Billfodl is a secure way to create backups of your Bitcoin (BTC) or hardware wallet seed words.
Normally, when you setup a Bitcoin (BTC) hardware wallet, you are directed to write down a 12 or 24 word backup seed words. These words can be used to recreate and restore your crypto wallet in case your hardware wallet is lost, stolen or damaged.
The Billfodl is made from stainless steel and has laser cut engraved tiles. This together allows you to place those tiles to save passwords and mnemonic phrases (BIP 39) in its stainless-steel case that is very resistant to shockproof and to potential dangers like corrosion and water damage and it is also fireproof.
This short video provides a nice overview of the Billfodl:
Paper recovery seeds may seem like they are the safest and most secure way of storing your money offline. In fact, most hardware wallets come with a piece of paper that they direct you to use to backup your private keys. Like this cold storage that comes with the [Ledger Nano S] or Nano X (/wallets/ledger-nano-s/):
What it doesn’t protect against is when something you never expected happens. This is the most true for fire and flood damage.
A flood could easily destroy your paper backup, even if it’s stored inside a safe. A fire could also wreck your recovery seed in a heartbeat.
There are many other downfalls of paper. Ink tends to fade after a long time and can leave you with a blank piece of paper over time.
A piece of paper also happens to just be a piece of paper. When someone sees a piece of paper with a bunch of random words their first reaction to it is that it could just be trash, and for many that’s what’s happened. You don’t want to end up like this guy who had his seed thrown away by his cleaning staff.
Here is an extreme example of what the Billfodl protects against:
As you can see in this video, the laser cut engraved tiles are still readable after being melted by a torch.
On the Billfodl website there are stories of investors who made the mistake of thinking that they were securing their private keys properly:
I had my seeds written in a paper notebook that I put in my safe which was 4 1/2 feet off the ground. During Hurricane Harvey we got 6.5 feet of water. I had $1 million of [cryptocurrency], now I have nothing.
We feel that anyone with significant amount of crypto assets who is relying on paper seeds as backups should consider a Billfodl.
In most cases, this will be hardware wallet owners of the Ledger Nano S, Nano X, TREZOR Model T, TREZOR One or KeepKey.
For $80 or $160, if you want multiple backups, it is a rather cheap insurance policy against many potential threats that paper backup seeds don’t protect against.
You never know when misfortune will strike and there is no reason not to be prepared to the utmost level.
The price of a Billfodl was recently lowered. It is currently the cheapest steel backup device for 24 words at $49 with free shipping in the USA.
Customers from outside the USA get free shipping when ordering two or more devices.
As you first get your hands on your Billfodl box, you’ll note it is quite heavy.
Slide the inner casing out and let’s get started:
After removing your Billfodl from its box you will see that the second layer under the stainless steel apparatus laser engraved tile sheets. Just punch out each tile as you need them.
Once you have a tile in your hand and your Billfodl in the other, it’s time to place the tiles.
Take one tile and insert it into the flathead screw on the top left of the flipped open device. Take the same tile and insert it into the safety level in the bottom right and pop open the slide. If this part is confusing you should watch this video of the Billfodl team opening it up. It took me a minute to understand, but once you figure it out it’s very easy:
Once complete, your seed will look something like this:
The Billfodl does protect against the EMP blasts of nuclear explosions, but not the temperatures of a nuclear blast zone. Also, if you lose the Billfodl, you’ll still need either another copy of your seed phrase or the hardware wallet itself. So it may be worth to have some backups on paper, some on Billfodls, and your hardware wallet.
Review by: Jordan Tuwiner
Rating: 4.7
Visit Billfodl’s Website
A password that need to have numbers and letters is an alphanumeric password.
A recovery phrase is a series of words that can be translated into the private key to a cryptocurrency address, giving you access to your digital assets.
Hexadecimal code is used for simplifying binary codes. Computers do not use hexadecimal code; it is used only by humans to be able to understand more easily the binary code.
Cryptotag is a metal wallet backup where you can stamp letters for each word of your recovery phrase.
Jordan Tuwiner is the founder of BuyBitcoinWorldwide.com. His work has been featured in The Guardian, International Business Times, Forbes, VentureBeat, CoinDesk and many other top Bitcoin media outlets. His articles are read by millions of people each year looking for the best way to buy Bitcoin and crypto in their country.
He has also written extensively about the history, technology, and business of the crypto world. Jordan is also the creator of some of the internet's most famous Bitcoin pages, including The Quotable Satoshi and Bitcoin Obituaries.
To learn more about Jordan, see his full bio.
