ConceptsCustody Model
Concepts

Custody Model

Your keys, your vault. BlackVault uses embedded wallets so onboarding feels like a normal app — while custody stays entirely with you.

Why this is safe for you

BlackVault is fully self-custodial. That is the single most important safety property of the whole product:

  • We never hold your funds. There is no BlackVault account, deposit address, or omnibus wallet. Your money sits in your wallet, controlled by your key.
  • We cannot move your funds. Every transfer is signed on your device by your key. No server, admin, or backend has the ability to send on your behalf.
  • We cannot freeze or seize your funds. There’s no operator switch — nothing for us, a regulator, or an attacker to flip, because no one but you controls the key.
  • You can leave anytime. Export your private key (Settings → Export) and import it into MetaMask, Rabby, or any EVM wallet. No lock-in, ever.
  • Nothing to hack on our side. Since we don’t custody funds, there is no honeypot — a server breach cannot drain wallets it never controlled.

The rule is simple: you sign, or it doesn’t happen. BlackVault’s servers only relay data and verify public facts — they never touch your keys.

How your key exists

  • Created on sign-in (Google or email) using distributed key infrastructure — no seed-phrase ceremony, and no key is ever assembled on a server.
  • Usable only from your authenticated session on your device.
  • Exportable at any time (biometric-gated when the vault lock is on).

Layers in front of the key

LayerProtects against
Google/email session + passkeysAccount takeover
Biometric vault lock (WebAuthn)Someone holding your unlocked device
Slide-to-confirm on every sendAccidental or scripted transfers
Gas & destination preflightsBroken or misdirected transactions

Stealth keys

Your private-balance identity (spending + viewing keys) is derived, not stored — one wallet signature per session recreates it. Nothing sensitive sits on disk; clearing your browser costs you nothing but a re-sign.

What BlackVault cannot do

  • Move, freeze, or seize your funds.
  • See your private log or balances beyond what’s public on-chain.
  • Stop you from leaving with your key.

That’s not a promise we ask you to trust — it’s a property of how the system is built. Self-custody isn’t a setting; it’s the foundation.