What Happens If You Lose a Bitcoin Multisig Key?

Losing a key is stressful, but with Evoke's 2-of-3 multisig setup, it's not a catastrophe. Here's what to do in each scenario.

If you lose one of your two keys

You still have access to your Bitcoin. Use your remaining key together with Evoke's recovery key to move your funds. Contact Evoke support, and we'll guide you through the recovery signing process. Once your funds are safe, you should set up a new vault with fresh keys.

If you lose both of your keys

Unfortunately, if you lose both of your personal keys, your funds cannot be recovered. Evoke holds only one key and cannot authorise a transaction alone. This is by design — it's what makes the system non-custodial and secure. This is why we strongly recommend storing your seed phrase backups in separate, secure locations.

If Evoke loses its key

You still have two keys and full access to your Bitcoin. Because Evoke is built on the open-source Caravan framework, you can always reconstruct your wallet and sign transactions independently, without Evoke's involvement. Read more about what happens if Evoke goes away.

How to prevent key loss

• Store seed phrase backups in separate locations — a home safe and a bank safety deposit box work well
• Use steel seed phrase backups rather than paper (fire and water resistant)
• Test your backups before storing large amounts
• Never store seed phrases digitally (no photos, no cloud storage, no password managers)

Best practice: Think of your seed phrase backups like gold bars. Would you store them all in one place? No. Spread them geographically and control access tightly.