Pick m-of-n and see how many keys you can lose, how many a thief needs, and what each setup costs to spend.
Keys you can lose
–
and still spend
Keys a thief needs
–
to take the coins
Cost to spend one coin
–
What if each key has a chance of going wrong?
Setup
Coins lost
Coins stolen
Spend size
Illustration only: it treats every key as failing independently with the same chance, which real life does not. Keys kept in the same house can burn together, and a person who holds two keys can be pressured for both. The point is the shape: a quorum lets some keys fail without losing the coins, and makes a thief collect several.
A multisigwallet needs m signatures from a set of n keys. That one choice sets two numbers at once: how many keys you can lose and still spend (n minus m), and how many keys someone must steal to take the coins (m). Raising one lowers the other, which is why 2-of-3 is such a common middle ground.
The table compares common setups if every key had the same small chance of being lost or stolen. Real risks are not that tidy, so read it for the shape, not the exact percentages. Spending from multisig also costs more block space, because each signature and the list of keys go into the transaction.
Nothing here asks for or creates a key. Planning only.
Education only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Results are estimates from what you enter and from public data that can be late or wrong; check anything important before you act on it. The planner models setups with simplified, equal risks; it does not create wallets or keys. Test any setup with a small amount and practise a full recovery before you rely on it. By using this tool you accept the Terms of Use and Disclaimer.
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