tools, DeFi, all of that, I do firmly think that more women will start making those purchasing decisions to moving towards that. And so something like Vault 12, and thinking about how to protect that or encourage that in a safe way is very important.

Wasim:

Absolutely. Absolutely. And there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about banks, and traditional finance institutions who have been the biggest blocker to the crypto economy, now knocking on the door and trying to get in through the door and at some point offer different ways that their retail customers can expose themselves to cryptocurrency. And we need the market structure bill in August to be signed. And then I think that will be a sea change because then we will see TradFi organizations bring real kind of consumer-centric offerings. And that's where I think we'll see a lot more people-

Lindsay:

Definitely.

Wasim:

... kind of coming into crypto.

Lindsay:

Well, and so that actually ties back to one of the things that I really like in your ethos about making an easy consumer experience. A lot of crypto has talked about onboarding the next billion, and how do we get all these people, all this stuff? The reality is you have to have a good and interesting tool that is easy to use and access. I don't think that it's a major mystery how we get people in. A lot of it has to do with education policy for sure, and then the third kind of prong of that is just having cool stuff that people want to use.

I think I've told this story on this podcast before, but I actually was very upset when ChatGPT came out, and they had 100 million users within a month, and I thought, "I have been in crypto for five years now, and we can't reach any type of kind of market mass adoption movement, and here's generative AI, another concept that's difficult to grasp on a technological level, that was able to do this in a month just because they had a product that was easily accessible on any device and easy to use." So that was a real eyeopening moment for me of like, wow, we have got to do a better job for consumers. But I like your point about banks kind of working on that as well because as much as I'm a big believer in decentralization and in cryptocurrencies, we live in a world that hasn't moved away from traditional banking systems, and isn't going to anytime soon. And so allowing the tools that are available there to a very, very small percentage of those customers to actually be available to a lot more customers, I think is something that, hopefully, is what actually unlocks people getting comfortable using crypto.

Wasim:

Yeah. And I think Fidelity has done a good job of that. I mean, they're not a bank, so they've had more leeway to do things. But you can buy ETFs where you're not really buying cryptocurrency, but you are getting the upside and [inaudible 00:25:50]-

Lindsay:

Exposure. Yeah.

Wasim:

Yeah. You're getting the exposure, but you can also buy crypto. So expect all of the high street banks to do the same thing. And then going back to ChatGPT, once people are getting very, very familiar and comfortable with AI... Well, once you have your AI doing your shopping for you, they're going to pay for it With crypto, that is going to be the currency of AI, that is also going to be an accelerator for cryptocurrency.

Lindsay:

You and I both fall into this category of being excited technologists, for sure. Time-wise, what do you think is going to be the tipping point to where we actually get to wake up and use this technology in our daily lives? We're going to play this back when the sea change does happen, and we're going to see how right you were, so it's okay to be totally wrong. But I just keep wondering, is it 1 year, is it 10 years, is it seven?

Wasim:

I think a year from August when the law goes in, within that year, we'll start to see the first retail consumer products coming out from traditional financial institutions. It'll be trading, right? It's not going to be anything more exciting. These people have not spent a lot of time thinking about crypto in the last few years, but then after that, when they are all competing on the same kind of products, you'll see insurance, you'll see life insurance, you'll start to see products that are kind of similar to products that exist today, but have some advantages because they're blockchain-based. I think inheritance is also one of those categories, so I'm expecting within the next year to see people think seriously about this.

And then I think then the next wave, the exciting wave is with AI. And as you said, the user interfaces of crypto products are terrible. I'm not sure that there's enough coders in the world to code themselves or UX designers in the world to design ourselves out of this. I think we need AI to be the layer on top of these crypto apps, kind of deal with consumers so that they don't have to think through all these complicated options. I think that is a moment, maybe for all apps, but certainly crypto apps that is waiting around the corner.

Lindsay:

I want to end with just one final question about kind of you and your philosophy. We have spent a lot of time just today and in general covering all of this possibility, and promise, and excitement in this industry, and that is something that I certainly hold onto in the dark times of the industry. How do you ride the ups and downs of crypto and remain positive?

Wasim:

There's no question that there's been troubles and challenges in the last five, six years. But we're at a moment where we're getting the right kinds of regulations in place, put in place by smart people who've spent a lot of time thinking about this. And I think once those are in place, then market forces will dictate how far and wide that goes. But this isn't going away, it's out of Pandora's box and it's going to be part of how we do business just like tapping your phone to pay for stuff is relatively normal. It's maybe not normal for my parents, but it's normal for a lot of people. This evolution is happening, so yeah.

Lindsay:

Yes. And it's exciting. Sometimes it's sad, but mostly it's exciting for me. I genuinely love working in this industry every day, I think it's a lot of fun. Thank you so, so much for coming on today. I had so much fun in this discussion.

Wasim:

Thank you. My pleasure.

Lindsay:

Yeah. Where can people find you, follow you, find the work of Vault 12?

Wasim:

Yeah. So our website-

Lindsay:

Give all links.

Wasim:

... vault12.com, you can download the app Vault 12 Guard, it's on the App store, Google Play Store, that's kind of the best way. And if you want to see our meme tweets, you can see them on X.

Lindsay:

There you go. I like that. I still call it Twitter secretly. Thank you, this was lovely.

Wasim:

Great.

Lindsay:

Yay.

Seeking Alpha Podcast: Protecting Your Ass(ets)

Wasim Ahmad Vault12 Pioneer Decrypts The DaVinci Code and Encrypts Inheritance

🤯 What Happens to Your Crypto After You're Gone?! 🤯 Ever thought about your digital legacy? 🤔 Join us in front of the actual vault housing the world's largest art collection as we dive into the groundbreaking solution: Vault12! Wasim Ahmad explains how their revolutionary app uses military-grade encryption and Shamir's Secret Sharing (it's quantum-safe!) to ensure your precious crypto and digital assets are securely passed down – no more lost keys or relying on paper! 🔑 Learn how this "Napster for private keys" is safer than cold wallets, clouds, and even flying around the world to bank vaults (yes, that's a real story!). Perfect for crypto holders and anyone thinking about their long-term digital inheritance. Don't let your digital fortune disappear! ➡️ Watch now and secure your future! #CryptoInheritance #Vault12 #DigitalLegacy #CryptoSecurity #Blockchain #futuretech

*** Special Offer for Podcast listeners ***

Promo codes for Vault12 Guard

The iOS codes are good for 1 year subscription at no cost, then will revert to standard price for Inheritance plan. iOS codes can be redeemed in the Apple App Store.

