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Last updated 2026-11-05

Loss Prevention

After this page you will have tested your backup, recorded what someone else would need to find it, and understood which losses can be repaired and which cannot.

Who this is for

Anyone holding BTG in a wallet they control. It matters most when your phrase exists in only one place, or only in your memory.

Before you start

  • Your wallet app, and a spare device or the willingness to reinstall.
  • The written backup you intend to rely on.
  • Twenty minutes. The restore test is the slow part, and it is the part that matters.

How it works

Recovery has exactly one path. A wallet is a key, and the recovery phrase or private key is the only copy of that key in existence. Whoever holds it can restore the wallet on any device; nothing else can.

Bitgold cannot restore a wallet. The network records balances against addresses. It has no account recovery, no reset link, and no procedure for proving that an address is yours. Asking anyone to "unlock" the wallet has no mechanism behind it.

Losses come in four shapes, and only some are recoverable:

  • Phrase lost, device still open: recoverable. Export the key or move the funds while the device still opens the wallet.
  • Device dead, phrase safe: recoverable. Restore on a new device.
  • Device dead, phrase gone: permanent. This is the case worth spending an afternoon to prevent.
  • Device open, backup damaged: recoverable only if the damage is in the copy. A misspelled word is a copy problem; a lost key is not.

Inheritance is a loss scenario too. If nobody can find the backup, the balance is unreachable in practice, however healthy the network is.

What to do

1. Test the backup before you rely on it

Restore from your written copy on a spare device, or reinstall the app and restore, then confirm that the same address and balance appear. Do this while the balance is small, not on the day you need it. A backup you have never restored is a hope.

2. Make the phrase able to outlive the device

Two copies, two places, neither digital. Keep Your Keys Safe covers the routine; the point here is that a dead phone must not be the end of the wallet.

3. Keep the device able to be opened

Know your app password and your device passcode, and store them somewhere other than the phrase. A wallet encrypted behind a forgotten passcode, with no phrase, is a total loss even though the hardware still works.

4. Record the recovery facts for someone else

One page, stored with the backup: which wallet app, which chain (618 for Bitgold mainnet), and where the copies are. Not the words themselves. Keep it where an heir or a lawyer would look.

5. Act fast when the phrase is gone but the device is open

Do not reset the device, update it, or hand it to a repair shop first. Open the wallet, export the private key, and move the balance to a new wallet created with a new phrase.

6. Accept the boundary

If the phrase is gone and the device no longer opens the wallet, the balance is unreachable. Say that plainly to yourself before you spend money on anyone who claims otherwise.

Verify it worked

  • You have restored from the backup at least once and saw the same address.
  • Both copies are complete and readable, and they are stored in different places.
  • The recovery note names the app, the chain, and the location of the copies.
  • You know which action comes first if the device dies today.

Troubleshooting

Problem What to do
My restore opens an empty wallet A word is wrong, a passphrase (25th word) was used, or a different account index is selected. Check all three before concluding that the phrase is wrong.
The device is dead and the backup is unreadable If any second device still opens the wallet, move the funds now. Otherwise the loss is permanent.
The wallet app is discontinued Export the private key while the app still runs, or restore the phrase in another EVM wallet.
My heir cannot find the note Store the location with the backup, not in a place only you know.
The backup is a photo in my gallery Treat the wallet as exposed. Create a new wallet, move the funds, and delete the photo.

Next steps

Self-check

  • I have restored from my backup, not only written it down.
  • My recovery note names the app, the chain, and where the copies are.
  • I know the first action if my phone dies today.
  • The phrase and the device passcode are not stored in the same place.