What is a GuardBlock Vault?

A GuardBlock vault is a Bitcoin storage setup designed to reduce the risk of permanent loss, without giving GuardBlock unilateral control over your funds.

GuardBlock is different to other collaborative bitcoin custodial services. With other services, the option for them to move your funds without your consent is always there, due to the structure of their service. Even in the case of multi-entity setups, they can collaborate with each other to move your funds, for example at the request of a government entity. With GuardBlock, we use timelocks and the bitcoin protocol itself to secure the vault, so that we cant appropriate your bitcoin even if we wanted to.

The vault combines your hardware wallet key or keys, a GuardBlock co-signing key, and a pre-defined timelocked recovery path. In normal use, spending is collaborative, which is what enables you to optionally configure spending controls on your bitcoin secured in the vault. If GuardBlock becomes unavailable, your recovery path still exists and remains enforceable on-chain after the timelock expires, allowing you to access your bitcoin no matter what happens to us. GuardBlock is not a custodian and cannot move your Bitcoin alone.

How it Works

A GuardBlock vault has multiple parts:

  1. Your hardware wallet key or keys

These stay under your control and are required for normal vault use. GuardBlock does not hold your key (or a copy of it) at any point.

  1. A GuardBlock co-signing key

This is used for normal collaborative transactions. It cannot spend your Bitcoin by itself. This is how we enforce any configured spending controls that you set up for the vault.

  1. A timelocked self-recovery path

This is your fallback path. After a defined delay, you can recover without GuardBlock’s cooperation. This is enforced by Bitcoin script, not by trust or policy.

  1. A timelocked final recovery path

This is the final recovery path which becomes available after another timelock expires, which can be used if you have lost all of your keys and backups. With your instruction, GuardBlock can assist you to recover your bitcoin.

What this means

A GuardBlock vault is effectively a new bitcoin wallet, with additional rules that are set and controlled by you.

Those rules define:

  • How your Bitcoin can be spent normally
  • What happens if something goes wrong
  • How recovery or inheritance works
  • When you can exit without GuardBlock

What GuardBlock can and cannot do

GuardBlock can:

  • Co-sign normal transactions that fit your vault policy (also known as spending controls)
  • Help structure recovery in advance
  • Support recovery processes if needed, including inheritance protocols

GuardBlock cannot:

  • Move your Bitcoin alone
  • Recover your private keys or seed phrase
  • Remove your recovery path
  • Permanently freeze your funds if your timelocked path is available

Why use a GuardBlock vault?

A basic self-custody setup often depends on one device, one backup, or one person remembering exactly how everything works years later.

A GuardBlock vault is designed around a more realistic assumption: people lose devices, forget details, delay planning, and life changes. The vault structure is meant to reduce the chance that one mistake becomes permanent loss.

Inheritance protocols also allow you to make plans for what happens if you die, and you want to ensure your bitcoin is safely passed on to your heirs.

Keep in Mind

A GuardBlock vault is built for long-term secure storage, not frequent trading. You still need to protect your device and backups properly. GuardBlock improves resilience, but it does not remove the need for careful setup.

Once set up, you simply perform a rollover transaction every 11-12 months to refresh the timelock, which can be done as part of a healthy annual routine of checking on your security setup and any rules and recovery/inheritance protocols you have in place.

You can perform a rollover as early as you like to refresh your timelock and give you a large time buffer, which may be useful if you are going to be away from your keys for a long period of time.