The Android codes are good for 90 days subscription at no cost, then will revert to standard price for Inheritance plan. Android codes are redeemed when selecting and paying for the Inheritance plan in the app.

Instructions for how to redeem here.

Code: DRJOSH25
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/redeem?ctx=offercodes&id=1451596986&code=DRJOSH25
Android: Enter code DRJOSH25 when you select the Inheritance plan

Dr. Josh Lange:

GMGM, gm, everyone. This is Dr. Josh. I'm here with Crypto Mondays Global, right here with me as a young gentleman named Wasim Ahmad, who is a co-founder of Vault12. You might have heard of Vault12 because it's one of the first and most prominent inheritance apps and systems where you can actually keep your crypto in storage for long-term, even after you die. And as you can see, so welcome to Crypto Mondays Global.

Wasim Ahmad:

Thank you, Professor.

Dr. Josh Lange:

Speaking of professors, you might know Professor Langdon,

Dr. Josh Lange:

Not Lange, but Langdon in the Dan Brown movie, found that the missing cup of Christ was underneath the Louvre the whole time. And so that's an inheritance protocol as it were, a way to keep your storage long after you die of your most important assets. And right here behind us is exactly that pyramid. And you just told me actually Wasim, that this is also the storage place of the world's largest art collection.

Wasim Ahmad:

The largest, yeah, this is the largest repository of art in the world. And then the pyramids, as you know, have always been vaults of mummies and their treasures. So yeah, this is a wonderful place to do this,

Dr. Josh Lange:

To talk about Vault12. Now, with the mummies and the pyramids, we don't know what's all in there, but in the sense of your protocol, who knows what's in there, what does it do? Tell us abo that

Wasim Ahmad:

So we have an app that you can download off the app stores, and the way that it works is you create a digital vault and then you as the owner of that vault, can put stuff into the vault. So it could be your crypto keys, it could be a video of you with a riddle of what the 12 words are.

So you have a lot of choices and formats that you can use to store information in the vault, but typically it would be your private key or your seed phrase or something like that. And then that information gets encrypted and then split into pieces, and then the pieces get distributed to people or devices that you own. So it could be three friends, it could be three business colleagues, it could be three lawyers, that kind of thing. And then you get to set a threshold of, well, if you have a need to access an asset, if you ever need the seed phrase, you can say, oh, well three out of nine, I just need three out of nine okays. And that way it's very convenient. If you have three devices, you can do it all by yourself.

Dr. Josh Lange:

I think what crypto called that is a multisig type of situation.

Wasim Ahmad:

Multisig is very limited. You have three or five. This is very, very flexible. It uses shamir's secret sharing, which is quantum safe. So no quantum computation in the future is going to be able to access your vas ult or hack into your vault.

Dr. Josh Lange:

Shamir's super important point.

Wasim Ahmad:

Yeah. And then one of those beneficiaries, or one of those guardians, we call them guardians, gets to be your beneficiary. It's really your technical beneficiary. So it's the person who will receive that information about your wallets, your crypto wallets, and then will be able to do whatever you lay out in your trust or your will or whatever. So you still need a will. You still need to talk to lawyers, but this is the transportation mechanism of all of that technical information, which if you don't record, will be lost. And when it's lost, you will lose those assets.

Dr. Josh Lange:

And this is a lot safer and more secure and more legal in a certain ways in putting your private key on the piece of paper,

Wasim Ahmad:

Well, piece of paper that is like, this is the invention of our time, right? Digital money, and we're using paper to store it. It is ridiculous. No, not paper especially. Look what happened in LA with the wildfires,

Right? So doesn't work. It's a lot safer than having something in a cold wallet and then it either gets stolen or it's lost. It's better than having it in a cloud, which some wallets will say, oh, you can back everything up in the cloud because what happens with clouds? Well, we thought they used to get hacked, but actually the worst thing that can happen to a cloud is you change your relationship with the cloud vendor and then they run off and your dipper is siloed off when you can't get access to it, which is what happened with Gemini and Genesis and that whole debacle years ago. Oh yeah. For 18 months we couldn't access our crypto.

Dr. Josh Lange:

And then we see the 23 & me as well, where they're selling it off even potentially. And that could be a lot of users' data.

Wasim Ahmad:

Who knows where that's going?

Dr. Josh Lange:

Right? Okay, so what happens in case yours, if in case your system would fail,

Wasim Ahmad:

Our system is completely decentralized, so Vault12 doesn't have any information. We don't know who you are, we don't know what your assets are, your guardians don't know what your guardians do, what your assets are. Your assets can be on any blockchain. And so from that perspective, there's no cloud server has information, it's peer to peer. The information isn't even on your phone in the end, it gets distributed. Parts of your information in encrypted form are out in different places, and they can be easily recombined. You don't have to worry about that. You just press the button.

Dr. Josh Lange:

I love that. Napster for private keys. Yeah. So about the origin story, you mentioned the with Gemini, but doesn't Gemini have something to do with the origin story of how this all came to be? Sure, yeah. There is a

Wasim Ahmad:

Connection because the Winklevosses, the Winklevosses who created Gemini, when they got their Facebook money, they bought Bitcoin, obviously everyone knows this. And they printed out their private keys on paper, split them into I think different pieces, and then picked a bunch of banks that were near regional airports and flew around the country in 48 hours and put those individual pieces of paper in different bank vaults. And so that was their solution to protecting in a very kind of cold storage way, offline way, their own personal crypto assets. And so what Vault12 is, is basically the digital version of that that doesn't rely on some third party bank being open for business so that you can retrieve your assets or way more convenient or needing to

Dr. Josh Lange:

Fly from California to New York or wherever your assets are stored. And so you have a long background actually in encryption and in building and building these services products for people. You came into the industry from your days at Stanford, is that right?

