Multi-signature wallets for shared control.
A multisig wallet requires several signatures to move funds. Useful for treasuries, joint accounts, and cold-storage setups where no single key is sufficient.
Build a 2-of-3 multisig.
- 01
Generate the cosigner keys
Each participant creates their own wallet and exports its master public key (xpub). - 02
Create the multisig wallet
In Electrum RVN, choose 'New wallet → Multi-signature wallet', set m and n (e.g. 2-of-3), and paste each cosigner's xpub. - 03
Confirm the receiving address
All cosigners should independently load the same xpubs and confirm they see the same receiving addresses. If addresses differ, the setup is wrong. - 04
Sign a transaction
Any cosigner can build a partially-signed transaction (PSBT). The PSBT is passed to the next cosigner, who signs and broadcasts once the threshold is reached.
A practical multi-signature setup for Ravencoin.
Multi-signature is the answer to 'what if one key is lost or stolen'. Instead of one seed controlling the wallet, m of n cosigners must agree before any spend goes out. The mechanics are well-understood, the wallet supports it directly, and the failure modes — too few seeds backed up, cosigner devices in the same physical location, no rehearsal — are predictable and avoidable.
Long-term storage of meaningful balances, shared treasuries (DAOs, partnerships, family pools), and inheritance setups where a designated executor needs to be able to recover funds with one missing key.
The most common practical configuration is 2-of-3: three cosigners, any two are required to spend, one can be lost without losing access. That single setup covers personal cold storage (two hardware wallets you hold + one on paper with a trusted family member or lawyer), small-team treasuries (three founders, two needed to move funds), and most inheritance plans. Larger configurations (3-of-5, 4-of-7) make sense for larger groups and bigger balances.
How the wallet is built
Each cosigner first creates their own ordinary wallet — a standard 12-word seed, ideally on a hardware device. They export only the master public key (xpub) — not the seed, never the seed — and share it with the others through any channel (xpubs are not secret). The multisig wallet is created by entering m, n, and the list of xpubs in Electrum RVN. Every cosigner builds the same multisig wallet independently and verifies that the resulting receiving address matches what the other cosigners see — if addresses differ, one of the xpubs is wrong.
- Each cosigner has their own seed; nobody else ever sees it.
- Cosigners share xpubs only — xpubs cannot move funds on their own.
- Receiving addresses must match across all cosigners' local builds.
- A wrong xpub produces a wallet that looks correct but cannot be signed for.
- Hardware wallets work as cosigners; mix-and-match is fine.
One cosigner builds the transaction in their copy of the multisig wallet, signs it with their key, and exports the partially-signed transaction (PSBT, BIP-174) to a file. The PSBT is passed to the next cosigner — email, USB, encrypted chat, anything — who opens it, verifies the destination and amount, signs with their key, and either passes it on or, once the threshold is reached, broadcasts it to the network. Cosigner public keys are sorted deterministically per BIP-67 so every wallet builds the same multisig address from the same set of xpubs.
Every cosigner seed must be backed up independently. The survival rule is straightforward: an m-of-n wallet can survive (n - m) lost seeds and no more. A 2-of-3 survives one lost seed; a 3-of-5 survives two. Lose one too many and the funds are unrecoverable — not even all the remaining cosigners together can rebuild the missing key. This is the most common multisig failure mode, and it is entirely a paperwork problem.
Mixing hardware and software cosigners
A common pattern is two hardware devices (one in daily location, one in a safe-deposit box) and one software seed held by a trusted third party (a lawyer for inheritance, a cofounder for a treasury). That gives you geographic separation, technology diversity, and a credible recovery path if any single piece is compromised or lost. Pair the hardware cosigners with Electrum RVN and the workflow stays the same as for any other multisig spend.
Before putting real balance in, build the multisig wallet with all cosigners, deposit a small test amount, sign a spend back out, and confirm everyone can reach the wallet from their own backup. A multisig setup nobody has ever actually exercised is a multisig setup that probably won't work the first time you need it. Do the rehearsal once; you'll catch the missing PSBT file format, the wrong xpub, or the cosigner who never actually wrote down their seed.
2-of-3 is the default for a reason: it tolerates one lost key without locking funds and one compromised key without losing funds. 3-of-5 adds more redundancy for larger treasuries or geographically distributed cosigners. 1-of-N is not multi-sig; it's a shared single-sig that increases attack surface without adding security. Pick the smallest threshold that survives your most likely loss scenarios and stop there.
Cosigner hygiene over the long run
Each cosigner needs their own seed backup, their own signing device, and a clear understanding of what they control. Document the setup — quorum threshold, who holds which key, where each backup lives, how to coordinate a spend — in a form the cosigners (and their executors) can act on without you. A multi-sig that only one person understands is a single-sig with extra steps.
Frequently asked
Continue with Electrum RVN
- cold storage Ravencoin — natural pairing for multisig setups
- manage Ravencoin assets — use multisig to govern an asset
- download Ravencoin wallet — install on every co-signer machine
Run your own Ravencoin wallet.
Open-source, lightweight, and built for the desktop user who wants real control over keys and assets. Download the wallet directly from our download page — signed installers for every operating system.