How to Set Up Swan Vault: Unlocking Safer Bitcoin Self-Custody
Discover how Swan Vault puts you in full control of your Bitcoin with a simple, secure setup. See just how easy it is to safeguard your wealth and unlock your monetary autonomy.
Matt Carvalho
Sep 11, 2024September 11, 20248 min read8 minutes read
Swan Vault gives you full control of your Bitcoin, fulfilling the core promise of true monetary independence. Your money is solely yours, eliminating the need for banks or third-party institutions.
Swan Vault is seamlessly available within the familiar Swan interface you already use. Our guided on-screen setup provides the simplest onboarding process in the industry, eliminating technical barriers so you can confidently take control of your Bitcoin.
Ready to see just how simple the setup is? Let’s walk through it.
How Swan Vault Works
Swan Vault uses a 2-of-3 multi-signature setup to enhance the security of your Bitcoin. Three keys protect your Bitcoin, and two are required to authorize any transaction. You control two keys with two signing devices, while Swan manages the third key for added security. You can co-authorize transactions through your Swan account using just one of your Jades, while the second stays securely stored in a separate location to maximize security.
To safeguard your Vault, you will need to protect the following items:
Signing Devices
A signing device, also called a hardware wallet, is a physical device that remains unconnected to the internet, designed to store the keys required to transfer Bitcoin from your Vault.
Swan Vault is designed for use with Jade devices, which are manufactured by Blockstream, a global leader in Bitcoin technology.
You’ll connect to your Jade via USB. Here’s how to interact with your Jade:
Power button: Hold to power on or off
Select button: Press to confirm your selection on screen
Jog-wheel: Push towards the left or right to navigate through the menus
Recovery Phrases
Your recovery phrase, also known as a seed, is a unique set of 12 or 24 words that can restore a key on a signing device.
Saving 12 words on your camera roll or in a password manager might seem convenient, but it’s not secure. Backups on internet-connected devices can be hacked. The main point of using a signing device is to keep your recovery phrase off the internet and inaccessible to hackers. Write your recovery phrase on paper and keep it offline.
To ensure that no one can copy your recovery phrase without your knowledge, place it inside a tamper-proof bag. To safeguard against fire, water, and wear and tear, you can even stamp the words on a metal plate like Cryptotag, Seedplate, or Tinyseed.
Recovery Kit
The recovery kit contains the information you need to recover your Vault. Think of it as a treasure map: the keys aren’t sufficient if you can’t locate the chest. We recommend printing physical copies to store alongside your recovery phrase backups.
Unlike recovery phrases, it’s generally safe to keep digital copies of your recovery kit. Besides USB flash drives, SD cards, or local folders, you can also save it on password managers or cloud storage services such as Apple iCloud, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive.
The recovery kit doesn’t contain your keys, so it can’t be used to steal your Bitcoin. If someone gets access to a digital copy of your recovery kit, they will just be able to view your balances and transaction history, but they will not be able to steal your bitcoin.
Subscribing to Swan Vault
When signing up for Vault, you can choose from two optional upgrades:
Concierge Onboarding
Setting up Swan Vault is a breeze and this guide covers everything you need to know. Our support team is always available to help, but if you’d like extra assistance, you can book a one-on-one session to set up your Vault on a call with one of our team members. They’ll guide you through each step, answer your questions, and offer tailored advice.
Welcome Package
If you don’t have Blockstream Jades, we can ship them to you anywhere in the US. Each device will arrive in a separate package to reduce the risk of supply chain attacks and ensure they haven’t been tampered with. After delivery, your shipping address will be deleted from our database.
You can also order Jades from the Blockstream Store or their official Amazon Store. Always buy from trusted sources to ensure the authenticity of your device.
Payment Details
Swan’s pricing is based on your average monthly balance, calculated from the daily end-of-day balances throughout the month:
For average monthly balances under $100,000, there’s a flat fee of $20 per month.
For average monthly balances of $100,000 or more, the fee is 0.02% of the monthly balance, capped at $416.67 per month (adding up to a maximum of $5,000 per year).
Billing is automatically processed via ACH withdrawals from the bank account linked to your Swan account.
To set up a Jade, connect it to your computer via USB.
With Swan Vault, you’ll always unlock your Jade through your Swan account and follow on-screen instructions. You’ll never need to use your Jade unplugged or navigate menus on your own.
