Sean Ryan from Anchorage Digital explores how vault technology could revolutionize Bitcoin security by allowing users to recover from private key compromise without losing funds, challenging current narratives around Bitcoin scaling and addressing the digital gold metaphor’s limitations.
This talk given at OP_NEXT 2025 focuses on Bitcoin vaults as a concrete solution for improving self-custody and security. Sean Ryan from Anchorage Digital explains how vaults require two transactions in separate blocks to spend funds, enabling “velocity control” and “reactive security” that allows users to recover from private key compromise. He argues that improving base layer security through vaults would meaningfully enhance Bitcoin’s utility as a global monetary network, challenging the digital gold narrative and addressing scaling concerns beyond just transaction throughput.
This presentation was recorded live at 2025’s OPNEXT, the Bitcoin scaling conference. For more info, visit opnext.dev. OPNEXT livestream and VODs are made possible by Taproot Wizards.
To watch the full library of OPNEXT 2025 content, be sure to check out our YouTube channel!
Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com
# Notes:
– Vaults enable recovery from private key compromise
– Watchtowers for vaults need not be online 24/7
– Bitcoin still 1000x smaller than payment networks
– “Digital gold” narrative may limit Bitcoin’s potential
– Current Bitcoin fee rates remain relatively low
– Improvement needed for global reserve currency status
