▶️ Watch: What happens to your crypto when you die?

Deadhand

Trustless dead man's switch for crypto inheritance using Shamir's Secret Sharing

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The Problem

You die. Your crypto dies with you. Your family has no idea how to access it.

Traditional solutions require trusting someone with your seed phrase. That's not acceptable.

The Solution

Deadhand uses Shamir's Secret Sharing to split your seed phrase into 3 shards. No single entity (including us) has the full key.

Inspired by @PixOnChain

Recognition & Audit

"Un outil open source pour léguer vos cryptos en cas de décès (sans tiers de confiance)." — Korben.info

"Опенсорс-протокол для передачи крипто-наследства." — Habr.com

Deadhand is the protocol of choice for technical operators and sovereign individuals:

• Community Audited: Our cryptographic core is battle-tested and constantly reviewed by the security community.
• Developer Validation: With a statistically significant 1.3x Clone-to-Visitor ratio, Deadhand is built for execution, not just browsing.

Features

• Client-Side Encryption - Your seed phrase never leaves your browser unencrypted
• Shamir's Secret Sharing - Mathematically proven 2-of-3 threshold scheme
• Automated Dead Man's Switch - 30-day heartbeat checks, triggers after 90 days
• PDF Export - Print shards for physical backup
• Beneficiary System - Seamless crypto inheritance
• Zero Trust Architecture - Even we can't access your keys
• Source-Available - Inspect the full code, but commercial use requires a subscription

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Explain Like I'm 5 🧒

Imagine your seed phrase is a secret line on a piece of paper.

• 1 point on the paper tells you nothing about the line
• 2 points on the paper reveal the entire line

That's Shamir's Secret Sharing. Your seed phrase is the line. We create 3 points:

Shard	Who Has It	What They Can Do Alone
A	You	Nothing
B	Your heir	Nothing
C	Deadhand server (encrypted)	Nothing

Any 2 shards → full seed phrase recovered (you don't need all 3) ✅
Any 1 shard → completely useless ❌

The Dead Man's Switch

Every 30 days, we send you an email: "Hey, you alive?"

• You click the link → Timer resets. All good.
• You don't respond for 90 days → We assume the worst.

When 90 days pass with no sign of you:

1. Shard C is automatically released to your beneficiary
2. They combine B + C → 2 points → the line is revealed
3. They now have your full seed phrase

Result: Your family inherits your crypto. No lawyers, no courts, no guessing passwords.

Can't Be Social Engineered 🛡️

Deadhand is a protocol, not a person.

• "Please release my shard early, it's urgent!" → No.
• "I'm the beneficiary, can you help me?" → No.
• "I forgot to check in, can you reset my timer?" → No.

The system runs on code, not feelings. We don't respond to emails asking to bypass the rules. The only way to stop the countdown is to click your heartbeat link. That's it.

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How It Works

Shard Distribution

flowchart LR
    subgraph Browser["Client Browser"]
        SEED["Seed Phrase"]
        SPLIT["Shamir Split (2-of-3)"]
    end
    
    SEED --> SPLIT
    SPLIT --> A["Shard A<br/>User Keeps"]
    SPLIT --> B["Shard B<br/>Beneficiary"]
    SPLIT --> C["Shard C<br/>Server"]
    
    style SEED fill:#f59e0b,color:#000
    style A fill:#14b8a6,color:#000
    style B fill:#eab308,color:#000
    style C fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff

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Dead Man's Switch Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant U as User
    participant S as Deadhand Server
    participant B as Beneficiary

    Note over U,S: Every 30 days
    S->>U: "Are you alive?" Email
    
    alt User Responds
        U->>S: Click heartbeat link
        S->>S: Reset 30-day timer
    else User Missing (90 days)
        S->>B: Email Shard C
        Note over B: Combines Shard B + C
        B->>B: Recovers Seed Phrase
    end

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Recovery Combinations

flowchart TB
    subgraph Valid["Valid Recovery (Any 2 Shards)"]
        AB["A + B"] --> RECOVER1["Seed Recovered"]
        AC["A + C"] --> RECOVER2["Seed Recovered"]
        BC["B + C"] --> RECOVER3["Seed Recovered"]
    end
    
    subgraph Invalid["Invalid (Single Shard = Zero Info)"]
        A1["A alone"] --> FAIL1["Nothing"]
        B1["B alone"] --> FAIL2["Nothing"]
        C1["C alone"] --> FAIL3["Nothing"]
    end
    
    style RECOVER1 fill:#22c55e,color:#000
    style RECOVER2 fill:#22c55e,color:#000
    style RECOVER3 fill:#22c55e,color:#000
    style FAIL1 fill:#ef4444,color:#fff
    style FAIL2 fill:#ef4444,color:#fff
    style FAIL3 fill:#ef4444,color:#fff

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Trust Model

Scenario	Outcome
Server hacked	Attacker has only Shard C → Useless
Beneficiary is malicious	They have only Shard B → Useless
You lose Shard A	Combine B + C → Still recoverable
You die	Server sends C to beneficiary → B + C = Recovery

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Tech Stack

• Backend: FastAPI, PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy
• Frontend: HTML, TailwindCSS, HTMX
• Cryptography: secrets.js (Shamir's Secret Sharing) running in browser
• Hosting: Vercel

How to Run

1. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Run the server:

   python -m uvicorn app.main:app --reload --port 8000

3. Visit http://localhost:8000

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Development Philosophy

I am a pragmatic developer. I only use the most reliable and proven tools for the job. This project is built using the simplest Python and HTML possible—no flashy new frameworks or "hyped" stacks that will be obsolete in six months.

By choosing minimal dependencies and low complexity, we ensure that the codebase can stand the test of time and remain auditable by anyone, forever.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Areas We Need Help With:

• Production-grade email integration
• Multi-language support
• Mobile app wrapper
• Hardware wallet integration
• Additional threshold schemes (3-of-5, etc.)

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License

This project is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 (BSL 1.1).

What This Means

Use Case	Allowed?
Personal use	✅ Free
Security auditing	✅ Free
Educational/research	✅ Free
Non-commercial self-hosting	✅ Free
Commercial/production use	❌ Requires Commercial License

Change Date

On January 28, 2030, this code automatically converts to AGPL v3.0 (fully open source).

Why BSL?

We believe security software should be transparent. You should be able to verify that your seed phrase is safe by reading the code yourself. But building and maintaining security infrastructure is expensive. BSL ensures:

1. Trust: Anyone can audit the code
2. Sustainability: The project can be maintained long-term
3. Eventual Freedom: Code becomes open source after 4 years

For commercial licensing: [email protected]

See LICENSE for full terms.

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Star this repo if you find it useful!