Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are always looking for ways to secure their holdings. While hardware wallets have begun to gain traction in recent years, it seems the next logical evolution may not require external hardware. A company called Carverr is looking into ways to store and back up Bitcoin wallet keys in one’s DNA.
Using DNA To Keep Bitcoins Safe
It is evident Bitcoin holders have plenty of threats to worry about. Anyone relying on software to keep their cryptocurrency wealth safe is at risk of being scammed, hacked, or robbed of their private keys through malware, ransomware, and so forth. The number of threats has grown exponentially, and it is more than evident new solutions will need to be found sooner rather than later.
For most people, using a hardware wallet has become the new normal for this reason. As all funds are kept offline at all times, it is a far more secure solution compared to using a regular software wallet on one’s computer or mobile device. Even so, hardware wallets are not always an option for some people, and manufacturers have been having a hard time keeping up with demand.
Carverr is a company exploring many different technologies and concepts. Although they do not have a direct link to cryptocurrencies, it seems that situation will come to change in the future. More specifically, the company is apparently working on a new solution which lets users store and back up their Bitcoin wallets’ private keys into DNA. That in itself is a very different development when it comes to securely storing crypto, albeit a very interesting one.
By relying on DNA to store a Bitcoin wallet’s private key, a user can transfer this wealth to future generations. It also helps address most issues which arise when someone dies and has no plan in place to transfer their Bitcoin to the family members left behind. While it remains to be seen how convenient this solution really is in the long run, it does open up a lot of new opportunities.
Since DNA is not at risk of becoming obsolete, it seemingly makes for a secure data storage solution. We recently saw a researcher embed a Bitcoin wallet private key into a strand of DNA, which had to be decoded by third parties. One talented student successfully completed this challenge, which goes to show the business model seems to hold up.
According to Carverr, nearly 30% of Bitcoin wallet keys are lost at some point. That is a rather worrisome number, although it is evident that addressing this problem may not be all that difficult when looking at different solutions. Whether or not DNA storage for cryptocurrency wallet private keys will ever take off is a different matter altogether. It is an interesting concept to keep an eye on, though.