Wasim Ahmad:

So yeah, I was at a startup called Voltage, which was a spin out from Stanford, and this was a breakthrough in public key cryptography. And this revolutioniz-ed how easy it was to protect people's personal information. That's where I met my co-founder of Vault12. Our CEO Max Skibinsky was actually part of a16z. He was on the blockchain team. He was the one who ushered in the Coinbase deal into Andreessen Horowitz. Oh, really? And then he tried to convince, this was early on, this was 2012, 2013, and he was trying to convince entrepreneurs that he was seeing to deal with this issue of what happens if you die, what happens with Bitcoin if you die? And no one would take him up on it. And he decided to leave Andreesen and set up Vault12. So we've been at it since the end of 2014, beginning of 2014. Wow. So we're the pioneers in this space.

Dr. Josh Lange:

You are the pioneers actually in this space. Fantastic. And now these guys have come back around, these Andreessen Horowitz and these other people, and they're probably investing in you. And so that's exciting. Now me, just to give you guys a little bit of a story, I had gotten into Ethereum very early and I got 80 Ethe, it was NFTs, then it was all the Defi coins, and this year it's going to be stablereum for $120. And I thought that was kind of expensive, but it ended up being a pretty good deal until, and I thought, well, this is going to be a long-term investment for my daughter, for her school, and things like that. And come to find out that I get hacked. And I lost all that. And as a father thinking about, well, man, what if I would die tomorrow? How would my kids be able to access stat if I didn't prepare, if I didn't go through the process of making a will and then having the assets actually accessible to the parties that would then fulfill the requirements of the will.

So this gave me a real deep reflection. And I myself am going to sign up. Maybe you'll give me a discount, who knows? But it's really exciting to me. And so to the parents out there, to the people that are typically afraid of making a wheel, because I know that in the Pandemic death was happening a lot more and people expected a lot more of that, yet people didn't want to talk about it. They wanted to push away from that. Let's talk about it for just a second here, because it's an uncomfortable topic when you're talking about it face to face, but when you hear a couple other people talking about it, it might be

Wasim Ahmad:

A bit easier. So 35% of men will go off and plan and create a will. 65% of women, right? Wow. Makes sense. But big gap, big. But you do need to plan. So you do need to go talk to a lawyer about not just your digital assets, but all your assets. And the challenge with crypto is that we buy new assets all the time. Every year there's a new category of asset. A few years ago it was NFTs, then it was all the Defi coins, and this year it's going to be stable coins. Everyone's going to be buying stable coins. RWA. Yeah. And then we've got RWAs coming, and there'll be new things, new blockchains, blockchains move around in their priority of what's out there. And so the challenge is, if you don't record the crypto keys for that particular blockchain wallet, that's going to disappear.

So you have to, it's a continuous thing. It's not just like, oh, I put it all in a cold wallet and I gave it to my lawyer. That's not good enough. Because next year you may buy something and you may not send it over to the lawyer. So you have to plan, you have to have a way to back everything up. So for you, everything is backed up. And then you need a way to designate someone who is technically savvy enough to then be able to do the things that need to be done. When should you be incapacitated like people were during the pandemic or when you pass, or in fact if you're in jail. So that's how you ensure accessibility to your assets for your family for the future.

Dr. Josh Lange:

Yeah, I was wondering what happened to all of SBFs assets now that he's in jail, but I'm sure he had some kind of system set up. So if you are a person like me and you don't want to set up an entire whole system complexities and all of these things, obviously Vault12 knows what they're doing with this distributed encryption. It's fantastic idea. And thank you for this interview coming in front of this iconic vault of the world's greatest art. Alright, thanks a lot Wasim for coming to Crypto Mondays. All right. Ciao guys. Make sure to subscribe.

Wasim Ahmad Vault12 Pioneer Decrypts The DaVinci Code and Encrypts Inheritance

Crypto Inheritance Update: April 2025 Part 2

Vault12’s monthly update on regs, the industry, and crypto inheritance management

  • Regs Update.
  • Vault12 Guard Product Updates.
  • New to Crypto Inheritance? Start here.

The Digital Commonwealth Summit with Dr. Lisa Cameron, former MP, Tom Duff Gordon, Coinbase and Wasim Ahmad, Vault12 discussing US crypto policies rippling around the world.The Digital Commonwealth Summit

Update

April was a jam packed month - Paris Blockchain Week, confirmation of the chairman of the SEC, Stablecoin bills, The Digital Commonwealth Summit in London and then the Hill & Valley Forum in Washington DC - so here is part 2 of our April update.

Key Takeaways:

  • Paris Blockchain Week was disappointing, with an all pervading sense of depressing dread seeping everywhere.
    Companies in Europe have to go through 2,000 pages of regulations and find a way through — once they do that they get access to markets in Europe, which is a plus. Companies outside of Europe - other than the big fintech platforms will not spend anytime considering Europe as a base. Even Ledger, a French company that derives 60% of its revenue from the US (pre-tarriffs) is not happy with European regulations and will be focused on the US market - remember you should always back up your ledger in Vault12 Guard :)
  • UK - Lot’s of positive but very slow progress. I had to rebuke the FCA for stifling growth and strangling innovation in Great Britain. Luckily there are some stalwart leaders pushing the pro-innovation pro-digital asset agenda - people like Dr. Lisa Cameron, USUK Alliance, Coinbase and Stand with Crypto UK, Katie Herries together with support from the upper echelons of the UK government like Baroness Uddin, Lord Holmes and Lord Iain McNichol. The opportunity for the UK as a differentiated digital assets hub hinges on alignment and regulatory passporting with the US, this much is becoming clear to many more — need it percolate up to the Government, regulators and lawmakers on all sides.
  • US - Finally, Chairman Paul Atkins took the helm of the SEC and was sworn in this week. He has reaffirmed his priorities for cleaning up the crypto market. The upcoming Market Structure Bill (aka FIT21) draft is due this week, a comprehensive bill that defines how crypto markets are regulated, the roles of security and utility tokens, and other market-defining capabilities that will eventually become the standard for worldwide crypto regulation. This is widely expected to be signed into law in August 1, 2025.Impact: While these bills and regulations are being worked on, attitudes and behaviour towards crypto assets may start to change; however, it is important to note that since no laws have changed, until the Market Structure Bill is in place, we remain in nebulous territory with respect to how tokens can be freely disseminated.

