Comparison
Multisig vs single-sig
6 min read
| Single-sig | 2-of-3 multisig | |
|---|---|---|
| Keys needed to spend | 1 | Any 2 of 3 |
| Lose one seed | Funds lost | Still recoverable |
| One seed stolen | Funds stolen | Still safe |
| One device has a firmware flaw | Exposed | Contained if vendors differ |
| Backups | Seed (+ passphrase) | Three seeds + the descriptor |
| Complexity | Low | Higher; practise first |
The 2026 COLDCARD weak-seed incident is a real-world example: a single-sig wallet built on an affected seed was exposed, while a multisig mixing vendors needed more than one key to spend (Coinkite).
Back up the output descriptor with every multisig seed. Without it, recovering a multisig can be very difficult.
Start with single-sig, master backups and restore tests, then follow our multisig basics guide.
Sources
Educational content only, not financial advice. See our disclosure.