The story of Chaindeck begins in 2013 - the year I discovered Bitcoin and was immediately fascinated by it. I had personally faced the headache of trying to send money internationally, and Bitcoin seemed like an obvious solution for many people like me. 

 

Shortly after spreading the word to friends and family, I found myself helping them set up their wallets and giving them advice on how not to store their seed phrase. "Well, don't tell me what it is!" I'd tell them, "But also make sure you never lose it, don't ever put it in a digital form, don't save it on your phone, oh and make sure no one ever sees it!"

 

They were well-versed in safeguarding tangible assets, yet they felt extremely anxious about safeguarding their seed phrase. This was a novel challenge introduced with the arrival of self-custody Bitcoin wallets, and I set out to find a solution for it.

 

Just like Bitcoin, my solution would have to be accessible to all. Also, nothing electronic, no software, nothing hackable… It should be relatively simple for the owner to set up but require significant time and effort for others to access the information. Striking the right balance between security and convenience was going to be a challenging task.

 

1. The Tube

Behold the initial prototype, a rather unsightly creation captured in the accompanying photos. Its primary function was to destroy the secret phrase in the event of an incorrect PIN entry. The concept entailed inscribing the secret phrase onto a tube, which would then be inserted into another tube. The PIN corresponded to the rotation of the inner tube. Thus, if one were to extract it incorrectly, the seed phrase would be irreversibly erased along the way.

 

2. The Glass

Alas, the tube solution was too easy to hack, prompting me to embark on a new experiment involving glass. I wondered, what if I were to inscribe the secret phrase onto delicate glass and have the device shatter it if an incorrect PIN was entered? (Take a look at the peculiar Lego model captured in the photos.) Although this approach held potential, it came with a significant trade-off: if anything went awry, the backup would be irretrievably destroyed. So, I sought a superior solution.

 

3. The Deck

I was playing with a regular deck of cards when the concept for Chaindeck hit me. I quickly arranged the cards from Ace to King, Spades to Diamonds, and wrote a secret on the side of the deck. When I shuffled the cards, the secret became completely illegible. This marked the beginning of Chaindeck, and I further developed the concept to enhance the deck's security.

 

First, I switched to square cards to increase the number of ways to arrange them. The next challenge was to arrange the cards in a seemingly random manner that could be replicated later. Even if a bad actor managed to decipher the correct arrangement of a few cards, it was crucial that this knowledge did not unveil the sequence for arranging the remaining cards in the deck.

 

I started developing increasingly complex ways of arranging the cards to maximize security. Thanks to my crypto-savvy friends and family members' honest feedback, I was able to engineer a method that carefully balanced security and convenience.

 

Numerous nuances were addressed in the final design of the PIN method. I dedicated myself to creating a comprehensive Python code library to generate the numbers and arrows on the cards. I had to control the randomness to optimize the method's effectiveness. For instance, each card is meticulously crafted to distribute the Sorting Numbers evenly on both faces, while also ensuring an equal distribution of front and back faces for each PIN.

 

I was fortunate to cross paths with my co-founder, Naz, who transformed the initially unattractive engineer-designed cards into a simple and elegant design. Material selection was another consideration. Plastic and metal cards allowed the ink to leak and rub off easily. Unlike paper, these non-fibrous materials lacked the ability to absorb ink effectively. We conducted tests using laboratory-grade permanent markers, archival ink, and various other markers, and our findings consistently demonstrated that ink on paper proved to be the most resistant to mechanical and chemical damage.

 

After years of experimenting and redesigning, I'm proud to say that Chaindeck successfully meets all my requirements for a reliable and user-friendly seed phrase storage solution. Our innovative approach is both non-digital and cost-effective, providing you peace of mind on your Bitcoin journey.

 

We hope Chaindeck brings you an elevated sense of security and helps you achieve financial independence. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Vires in numeris.

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Cem B.

Founder & CEO