    The media has reported that firms are applying pressure to consolidate all the bills into a single one and get that passed in one go. While this reflects the danger of losing the attention of lawmakers - multiple bills have been developed in parallel to ensure that the repeal of any one bill by a future administration will not bring the whole crypto market crashing down.
  • Was in DC this week and got to hear from the Senators and Congressmen, who are behind the efforts to bring clarity to crypto markets - GENIUS, STABLE bills and the upcoming Market Structure Bill. Also got to sit across from Crypto/AI Czar, David Sacks at the Hill & Valley Forum.
  • Working on something exciting in DC - more to say in May.

  • Podcasts:

Vault12 Guard Product Updates

April 2025 - Version 2.6.1

  1. New "Manage My Vault" page enables you subscribe to Vault12 plans using app store or crypto payments, in addition, provides a place to transport files directly into your Vault.
  2. Universal file transportation. You can now securely transport assets to your Vault from any device. Visit the Manage My Vault site to upload password backups, secret documents, PINs, and—of course—your crypto keys from Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and more. Files are instantly transferred to your Vault with zero traces left behind once you close your browser tab. It’s simple, fast, and secure—just like the Vault12 Guard app.
  3. New Actions Dashboard. Stay on top of every important request from your Guardians or the Owner you support. Recover assets, access restored files, or configure Inheritance - all just a tap away. You can even play voice memos directly from the main screen.
  4. Various bug fixes and performance improvements for the smoothest experience.

New to Crypto

Ah, April – spring is in the air, taxes are due in many regions, and peoples' fancies turn to both love and long-term financial planning! The first step towards putting your long-term financial house in order is to visualize your inheritance goals. Not sure where to start? Vault12 has an article that breaks down for you the difference between estate planning and crypto inheritance planning. You will be more carefree after you plan for what happens to your crypto after you're gone.


Crypto acceptance is growing not only at the level of national governments, but also with smaller localities. This month, Panama City, Panama announced that they will accept crypto payments for municipal taxes, fines, and permits. Another sign to get ready for digital payment opportunities by having your own digital wallet!


As the crypto financial industry grows, so does the scale of crypto hacks and other crimes. In fact, The Street reports that Q1 of 2025 was the worst quarter ever for crypto hacks. (This was largely due to the enormous Bybit exchange hack in February, but there have been plenty more.) You can't control the security of crypto exchanges, but you can control your own security. Make sure you know the basics about how to protect your digital assets.

Crypto Inheritance Update: April 2025 Part 2

Which is a better wallet: Ledger Nano X or Exodus?

Consider both your short-term needs and the long-term protection of your assets

When choosing crypto wallets, many users base their decisions on day-to-day asset management needs and perceived wallet or device security. However, savvy crypto users first consider a wallet's ability to handle long-term security scenarios.

Long-term security includes expected essentials like backup and recovery tools, and often-overlooked features related to secure and fault-proof third-party recovery. Wait, what's third-party recovery? You can think of third-party recovery as your ability to allow crypto assets to be inherited by successors. All crypto investors should have a comprehensive security strategy for the full life cycle of their crypto assets.

Let's begin by helping you understand the pros and cons of the Ledger Nano X hardware wallet and the Exodus software wallet for day-to-day activities, as well as considering their ability to safeguard the long-term security of your assets.

Overview

The Ledger Nano X and Exodus wallets both provide a wide variety of features and support a broad spectrum of cryptocurrencies, making them suitable for diverse crypto portfolios.

At a high level, several differences are clear:

Ledger Nano X

  • Form: A hardware wallet, with mobile-centric usability via Bluetooth.
  • General Usability: User-friendly (with necessary trade-offs due to its more-robust security features).
  • Design: Compact and durable. The de facto standard for securing transactions on desktops.
  • Price Point: It's not free, like software wallets are.

Exodus

  • Form: A software wallet, available in both mobile and desktop versions.
  • General Usability: Easy to use, and has particularly well-reviewed customer support.
  • Design: Built-in exchange features and a moderate number of integrations.
  • Price Point: The wallet software is free; the company makes money on exchange services provided through the wallet.
In terms of crypto asset longevity features (such as backup, recovery, and crypto inheritance), both devices provide industry-standard and proprietary options with certain trade-offs, as well as compatibility with third-party solutions like Vault12 Guard for succession planning scenarios.


The decision between the two will likely hinge on individual preferences for target security requirements, preferred platforms (mobile or desktop), and should take into account the planned frequency of use.

Approach to comparison

Now, let's have a closer look.

When choosing the best hardware wallet for cryptocurrency security, you may wonder not only which is better, the Ledger Nano X or the Exodus, but also:

  • What happens if your wallet is lost or stolen? (How well can these wallets recover from user errors?)
  • How do these wallets handle more advanced scenarios like inheritance of crypto assets?
  • How easy to use are these wallets?
  • How do their security features compare?

This article compares important characteristics for these two popular wallets. We’ll break down the strengths and weaknesses of each, focusing on security, ease of use, and backup and recovery methods. By the end of this comparison, you’ll clearly understand which wallet is right for you, as well as how to recover your crypto assets in case of accidents.

What happens if your wallet is lost or stolen?

Wise wallet owners recognize the critical importance of crypto recovery before they find themselves in an unexpected bind! That's why it's important to understand the fundamental topic of crypto asset longevity, including features such as backup, recovery, and inheritance for crypto assets. These considerations are central to long-term planning.

Technical security is essential, but in the world of crypto, the degree to which backup and recovery solutions are foolproof for users is at least equally important. Here are the backup and recovery options for these two wallets:


Ledger Nano X

Exodus

Backup & Recovery methods

Recommends Recovery Seed Phrase be written on paper, or engraved onto metallic plates.

Recommends Recovery Seed Phrase be written on paper, or using iCloud or Google Account saving it along with your everyday passwords.

Optional paid subscription

Ledger Recover, a centralized 3rd-party cloud service, highly criticized by the crypto community. Clouds are not safe — especially when operated by multiple 3rd parties.

No.

