BitGo Wallet Types
Wallets Types
BitGo enables the following on-chain wallet types:
| Multisig Cold | Multisig Hot | TSS Cold | TSS Hot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custodial | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Self Managed | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Additionally, BitGo offers a multi-asset trading wallet that enables trading on the BitGo platform. To learn more, see Liquidity Kit.
Whether a wallet is multisignature or threshold signature scheme (TSS) is dependent on its blockchain. Functionally, they offer the same level of security and signing by multiple co-signers, but their signature schemas and integrations differ. For more information, see Multisignature vs TSS.
Keys
All BitGo wallets utilize the following 3 keys:
- User key
- Backup key
- BitGo key
The following table identifies who creates the private keys (or key shares) for each wallet type:
| Wallet Type | User Key | Backup Key | BitGo Key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custodial Multisig | 🄱 | 🄱 | 🄱 |
| Custodial TSS | 🄱 | 🄱 | 🄱 |
| Self-Managed Multisig Cold | 👤 | 👤 | 🄱 |
| Self-Managed Multisig Hot | 👤 | 👤 | 🄱 |
| Self-Managed TSS Hot | 👤 | 👤 | 🄱 |
The following image identifies who manages the private keys (or key shares) for each wallet type:
Custodial
For both multisignature and TSS wallets, custodial-wallet users initiate transactions, programmatically or through the BitGo web UI, but don't sign transactions. After video verification, a BitGo Trust operator signs the transaction with the user key. Then a different BitGo Trust operator downloads and signs the transaction in the BitGo Offline Vault Console (OVC). BitGo then uploads and broadcasts the transaction.
Custodial wallets are the most secure wallets of all the supported BitGo wallet types. However, these are also the least flexible wallet type if you're sending funds frequently. Withdrawals from custodial wallets have a 24-hour service-level agreement (SLA).
Self-Managed
Cold-wallet users download unsigned transactions from the BitGo web UI or programmatically. Users sign transactions in the OVC using their user key (encrypted by their BitGo or wallet password). Users then upload the half-signed transaction to BitGo and BitGo signs using the BitGo key. BitGo then uploads and broadcasts the transaction.
Self-managed multisignature cold wallets enable the most control and privacy of all the supported BitGo wallet types.
Legacy Wallet Types
Note: Don't create new wallets using legacy wallet types. If you have a legacy wallet type, BitGo recommends that you upgrade to a current type for enhanced security and functionality.
The following are legacy wallet types:
- Custodial Paired - The original custodial wallet at BitGo. This wallet worked similar to a hot wallet, but each was linked to a BitGo-managed parent wallet that approved all outgoing transactions.
- V1 - The original self-managed wallet at BitGo. This wallet was limited to Bitcoin.