Clear DefinitionsKey Recovery
1 min read
Pronunciation
[kee ri-kuh-vuh-ree]
Analogy
Like having multiple spare keys held by trusted friends so you can regain entry if you lose your house key.
Definition
Mechanisms enabling users to regain access to their cryptographic keys or accounts after loss, including social recovery, Shamir’s Secret Sharing, custodial backups, and multi‑signature schemes.
Key Points Intro
Key recovery solutions mitigate the risk of permanent loss of access to blockchain assets.
Key Points
Social recovery: Designated guardians authorize key reset.
Shamir backup: Split seed into shares, threshold to reconstruct.
Custodial escrow: Third‑party holds encrypted recovery data.
Multi‑sig: Recovery by majority of co‑signers.
Example
A smart wallet uses a 3‑of‑5 social recovery contract: if the user loses their device, any 3 guardians can approve a new device key.
Technical Deep Dive
Recovery contract stores guardian list and nonce. To recover, new public key and guardian signatures submitted to `recover(newKey, sigs[])`. Contract checks `isGuardian` and threshold before updating owner key.
Security Warning
Compromised guardians can hijack accounts; choose trusted, diverse guardians.
Caveat
Recovery mechanisms introduce trust assumptions; balance usability with threat model.
Key Recovery - Related Articles
No related articles for this term.