How do these wallets handle Crypto Inheritance?

Crypto Inheritance Features

Currently, most crypto wallets, including the Ledger Nano X and Exodus, lack any features for establishing and managing crypto inheritance. This gap presents a challenge for users who want to be sure that their crypto assets can be transferred to their heirs.

Ledger Nano X

Exodus

Backup

- Written only
- Optional 3rd party KYC-based cloud

- Written only

Inheritance

No

No

Decentralized backup with Vault12

Yes

Yes

Inheritance Management with Vault12

Yes

Yes

Backup and recovery differentiators

Ledger Nano X Recover service Disadvantages:

  • The optional Ledger Recover backup service is a paid service provided by three corporations that each hold parts of the user’s seed phrase in a cloud. This introduces risks, as the seed phrase could potentially be accessed via subpoena; or business partners could terminate agreements or become involved in lawsuits that result in locked data or resources (like, for example, Gemini and Genesis). These scenarios contain multiple potential points of failure.
  • Very important detail: The terms of the optional Ledger Recover service do not mention support for inheritance, meaning any unfortunate accident related to the user could make crypto assets unrecoverable for his or her successors. Ledger itself suggests using 3rd-party crypto inheritance services for those purposes.

Ledger Nano X Recover service Advantages:

  • People have different preferences. If a user is comfortable trusting a bank with their assets, they might also feel confident using Ledger Recover for securing their seed phrase backup (even though Ledger is not providing the entire cloud backup solution).

Exodus backup Disadvantages:

Exodus backup Advantages:

  • Exodus does offer a one-click solution for backup for insignificant balances of crypto.

How easy are these crypto wallets to use?

Let's compare the key aspects of both wallets side by side, and then summarize what really stands out for user convenience:

Ledger Nano X

Exodus

Display

1” Monochrome OLED,
128 x 64 pixels

Full smartphone screen

Input interface

2 click buttons

Full smartphone screen

Cable

USB-C

n/a

Wireless

Bluetooth

As smartphone

Platforms

macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Browser Extension (3rd party)

iOS, Android,
macOS, Windows,

Browser Extension

3rd party wallets and dapps support

MetaMask, Exodus + 28 more

Ledger, Trezor

Password manager & 2FA

FIDO2 2FA & Passkeys, Password Manager

n/a

Product size & weight

72 x 19 x 12 mm / 34g

-

Convenience features

Battery (Up to 5 hours in use)

Exchange support

Number of supported coins

5,500+

200+

Price

$149

$0

Crypto wallet user experience (UX) differences

Ledger Nano X with Smartphone UX

Ledger Nano X with Smartphone UX

Ledger Nano X Disadvantages:

  • The display is literally the size of a coin: very uncomfortable to use.
  • Requires two-handed operation, making it difficult to use with a phone simultaneously — contrary to some misleading ads.
  • The buttons are stiff, making operations cumbersome.

Ledger Nano X Advantages:

  • Offers Bluetooth connectivity — works with or without a cable, at least with smartphones.
  • Wide support for third-party wallets and dapps, allowing the Ledger Nano X to sign transactions directly in MetaMask, Uniswap, and other platforms without relying on Ledger Live software. This is a huge advantage for DeFi users.

Exodus UX Disadvantages:

  • As a product that prioritizes ease of use, Exodus does not offer a full suite of advanced features such as fiat currency on/off ramps or advanced Web3 / DeFi integrations.
  • The desktop version of Exodus offers more features than the mobile version (e.g., portfolio management tools, Trezor hardware integration, and a broader set of supported cryptocurrencies).

Exodus UX Advantages:

  • Exodus is generally more user-friendly than the Ledger Nano X (and other hardware wallets).

How do these wallets' security features compare?

Now, we dive deeper into the core specification of every hardware wallet: security features.

Ledger Nano XExodus
PIN-code 4 - 8 digits up to 6 digits
BIP39 Passphrase Yes No
Open-source Partial Partial
Secure Element Yes No
Multisignature Yes No

Crypto wallet security feature differentiators

Ledger Nano X security Disadvantages:

  • Some critical components are closed-source. This raises concerns, especially after the controversial introduction of the Ledger Recover backup service, which challenged the previous assumption that the Secure Element could never transmit the recovery seed phrase outside the hardware wallet.

Ledger Nano X security Advantages:

  • Includes a Secure Element, giving Ledger devices a strong reputation for withstanding physical attacks. This is important for users who prefer not to complicate their security with BIP39 passphrases, prioritizing ease of use.

Exodus security Disadvantages:

  • Portions of the Exodus wallet are closed-source, preventing full transparency of its code security.
  • Exodus, like all software wallets, operates in an inherently less-secure operating environment than a hardware wallet.
  • As a software wallet, Exodus lacks a Secure Element.
  • Exodus lacks support for some common security extensions such as 2-factor authentication, creation of multisignature transactions, and entry of a wallet "extra word" passphrase.

Exodus security Advantages:

  • Some of Exodus's security disadvantages could be mitigated by using Exodus together (integrated) with Ledger Nano X (they are compatible with each other).

Summary of Ledger Nano X and Exodus Comparison

The Ledger Nano X and Exodus both provide a respectable set of features, and support a broad spectrum of cryptocurrencies, making them suitable for diverse crypto portfolios.

The Ledger Nano X is a mobile-friendly, security-oriented solution, and offers a balance of security and convenience features. It provides a small display and uncomfortable input, but with the advantages of a Secure Element and wireless connectivity options like Bluetooth.

On the other hand, Exodus is free and simple, but provides fewer security capabilities. It's great for beginning users and suitable for relatively small amounts of crypto.

The decision between the two will likely hinge on individual preferences for the target use case and balance, and should take into account the planned frequency of use.

Given their convenient integration, the best of all worlds could be to use both wallets, holding larger amounts of crypto in your Ledger Nano X wallet while keeping a small, ready-to-transact "petty cash" stash in your Exodus wallet.

Whichever you choose, remember to add crypto inheritance to your choice of wallet to ensure the long-term safety of your digital assets.


