Coinbase is removing its support for an advanced security feature that it was not advantageous for the company to maintain. Multisig vaults were originally introduced as a way for customers to manage their private keys and control their own security while still using the same Coinbase interface.
Also Read: Survey Says 8% of the American Population Now Own Cryptocurrency
No More Coinbase Multisig Vaults
San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced it will be winding down its support for existing multisig vaults (meaning accounts that require multiple signature to access) on the platform. The last day of support will be on April 19, 2018.
The company already disabled the creation of any new multisig vaults, citing customer feedback and low popularity and usage. Coinbase also explained that as bitcoin forks become more frequent, the complexity of multisig vaults makes it infeasible for it to support multisig withdrawals for each additional forked asset.
For these reasons it has decided to invest its resources elsewhere. “By removing this functionality, engineering time spent on supporting multisig vaults can be reallocated to continued investment in the security and reliability of our platform, which is of critical importance to our customers.”
Your Money, Your Responsibility
The company explains that because this product is user-controlled, customers can move funds with the two keys they already control. This change will only result in Coinbase customers not being able to access the third key that the company controls.
Users of this feature should ensure they have access to their two keys before the change. Otherwise, it is recommend Coinbase customers withdraw all funds from a multisig vault prior to April 19, 2018. After this date, access to the multisig address associated with such a vault will require the use of third-party open-source software not controlled by Coinbase, and this multisig tool does not support group vaults as well.
Whether you are a Coinbase customer or not, the responsibility for the security of your bitcoin holdings rests with you. More information on protecting your crypto wealth can be found in a recent guide from news.Bitcoin.com.
Why do you think Coinbase multisig vaults have seen such low adoption? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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