Introduction

Trusting This Protocol

Background

Self-Managed Storage vs Online

Glacier vs Hardware Wallets

Multisignature Security

Attack Surface and Failure Points

Protocol Overview

Protocol Overview

Protocol Preparation

Equipment Required

Protocol Preface

Setup Protocol

Verify and Print Protocol Document

Prepare Non-Quarantined Hardware

Prepare Quarantined Hardware

Create Boot USBs

Create App USBs

Prepare Quarantined Workspaces

Deposit Protocol

Generate Cold Storage Data

Transfer Cold Storage Data To Paper

Test Deposit and Withdrawal

Deposit Execution

Store Cold Storage Data

Withdrawal Protocol

Transaction Construction

Transaction Execution and Verification

Viewing Protocol

Viewing Protocol

Maintenance Protocol

Maintenance Protocol

Extend Glacier

Extend Glacier Security

Possible Improvements to Glacier

Ecosystem Improvements

Contribute

Acknowledgments

Design Document

Design Document

Trusting This Protocol

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Funds secured using Glacier can only be as secure as its design. Here’s what you can trust about this protocol:

Expert advisors: The development of Glacier was guided with input from Bitcoin technology and security experts. See our advisor list.
Open source: GlacierScript, the Glacier companion software, is open source. The code is straightforward and well-commented to facilitate easy review for flaws or vulnerabilities. View it on Github.
Community review: The protocol has evolved in conjunction with the wider Bitcoin community. Early versions were circulated during development, and community feedback integrated. See our list of contributors.
Natural selection: All documentation and code related to this protocol is under open licenses (Creative Commons for the document, MIT license for the code), enabling others to publish their own revisions. Inferior alternatives will tend to lose popularity over time.

If you like, you may review the design document for details on the technical design.