Vault12 Guard: a decentralized solution for Crypto Inheritance

Vault12 is the pioneer in Crypto Inheritance Management, and delivers an easy-to-use and securemethod for assigning a legacy contact to your crypto wallets. This enables you to pass on your wallet seed phrases and private keys for all types of digital assets to future generations. Vault12 Guard is designed for everyday people, yet strong enough for Crypto OGs.

Vault12 Guard has a uniquely-secure design. Utilizing advanced encryption and decentralized storage, it ensures that crypto assets are not only safe but also transferable under predefined conditions, filling a critical need unmet by most traditional hardware wallets. Vault12 Guard applies a hybrid approach of software fused with the hardware-based Secure Element of phone devices (The Secure Enclave for iOS devices, and Strongbox for Google devices). Vault12 Guard's decentralized design reduces possible points of failure. Nothing is stored on cloud servers or Vault12 servers, and no assets are stored on local devices, making them less of a target.

From a user perspective, the Vault12 Guard app asks users to appoint one or more people (or mobile devices) as Guardians. The designated Guardians are entrusted to protect the user's comprehensive collection of wallet seed phrases and private keys, which are safely stored within a decentralized digital Vault. Its simple, user-friendly workflow removes the necessity for regularly revising wallet inventories or modifying instructions for your lawyers — a process that otherwise could lead to privacy breaches.

Both the Ledger Nano X and Exodus are compatible with Vault12 Guard Inheritance. This addresses the seed phrase backup dilemma for any hardware wallet. It also makes less-secure backup methods, such as paper or steel plates, unnecessary.

Stablecoins' momentum builds in bridging traditional and digital assets

Include stablecoins in your digital recovery and inheritance plans


There is a lot of buzz about stablecoins. So what are they, should you have some, and how should you protect them if you do have some?

First, let's review what they are: stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens that are designed to act as stable forms of value. Their prices are synchronized to predictable external assets, such as stable currencies. But unlike currency, which can be slow to deploy or move (whether physically or via a bank electronic transaction), stablecoins instantly can be transferred or exchanged for a huge array of digital assets.

Given their stable value, stablecoins have a unique place in the crypto world: unlike more-volatile cryptocurrencies, they act as low-risk intermediaries between digital assets and other traditional forms of value.

And even though their role is intermediary, they could be held for short periods of time, or long ones. Let’s consider why so many people and institutions buy stablecoins — and sometimes hold them for long periods of time.

What are the most common use cases for stablecoins? 

There are many ways that people and institutions use stablecoins:

As a mechanism for exchange between other forms of value: Some people buy stablecoins for just a short period of time to support making another transactions: for example, it may be necessary to buy stablecoins when moving fiat currency to or from a centralized exchange, or converting between two different types of cryptocurrencies if there is no direct exchange possible between them. A huge market that uses stablecoins as a medium of exchange is International remittences.

As a store of wealth: Stablecoins offer a more stable form of wealth preservation than holding cash in a country with high inflation or an otherwise-volatile currency (e.g., Argentina and Turkey).

As liquidity: Stablecoins provide ready-to-deploy financial liquidity that can be used to quickly participate in DeFi opportunities or trade for other cryptocurrencies when time is of the essence (without needing to slog through slow fiat on-ramps).

As loan collateral to avoid a taxable crypto sale: By borrowing stablecoins against their crypto assets on DeFi, holders can utilize their capital or spend some proceeds without selling crypto assets — thereby avoiding the tax consequences of a sale.

As an investment that bears yields: Stablecoins can be used to earn yield (this typically requires allowing an exchange or DeFi platform to “lock” them).

As a low-risk hedge relative to other investments: Stablecoins can be used to reduce risk as part of a balanced digital portfolio.

Stablecoins and investment risk

If you are considering investing in stablecoins, remember that:

  • If you let a centralized exchange hold the keys to your coins, you are subject to third-party risks related to trusting the company, their security, and their financial health. (Remember, "Not your keys, not your coins.") Understand how to manage your keys.
  • If you hold your own keys and invest via DeFi, you are subject to the risks of associated smart contracts having bugs, vulnerabilities, or otherwise behaving in unexpected ways.

Nothing is risk-free in life, especially in investing. Choose the levels and forms of risks that you are comfortable with as appropriate for your situation.

How did stablecoins evolve?

When cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins first joined the financial scene, their extreme volatility made them high-risk, speculative investments. Most coins have rollercoaster price periods! Stablecoins were introduced as a way to buffer that volatility.

But a few kinks had to be worked out first: some early attempts to build stablecoins failed because their price was not as stable as the issuers had planned. Specifically, algorithmic stablecoins, which were meant to hold a stable value based on mathematical algorithms, smart contracts, and modeled market behaviors, did not always perform as expected.

For example, the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD spectacularly failed in May 2022 due to faulty assumptions in the design of the algorithm about market behavior in response to unexpected events. As a result of several failed algorithmic stablecoins, these days, algorithmic stablecoins have lost much of their initial popularity.

Modern stablecoins 

Most stablecoins today are backed by real-world assets (collateral), such as currency, government treasury bonds, cryptocurrencies (sufficiently over-collateralized to buffer against volatility), or baskets of commodities. Confidence is improved when tangible assets back up digital coins, not just trust in the behavior of a "pegging" algorithm.

Transparency, maturity, and regulatory acceptance all lead to increased use of stablecoins. Today's largest stablecoins have made leaps and bounds towards achieving each of those ends. Reflecting this evolution, stablecoins have been making up an increasing share of on-chain transactions — more than half of all crypto transactions — as the following chart demonstrates.

Image showing dramatically increasing stablecoin percentage of on-chain transactions 2014-2024

Chainalysis via Claude.ai

Stablecoin successes

Several collateralized U.S. Dollar stablecoins from private corporate issuers have matured and gained popular acceptance. Among them, descending by market capitalization:

  • USDT ("Tether"), from Tether
  • USDC ("USDC Coin"), from The Centre Consortium (founded by Circle and Coinbase)
  • PYUSD ("PayPalUSD"), from Paxos Trust Company
  • RLUSD ("Ripple USD"), from Ripple
As of the date of article publication, Tether's market capitalization is near the top of all cryptocurrencies: third only after Bitcoin and Ethereum.