By clicking ‘Begin Setup’, your Jade will generate a 12-word recovery phrase. Once you’ve written down and confirmed your recovery phrase, the Jade will never display it again. Be sure to write down the correct words in the right order.
If you prefer a 24-word recovery phrase, select ‘Advanced Setup’. However, 12 words are recommended as it simplifies restoration and reduces the risk of mistakes during backup. While 24 words might give the illusion of greater security, the difference is negligible — especially for multisig wallets like Swan Vault. Even with all the world’s supercomputers, guessing a 12-word phrase would take billions of years. In practice, doubling the number of words doesn’t increase your safety — guessing either would take longer than the age of the universe.
During setup, you’ll be prompted to create a PIN. This PIN encrypts your recovery phrase and protects your Jade from unauthorized access. If your Jade is lost or stolen, it will remain locked if the correct PIN isn’t entered. Be sure to write down your PIN.
Now, register your first key, unplug it (no need to click anywhere or turn it off), and repeat the process with the second.
Health Check
Swan Vault is designed for long-term savings, so you probably won’t transfer Bitcoin out of it frequently. However, it’s essential to ensure that your Jades are functioning properly and that you still have the keys needed to approve transactions. We recommend performing a health check every six months.
During the first health check on each Jade, Swan Vault will register your recovery kit’s wallet information into the device. This enables your Jades to validate addresses associated with your Vault.
Funding your Swan Vault
Now that you’ve finished the setup, receiving and sending Bitcoin is easy.
Receiving from your Swan Account
Swan offers automatic withdrawals, eliminating the need to manually copy and paste addresses. Configure this feature once, and your Bitcoin will be sent to a new address each time, avoiding address reuse.
Swan will automatically transfer funds to your Vault once your balance reaches the selected threshold. We recommend a minimum of 0.01 BTC to minimize future transaction fees. The higher the threshold, the greater the savings over time.
Swan covers all on-chain transaction fees for your Swan account withdrawals, so the amount you set to withdraw is exactly what you’ll receive in your Vault.
Receiving from External Sources
Before copying or scanning the displayed address, always verify it on your Jade’s screen.
You can maximize the display to compare the characters.
This ensures you own the keys that can spend Bitcoin sent to that address.
Sending from your Swan Vault
Transactions out of your Vault incur fees paid to miners, not to Swan. Once your Bitcoin is back in your Swan account, you can withdraw it to any address, free of charge.
You can approve transactions with either one or both of your Jades. If you use the cloud key, there’s a 72-hour security hold before the transaction is broadcast to the Bitcoin network, giving you time to cancel if needed. Unless it’s urgent, we recommend using the cloud key so your second Jade can remain safely stored elsewhere.
Before approving transfers, always verify the addresses and amounts on the Jade’s screen.
Securing your Swan Vault
With your Vault set up and funded, you can rest assured that your Bitcoin is safe as long as your keys and recovery phrases are secure.
Updating Firmware
If needed, you’ll be prompted to update your Jade’s firmware through the Swan Vault interface. No need to access external websites.
Replacing a Key
If one of your Jades is malfunctioning and you are confident no one has access to it, you can keep using the same key once you buy a replacement. You just need to restore your recovery phrase on your new Jade and perform a new health check.
If your Jade is tampered with, stolen, or lost, you’ll need a new Vault. First, transfer your funds back to your Swan account and contact us to deactivate your current Vault. Once your new Vault is ready, you can once again deposit from your Swan account.
If both your signing devices and recovery phrases are lost, Swan cannot recover your Bitcoin — your funds will be permanently lost. To access your Bitcoin, you need at least one recovery phrase or one signing device unlocked with its PIN.
Unlocking your Vault Without Swan
You can access your Vault without Swan at any time. All you need is your recovery kit and either both Jades or their respective recovery phrases.
Open your Swan Vault
Advanced self-custody setups that protect against losses and hacks were once reserved for enterprises or tech-savvy individuals. But now, Swan Vault makes this level of security accessible to everyone.
Matt is a Product Marketing Manager at Swan Bitcoin. He’s firmly convinced that Bitcoin is the superior store of value and believes it will soon become the ultimate medium of exchange. His mission is to help people adopt and thrive on the Bitcoin standard.
This essay is my attempt to answer all your questions about multi-sig custody and inheritance so you walk away with a better understanding of the options and can figure out what is best for your family.
