So, you want to secure your bitcoin with the best seed phrase storage product available, but how do you even go about finding the right solution? Vessels for storing your seed phrase come in many different form factors, and offer specific tradeoffs that you will have to consider based on your own situation.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, you can still break down various seed phrase storage products into four categories that we’ll discuss here, and narrow down your choices from there.
By the end of this guide, you may leave it with a new seed phrase storage product already on the way to your home, or simply feel better informed to make the right decision for you or a friend.
Before You Think About Bitcoin Storage
You will obviously need a seed phrase to store in the first place, so if you haven’t done that yet, be sure that you generate your seed phrase properly, write it down and store it on one of these products about to be shared, and test your backup method to ensure you can properly recover your Bitcoin wallet if necessary.
Consider your own lifestyle and needs to choose the best seed phrase storage product. If you travel often, or know that you’ll want to replace your seed phrase at some point, factors like these affect which product you’ll likely want to purchase.
And of course, keep in mind that there is no “right” solution here between the products mentioned, but there are plenty of “wrong” solutions, so do your own due diligence when considering options.
Best Seed Phrase Storage Products
We’ve broken down each of these products into five categories:
- Metal plate word list
- One word piece of metal
- Steel plate seed phrase punch grid
- Metal plate QR code
- Letter & rail devices
Let’s examine the benefits of each and point out any areas that you may want to consider before purchasing.
1. Metal Plate Word List
For a straightforward and highly robust seed phrase storage product, a single slab of stainless steel or titanium is one of the best options out there.
With this method, you etch or stamp all your seed words onto the metal plate using either a letter stamping kit or a rotary tool, such as a Dremel.
This single-plate design consistently proves to be one of the most reliable ways to engrave your seed phrase onto metal thanks to how simple it is, and has proven to endure stress tests of all kinds.
Here are some leading companies that manufacture metal plate word lists to protect your bitcoin. Some may require you to have your own tools for inscribing numbers and letters.
- Hodlinox (Germany)
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2. One Word Per Piece Of Metal
Many opt for the standard metal plate word list, but if you don’t want to keep all of your seed words on the same piece of metal, you can stamp each single word onto individual pieces of metal and then link them all together with a bolt or keyring.
Just be sure that along with stamping each word, you also number each seed word. This way, in case you have to deconstruct it or it breaks, you’ll know the order of the seed words if they get scattered from the accident.
This can add beneficial friction to the process as it requires extra work to decipher in the event that someone discovers your seed phrase.
These companies all produce different products for writing your seed phrase. Some of these may require you to have your own tools to stamp letters/numbers.
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3. Steel Plate Seed Phrase Punch Grid
Steel plate punch grids are another popular seed phrase storage product for Bitcoin holders. With this product, you simply punch a grid of letters and numbers corresponding to the first four letters of each seed word.
Seed phrase punch grids like these are not only made from durable material but also need very little time and tools for punching letters. The downside, however, is that they are single use. If you make a mistake with even a single word, you will need to purchase an entirely new plate, costing you another $30-70 on top of your initial expense.
So, exercise extreme caution when using a steel plate punch grid for seed phrase storage.
Here are some reputable companies that offer these punch grids. You may need to have your own tools for punching grid squares and stamping letters and numbers.
- Punchplate (USA)
- Blockplate (USA)
- Bitplates (UK)
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4. Metal Plate QR Code
Manually air gapping your private keys with a SeedSigner is a good idea, but manually writing out your full seed phrase every time you want to sign a transaction can get old fast.
To simplify things, SeedSigner implements a QR code system to the device’s interface, making it easy to transpose your seed phrase into QR format. You can print off your own QR code template and then manually, carefully, and patiently color in each grid square.
After filling in each square, ensure that the device doesn’t have any issues recovering your seed phrase by scanning it. After double checking and verifying that it’s correct, you can then transfer the same grid to a metal plate QR code product that’s specifically designed for SeedSigner seed recovery QR codes.
One downside to this method is that if you punch even a single grid square incorrectly, it could prevent your SeedSigner from being able to read the QR code. In this case, you would need to purchase an entirely new backup plate. Again: be careful!
On the other hand, if you ever need to destroy your seed, you can simply punch every square in the grid so that a QR code reader can’t read it, rendering it useless.
