Will O'Brien, CEO of BitGo, discusses the future of bitcoin security and the emergence of multi-signature wallets as an industry standard. He outlines early security concerns in bitcoin's history that led to thefts and losses. However, the use of multi-sig wallets that require multiple private keys to authorize transactions is growing due to added protections for users, exchanges, and financial services. Adoption of multi-sig standards could help overcome security challenges and advance bitcoin's wider acceptance.

1. The
Future
of
Bitcoin
Security
Will
O’Brien,
CEO
BitGo
TNABC
Miami
January
18,
2015
www.bitgo.com
-­‐
@BitGo
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
1

2. Who
Am
I?
• Will
O’Brien
• CEO
&
Co-­‐Founder
of
BitGo
• FinTech,
trading
plaQorms
and
capital
markets
• Startups
and
mid-­‐size
companies
in
consumer,
payments,
video
games,
and
media
• Computer
Science,
Harvard;
MBA,
MIT
Sloan
• Obsessed
with
Bitcoin
since
2012
• will@bitgo.com;
@willobrien;
@BitGo
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
2

3. About
BitGo:
Securing
the
World’s
Bitcoin
Leading
Bitcoin
security
pla3orm
and
pioneer
in
mul5-­‐sig
technology
Launched
the
world’s
first
mul[-­‐sig
wallet
in
August
2013
$14m
in
total
funding
from
veteran
investors
and
finance
luminaries
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
Our
products:
• BitGo
Enterprise
• PlaQorm
API/SDK
3

4. Why
Customers
Choose
BitGo
Family
offices
Hedge
funds
Bitcoin
miners
Marketplaces
Exchanges
• Secure
storage
&
transac[ons
• Corporate
treasury
policies
• Mul[-­‐user
wallets
• Financial
repor[ng
&
audit
capabili[es
• PlaQorm
API
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
4

5. Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
5

6. Overcoming
Early
Concerns
About
Security
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
6
“$1.2M
hack
shows
why
you
should
never
store
bitcoin
on
the
internet.”
“From
treasure
to
trash:
Man
tosses
out
bitcoin
wallet
on
hard
drive
worth
$9
million.”
“To
achieve
wider
adop[on,
bitcoin
needs
to
address
significant
issues
related
to
security…Mt.
Gox
was
like
a
bank
storing
valuables
in
the
lobby
entrance.”
“Some
see
the
security
issues
as
teething
pains,
but
it
is
possible
that
the
security
of
the
core
transac[ons
technology
will
be
outweighed
by
the
insecurity
around
the
core...almost
10%
of
all
Bitcoins
have
been
stolen
or
seized
as
part
of
a
criminal
venture
in
the
last
year.”

7. Does
This
Even
Qualify
as
“Digital”
Currency?
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
The Bloomberg reporter opened up his paper
wallet to show the private key, and, not too
surprisingly, the funds were quickly stolen.“
”
7

8. We
Need
a
Secure
Bitcoin
Ecosystem
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
Financial
Services
Payment
Processing
Wallets
&
Vaults
Trading
&
Exchanges
Mining
Consumer
Apps
8

9. Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
“This
is
the
year
of
the
mul[-­‐signature
wallet.”
-­‐-­‐
Gavin
Andresen,
chief
scien[st
of
the
Bitcoin
Founda[on,
May
2014
9

10. Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
10
19frDKN7XwWL2wwhz35as7PtRFcL4vCNYG!
335Zc8furTKgD32bWewYwGYGai7sMrtKse!Multi-sig! J!
Not multi-sig L!

11. 2-­‐of-­‐3
HD
Mul[-­‐Sig
Wallet:
Key
Genera[on
and
Distribu[on
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
11
BitGo
Key
• Generated
and
stored
by
BitGo
• Stored
in
BitGo
key
server
• Used
to
co-­‐sign
all
blockchain
transac[ons
Customer
Key
• Generated
and
stored
by
customer
using
BitGo
tools
• Archived
with
encrypted
keycard
• Used
to
ini[ate
all
blockchain
transac[ons
Backup
Key
• Generated
offline
using
BitGo
secure
tools
• Archived
cold

12. Analogy:
Origins
of
SSL
the
Standard
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
12

13. Mul[-­‐Sig
as
an
Emerging
Standard
• Based
on
P2SH
(BIP
16)
• Build
it
internally
or
use
a
security
plaQorm
provider
Key
Tenets:
• Funds
held
on
blockchain
in
mul[-­‐sig,
not
in
cold
pools
• Maintain
independent
audi[ng
of
holdings
• Enable
customer
segregated
accounts
(where
appropriate)
• Set
corporate
treasury
policies
and
protec[ons
• Leverage
security
of
mul[-­‐ins[tu[onal
key
distribu[on
– Use
a
3rd
party
co-­‐signer
on
transac[ons
– Store
backup
key
with
a
custodian
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
13

14. Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
14
The
Emergence
of
Mul[-­‐Sig
Exchanges
Bitcoin
Wallets
Adopt
Mul[-­‐Sig

15. Trac[on
in
Mul[-­‐Sig
in
2014
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
15
Source:
p2sh.info

16. The
Future
of
Bitcoin
Security
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
16
Read
more….
• hrps://medium.com/@willobrien/its-­‐[me-­‐to-­‐end-­‐the-­‐cold-­‐storage-­‐ice-­‐age-­‐and-­‐
adopt-­‐mul[-­‐sig-­‐8589733c9fd6
• hrp://www.coindesk.com/2014-­‐became-­‐year-­‐mul[sig/

17. Thank
you.
Copyright
©
2014
BitGo,
Inc
Contact
us:
will@bitgo.com
sales@bitgo.com
www.bitgo.com
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