According to the "State of Stablecoins in 2025" report by Dune and Artemis, Tether shows stablecoin leadership in volume and market penetration with a $146 billion market cap, while USDC Coin, with a $56-60 billion market cap, excels in institutional adoption and DeFi usage, driven by its regulatory compliance and on-chain activity.

If you'd like a deep dive into the differences between USDT and USDC, we recommend Coin Bureau's insightful comparison.

What financial institutions issue or transact in stablecoins?

Crypto exchanges and stablecoin issuers necessarily hold large quantities of stablecoins, but did you know that many other major financial institutions are moving into the use of stablecoins as well? Institutions like Visa, Bank of America, and Revolut are using or piloting projects to issue and accept selected stablecoins as part of their service packages and partnerships. Even Fidelity Investments is testing their own stablecoin.

How is the United States handling stablecoins?

The United States is undergoing a sea change in its stablecoin appetite, having issued new guidance in March 2025 permitting banks to engage in both crypto custody and certain stablecoin activities. And the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025 (“GENIUS Act”), which describes a broader range of stablecoin guidance, is quickly approaching finalization as law. Further, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has even announced plans to leverage stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasury bills to bolster the dollar's position as the world's dominant reserve currency.

Regulatory clarity for stablecoins is happening fast, which reduces risks for all users.

How can you protect the stablecoins in your digital wallet? 

If you hold stablecoins in a digital wallet, you should include them in a secure wallet backup and an inheritance plan just as you would for your other digital assets. Don’t put off thinking about the possibility of wallet access disruptions, or about your digital inheritance.

  • Back up your wallet seed phrase so that you can restore your wallet if you ever lose access to it. A decentralized Digital Vault is the most effective place to safeguard your digital assets.
  • Think about who your digital asset beneficiary or beneficiaries should be, and plan your digital inheritance.
  • You could also choose to keep your Centralized Exchange passwords in your Vault12 Digital Vault, as well as any other related passwords. A Digital Vault is more secure than a standard password manager.
"Failing to plan is planning to fail."— Benjamin Franklin

Vault12 Guard can protect all of the digital assets that you hold

The Vault12 Guard Digital Vault can protect the stablecoins and all other digital assets in your wallets. See how easy it can be for you to protect your digital wealth in a decentralized way using your personal choice of Vault Guardians. Simply and conveniently protect all of your digital assets today in your own Digital Vault. When you’re ready, take it a step further to secure the future of your digital wealth with Vault12 Digital Inheritance.

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Vault12 Guard provides inheritance, and secure decentralized backup of seed phrases and/or private keys, giving Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH).

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How to subscribe to Vault12 Guard with $ETH and $VGT (and get a 50% Discount)

With the latest release of Vault12 Guard, we have streamlined how you can use ETH and VGT tokens to pay for your Vault plan subscription. Receive a 50% discount on all plans if you pay with with VGT.


Updated: Apple now allows external crypto payments

Overview

It's easy to set up a subscription plan for Vault12 Guard, whether you use the Apple iOS App Store or Google Play Store, or you want to use cryptocurrency like Ethereum (ETH) or the Vault Guardian Token (VGT) to pay for a subscription plan.

This article takes you through the step by step process to subscribe using VGT or ETH on the same device as your digital Vault. You can see an overview of the steps in the this video:

Step 1. Go to pay.vault12.com on your mobile device

To start the subscription or plan upgrade, visit pay.vault12.com. The following flow shows you how to complete your plan subscription on the same device as your Vault12 Guard app.

Further down in this article, you can see the flow if you are using two different devices, e.g., a mobile with the Guard app and a laptop to browse the payment website.

Screenshot of pay.vault12.com

View Details

From the pay.vault12.com page, click on the link "Have the Guard app on this device?"

Screen with "Have the Guard app on this Device?" link

Now, press the "Connect to Vault" button to choose the Vault you will be creating a subscription for.

Screen with "Connect to Vault" button

Step 2. Connect to Vault12 Guard app

When prompted, Open the Guard app.

Screen with prompt to open Guard app

Press OK to confirm a successful connection.

Screen showing successful connection

Step 3. Choose Plan

Now on your browser, choose a plan.

For full Inheritance and Backup capabilities, choose the "Inheritance" plan.

Screen showing choice of Inheritance plan

Step 4. Plan Payment

Now you will see the plan details, including length of subscription and the renewal date.

Screen showing Inheritance plan details

To make the payment, open your digital wallet that holds your VGT or ETH funds, and scan the QR code. This will automatically fill in the details of the amount, and the destination address for the payment.

Screen showing QR code to scan

Automatic Discount for $VGT

If your wallet does not use QR codes, then you will need to type in the details of the destination address, and the payment amount.

Note: The payment amount must be entered exactly as shown on the screen - please double check the amount carefully to prevent typos. (Using the QR code, you never have to enter this information.)

If you have selected VGT as the payment type, then you will automatically receive a 50% discount, and the amount shown will be the discounted price.

Screen showing price in VGT

Step 5. Payment Complete

Once the funds have been transferred, you will see a confirmation in your browser.

Screen showing Plan successfully upgraded

When you open the Vault12 Guard app, you will see a message confirming the subscription.

Guard app screen showing payment confirmation

Subscription Status

At any time you can review "Settings" / "Plans & Payment" in the Guard app to see the status of your subscription. In this example, you can see that a whole year of the new subscription remains.

Screen showing subscription remaining

Alternate approach using your mobile and a second device

Go topay.vault12.com using a laptop or second device that is separate from your device with the Vault12 Guard app installed.

You will be brought to a webpage with a Vault12 code to scan. Leave this page open, because you will be scanning the code using your Guard mobile app.

Scan the code using Vault12 Guard

Once you have opened the Vault12 Guard app on your mobile phone, click on the QR code Scan icon in the top right hand corner and scan the QR code from the browser.

Screen of Guard app showing barcode scan icon

Scan the code on the webpage by positioning the mobile camera so the code is in clear view. Your app will automatically perform the scan.

Screen showing successful barcode scan

Select a Plan

After scanning the code, your browser will refresh to the Vault12 web dashboard. Choose a plan by tapping the "Upgrade" button on the bottom of the card that reflects your preferred plan.