There is currently only one reputable manufacturer of metal plate QR code plates out there. You may need to have your own tools to punch grid squares and stamp letters/numbers.
- Vulcan 21 (Germany)
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5. Letter & Rail Devices
Finally, standalone letter and rail devices are one of the first designs for a seed phrase storage product. They include a small steel housing that has rails or slots for small metal tiles, each of which have a letter of the alphabet inscribed on them.
To “write” your seed phrase, you manually insert the first four letters of each of your seed words into the housing along the rail to spell out the first four letters of each of your seed words. These are all standalone devices so you don’t need any specialized tools. All you need is the device itself.
You slide the pre-made letter tiles into where they are supposed to go and then store the device in a secure location. Some of these devices use slots that tiles slide into while others have a central rod and the first four letters of each of your seed words are stacked on top of each other.
While these devices offer the convenience of being able to “erase” it and reuse it with another seed phrase, they tend to be the most susceptible to loss from unforeseen catastrophic damage, such as a house fire or breaking from impact. The letters tend to fall out if the metal warps under extreme heat or pressure.
Despite these drawbacks, it’s still a great seed phrase storage device. Here are some of the most well-known letter and rail seed phrase storage devices.
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Bonus: Seed Phrase Notebook
If you don’t want the hassle of engraving or stamping in metal but still want a robust medium to keep your Bitcoin seed phrase safe, using a dedicated seed phrase notebook is a great next step.
I personally use the Shieldfolio Stonebook (Affiliate) because it was made specifically for writing seed phrases as well as a bunch of other relevant info: wallet names, passwords, passphrases, private keys, 2FA codes, notes, and more. All of the pages are water and tear-resistant, so they offer much greater security than standard paper. The book also looks and feels special, so there’s less likelihood of you accidentally throwing it away — you will know it when you hold it.
Shieldfolio also has a specialized pen, the “ghost pen”, which writes with invisible ink that’s only visible with a blacklight. While I think this is mostly novel rather than practical, it could be a good way to write a down seed phrase if you absolutely needed to write one down in public and you didn’t want any prying eyes or cameras peeking over your shoulder to copy your seed words.
If you want to buy water resistant paper but would like something more private/discreet, Amazon sells water resistant notepads that you can use as a seed phrase notebook. They are often available for purchase over the counter at army surplus stores and hunting goods stores too.
Best Practices For Proper Seed Phrase Storage
Now you should be equipped with all the knowledge you need to make a more informed purchase of your own seed phrase storage product.
Whether you want a metal plate, an embedded QR code, or something else, each product shared here will ensure that your seed phrase doesn’t burn away in a fire or disintegrate into a water spill.
After writing your seed phrase down on one of these products Be sure to avoid making these common storage mistakes that people make when storing your seed phrase effectively.
- Avoid storing your seed phrase on a computer, the cloud, a password manager, or any other internet connected device. In fact, never input your seed phrase onto an electronic device, period.
- Avoid taking pictures of your seed phrase or the product you store it on. Especially metal QR plates, as someone could easily scan it if they were looking at your screen from behind your shoulder.
- Avoid memorization. Your long-term memory is proven to be unreliable.
- Avoid complexity. Too many passphrases, decoy words, splitting your seed phrase onto multiple products, or introducing other bells and whistles may accidentally lock you out too, if you’re not careful.
For a comprehensive overview of seed phrase storage practices, read our full in-depth guide.
Final Thoughts
Seed phrase storage products are an often overlooked yet critical component of any truly robust setup. Many simply purchase a hardware device and write their words down, thinking they’ll be safe in the long term. While that could be true, you are much more prone to accidents taking away your bitcoin from you, than if you had just taken the necessary precautions before to prevent yourself from losing a paper seed phrase to a tornado, a hungry dog, or something else entirely unexpected.
Hopefully this article helped you determine what options are available to you and what the differences are between them. Along with our articles on proper seed phrase management, you should now have the tools and tips under your belt to create a safe home for your seed phrase.
In order for bitcoin to reach hyperbitcoinization, it takes the efforts of everyday holders like you going out and supporting Bitcoin companies like these and taking self custody of your bitcoin.
Thank You
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