February 2026 marked Self-Custody Month at BOB Space. The month featured presentations, discussions, and workshops led by builders of self-custody tools: Penlock and Seed Keys.
The Importance of Self-Custody
Self-custody represents a fundamental shift in financial autonomy. It allows individuals to act as their own bank, free from the constraints of traditional institutions. Wealth becomes portable and immutable. No third party can freeze or confiscate these assets.
This independence introduces significant risk.
The user bears full responsibility for the security of their funds. There are no customer support agents or password recovery options. Loss of a private key results in permanent, irretrievable loss of the coins.
Self-custody trades the convenience of traditional banking for absolute sovereignty.
Private keys are too complex for practical use. A seed phrase solves this problem by acting as a readable master key.
Possession of these words, in the correct order, constitutes ownership of the Bitcoin. Therefore, the physical security of this phrase is the single most critical factor in self-custody. The goal of February’s sessions was to address this need for robust, practical security solutions.
Session One: Frameworks and Backups
The first session took place on Friday, February 13th. Penlock, a tool for offline seed phrase splitting, presented a new framework to compare self-custody strategies. This method helps users evaluate different approaches to security.
Seed Keys followed with an analysis of seed phrase backup mediums. The presentation examined the trade-offs of brain, paper, digital, and metal backups (including different form factors). Topics included durability, ease of use, and disposability.
An open discussion and Q&A concluded the evening.
Session Two: Hands-On Workshop
The second session took place on Friday, February 27th. It featured a practical workshop divided into three parts.
First, participants learned to generate a BIP39 seed phrase by hand using Penlock. This method offers better entropy than standard software or hardware wallets. It removes the need to trust secure elements or opaque processes. This approach provides protection against supply chain attacks.
Next, attendees stamped their generated seed words onto durable metal. The demonstration highlighted the benefits of metal over paper for long-term storage. Two workstations allowed participants to use the tools themselves. Users found the stamping jig particularly effective for accurate results.
Finally, the workshop covered seed phrase splitting. Participants learned how to split a seed phrase using Penlock. The session included verification and recovery steps. This technique hardens the backup while maintaining a single-signature setup.
Networking, open discussion, and the Lightning Market followed the workshop. BOB Space hosts a Seed Keys booth at the market each month, with products available for purchase.
Learn More
Self-custody requires the right tools and knowledge. Visit the blog to explore more guides on seed phrase security and metal backup solutions.