Image showing the available plans

Upgrade your plan and get VGT Discount

At the top of the Plan Upgrade screen, you'll see a toggle "Pay with" offering a choice of paying with VGT or ETH. You can get the discount by choosing the "VGT" toggle option to view the amount of your plan payable in VGT.

To make the payment, open your digital wallet with your VGT or ETH funds (Metamask or your choice of wallets), and scan the QR code. This will automatically fill in the details of the amount, and the destination address for the payment.

If your wallet does not use QR codes, then you will need to type in the details of the destination address, and the payment amount.

Note: The payment amount must be entered exactly as shown on the screen - please double check the amount carefully to prevent typos. (Using the QR code, you never have to enter this information.)

Image showing amount due, along with payment code and address

50% Discount with VGT

If you paid for your plan with VGT, then your 50% discount was automatically applied. Congratulations!

If you chose the ETH option, then the subscription cost is the normal plan cost.

Plan upgraded

After you pay the correct unique amount with your wallet and the transaction has finalized in the network (~ 1 minute), you will see a "Payment received" confirmation, and your subscription will be activated.

Image of web page showing payment received and subscription activation

Congratulations - Your subscription Upgrade is complete

At any time you can check your plan status in your Vault12 Guard app.

Image of Guard app showing successful plan upgrade

Learn how to subscribe e with ETH and VGT screenshot of Vault12 Guard app

Vault12 Wallet Full Review - Features, Strengths, Weaknesses

In this video: Vault12 Wallet Full Review - Features, Strengths, Weaknesses I am 1st Knowledge Agent on YouTube, hope, you will find all information you want to get

Vault12 Wallet Full Review - Features, Strengths, Weaknesses

Preserving Generational Wealth through Digital Asset Inheritance

Dan's Papers

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/88cmwmcgf6ctp00ly9vyg/WA082324_1.pdf?rlkey=zheysm24wmzfim7625x41uzyg&st=vyz1oyjx&dl=0

Preserving Generational Wealth through Digital Asset Inheritance

Succession Spotlight Series - Vault12 Guard

Crypto Succession Substack

Welcome to our Succession Spotlight Series, where we will be taking a deep dive with guests to explore solutions, issues and services for those holding decentralised assests.

In our first instalment I have the pleasure of introducing Wasim Ahmad of Vault12 Guard.

I met Wasim last year at NFT_NYC London, where we discussed all things Web3 Inheritance.

We caught up earlier this month in New York at NFT_NYC where Wasim told me more about the exciting relaunch of Vault12 Guard in this Q&A:

What is Vault12 Guard?

Vault12 Guard is a security, inheritance, and self-custody backup app that enables you to safely store your web3 wallet seed phrases, private keys, NFT media, and digital art inside a digital Vault. All your assets are encrypted and split and sent to “Guardians” that you choose for safekeeping. When you need them or when the need for inheritance arises, Guardians are able to release the pieces of encrypted assets, so they can be recombined and accessed.
Our app is designed for ordinary consumers who have purchased crypto and NFTs from a variety of exchanges and marketplaces across any blockchain and on any phone (iOS and Android).

What is your role at Vault12?

As in all startups, everyone wears multiple hats - I led our fundraising efforts and subsequently have focused on expanding our customer base to a robust 60,000+ clients.

What can be stored with Vault12 Guard?

Basically, your Vault can store any digital asset or file; typically, people are storing seed phrases, private keys, backing up their web3 wallets (with their NFTs) and also the digital media associated.

How is Vault12 Guard helping to secure access to Web3 Assets?

All web3 assets are tied to the blockchain and, therefore to web3 wallets which are the interface to those assets. These wallets are protected via private keys, and seed phrases and Vault12 Guard backs those up in a digital Vault, ensuring that whenever you change web3 wallets, lose them, or forget the seed phrase you have a way to access those assets using what is stored in the Vault.

How is Vault12 Guard ensuring this is still the case when the asset holder dies?

The biggest problem with corralling web3 assets for inheritance is keeping track of them - across every exchange, every blockchain, every marketplace, every gallery. There’s no one place to go to access all of your assets. This is where Vault12 Guard comes in; by routinely backing up every web3 wallet, you always have an accurate inventory of all the assets - so when the time comes for an inheritance, the entire Vault can be passed directly to a named individual. This person can then work with lawyers, executors etc… to get the assets to the rightful heir.

For the hardcore tech fans:

Which Wallets do Vault12 Guard support?

No restrictions - all wallets are supported - we are not constrained by wallet integrations or blockchains.

What blockchains does Vault12 Guard operate on?

Vault12 Guard is not tied to any one particular blockchain - assets from anywhere can be stored and retrieved.

How will Vault12 Guard play with Smart Wallets ERC 4337?

First, let’s cover the common ground: ERC 4337 Account Abstraction has come about because the management of web3 accounts via private keys and seed phrases is cumbersome. While it has worked for OG crypto gurus it really doesn’t scale to where we all believe adoption will go - for everyone. So Smart Wallets rely on smart contracts to handle the nitty-gritty of account/key management and enable things like social recovery - the ability to recover wallet assets via a network of designated individuals - just like Vault12 Guard does with Guardians. Instead of using multi-signatures, Vault12 Guard uses an enhanced form of Shamir’s Secret Sharing designed to be simple for a non-technical customer.
The difference comes in the technical implementation — ERC 4337 is bound to the Ethereum blockchain. You don’t have to trust seed phrases and private keys - but you have to trust a smart contract running on a specific blockchain. Given that many popular web3 assets do not in fact reside on Ethereum blockchain, this presents a problem — it’s a great idea, but it is not going to work for everyone, everywhere, all the time.
Vaut12 Guard was designed specifically to be distributed, decentralized, and peer-to-peer and be independent of the underlying blockchain, cryptocurrency, and device. So we love the idea of ERC 4337, and our implementation of solving the same problem is far more wide-reaching.

Planning to pass on decentralised assets is key, and anyone looking for more information about Vault12 Guard can find out more at https://vault12.com/

Disclaimer:Guests, products and services featured in the Succession Spotlight Series are not endorsed or recommended by Crypto Succession Hub and the series does not represent any advertising of or association with any products or services. As ever, do your own research.

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