Jameson Lopp, one of the foremost experts in bitcoin security, joins Steven McClurg and C.J. Wilson on this week’s Bitcoin Bottom Line episode from an undisclosed location. Lopp is the co-founder and CTO of bitcoin security provider Casa.
They kick off the episode discussing Lopp’s anonymity, how he has been avoiding public appearances, and the importance of privacy for the role he plays in his field.
The group talks about Casa, and how their security is so high that even if a wrench attack did happen, there’s no way that could lead to any loss of funds or compromise for their clients. On the Casa website, they offer a “well security protocol”, consisting of up to 40 pages of in-depth explanations covering how they architected their product using multi-sig protocols, multiple manufacturers, hardware devices for keys, and figuring out how to distribute them geographically. “We don’t want this to be a security through obscurity. An attacker should be able to completely understand our architecture and still not be able to do anything about it,” Lopp explains. McClurg brings up diversification and how it is one of the basic security strategies. He explains how Valkyrie receives questions about why we are using external services and hardware wallets, and his answer is always “diversification”.
Lopp explains that in his opinion, “The only reason someone would use a custodian is if they are in a regulatory position where they are legally required to use a qualified custodian.” He goes on to explain how diversification can be a threat, and closes out offering his best pieces of security advice.
Don’t miss the full episode for more!