Schwartz Proposes Duplicate Wallets for Bitcoin Inheritance

David Schwartz, an XRP Ledger co-creator and Ripple board member, proposed a Bitcoin inheritance plan on August 3 that uses duplicate hardware wallets to separate access from their PIN. The setup involves loading a 24-word recovery phrase onto two additional cold wallets, setting the same PIN on both, giving one device to each of two relatives, and sharing the PIN with two trusted friends who would disclose it after the owner's death.

The proposed plan creates two physical copies of the same wallet. Each relative would hold a signing device but lack the PIN, while each friend would know the PIN but hold no device. Under normal conditions, neither group could access the Bitcoin without cooperating with someone from the other group.

Schwartz's argument came during a discussion about whether paper backups are simpler than hardware wallets. Paper avoids firmware exposure, but it remains vulnerable to theft, fire, and accidental destruction. The arrangement does not create a multisignature wallet, as both devices contain the same recovery phrase, making each represent the same signing authority.

The proposal follows a Coldcard flaw that weakened randomness during seed generation on affected firmware. Coinkite has released corrected versions, but updating firmware cannot repair an earlier recovery phrase. Affected users must create a new seed and move their Bitcoin.