keytern.al Frequently Asked Questions

Who are you?

keytern.al (@keyternal) is a service of Tangent 2000 Inc. Founded in 2015 by cryptocurrency and data security experts Jeffrey Paul (@sneakdotberlin) and John Gerlock (@Layz3r) to safeguard backup keys for bitcoin multi-signature wallets, keytern.al is the best option for safe, secure, long-term storage of your keys.

Where are you?

keytern.al has offices in Detroit, USA (John) and Berlin, Germany (Jeffrey).

Why should I trust you with my keys?

Cryptographic keys are hard stuff: correct generation, secure storage, and reliable backup are all much more complicated than dealing with most common types of data.

We have decades of experience reliably safeguarding high-value information for many clients in several countries. Well-regarded by all of our partners and clients with a sterling industry reputation built over many years, you can feel secure knowing that your backup keys are handled expertly and diligently by exclusively professional, experienced staff.

So you'll send me my key when I need it?

No. keytern.al will, in concert with you or your wallet provider, produce a valid bitcoin-network transaction allowing you to transfer your funds to a new wallet should you request us to do so. No secret key material will ever be divulged or transmitted, even to the customer recovering funds.

This safeguards your key material in all cases, while generating a valid transfer transaction required to move the money (the transaction data is itself not secret or sensitive; in fact it must be published worldwide to become effective). Your secret key material always remains offline, safely in our expert control, behind several overlapping layers of both electronic and physical protections.

In which legal jurisdiction is keytern.al located?

Tangent 2000, Inc. (which operates keytern.al) is a Delaware (US) corporation, and all staff are US persons, subjecting the company to United States law.

Have you received government requests for user data?

From time to time, keytern.al may be compelled by the government to comply with various types of court-ordered requests. We will comply with all legally-mandated requests that are appropriately limited in scope and not unreasonably broad.

As of 1 January 2016 keytern.al has never received any disclosure-restricted National Security Orders.

The table below shows the number of orders received, as well as the number of keytern.al customers affected by each type of order.

We will update this table from time to time as permitted by law.

Last update: 2016JAN01.