Introduction
AmbiVault users will be able to store Bitcoin (BTC). Since Bitcoin and Ethereum are based on different blockchain technologies, storing bitcoins a bit differs from storing Ether and ERC20 tokens. Thus, we'll enable BTC support in beta mode for selected customers. Please contact us if you would like to participate.
New features
Bitcoin blockchain is less technically advanced than Ethereum (read multi-signature). As such, there are a few limitations which affect the AmbiVault BTC multi-sig:
- The number of signatures required to sign operations is configured once and cannot be changed.
- The number of co-signers in the organization is configured once and cannot be changed.
- You'll have to create new BTC vault if any co-signer has to be added or removed.
Payment
We do not charge any additional fees to create and add BTC multi-sig to your account. However, you will need to pay a transaction fee for each transaction.
There’s a big difference in how we handle ETH and BTC:
- In Ethereum blockchain we use a technology that allows Ambisafe to pays Ether for sending transactions. In this way you can have 10 ETH in vault and send 10 ETH to another address (you cannot do this in MyEtherWallet). Also in this way you can have 0 ETH in vault and 100 ERC20-compatible tokens and still be able to send the tokens (you cannot do this in MyEtherWallet).
- In BTC you have BTC on your multisig address. You must pay Bitcoin transaction fees from that address when you are sending transactions. In next releases we will add an interface that will allow you to easily estimate and change how much you pay.
Summary
Changes to multi-sig cannot be made after creation. This includes the number of signatures and co-signers required to complete transactions. No fee is charged to add a BTC multi-sig wallet to your account, but you will be responsible for paying Bitcoin network transaction fees.