Why a custody timeline outlasts your wallet apps

Wallet software updates, exchange closures, and device migrations erase digital history. A written custody timeline preserves what apps cannot.

Why a custody timeline outlasts your wallet apps

Every hardware wallet vendor revises firmware. Mobile companion apps change login flows. The exchange where you bought your first altcoin may no longer operate in South Korea.

None of those systems owe you a twenty-year audit trail.

A custody timeline is a chronological document — maintained on paper or archival PDF stored offline — that records custody events: wallet creation, fund moves between devices, backup engraving dates, storage relocations, and verification drills. It does not contain seed phrases. It contains facts your future self and your heirs need when memory fades.

Three events worth logging immediately

  1. Device acquisition — model, purchase date, which wallet label it carries
  2. Backup creation — metal vs paper, location, whether a witness was present
  3. Last successful recovery test — even a partial drill counts

South Korea practical note

Domestic registered post and family-held storage are common here. Note which relative holds which backup copy, and when you last confirmed they still have it. That single line prevents silent custody drift.

If your timeline stops at 2021, everything after is folklore. Start the next entry today.