<blockquote>
<p>Question: Regarding 2 of 2 multisig, is it safe to assume that if I memorize 2 of 2 recovery phrases, then I can recover my funds even if I lose the xpub info (since I can recover the xpubs from my recovery phrases)?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If I am understanding you correctly, then yes. I think the warning is alluding to the (hypothetical but likely) situation that you were not in control of the private key of each signer.</p>
<p>The text you wrote sort-of answers this already by saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Therefore it is crucial that you securely and redundantly back up either all 3 recovery phrases (so you can recover all 3 xpubs)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Also it would be helpful to put the exact source that you read something from when referencing it, so that the context can be fully understood.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-03T09:33:16.857Z
thanks for your response! I have added additional context
chaulmianmints
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-05T05:08:32.710Z
Thanks for your follow up! I guess the answer I'm really looking for (assuming it's true) is "Yes, just remember the two (2 of 2) recovery phrases and you're good to go". I don't think I want to use multi-sig if I have to rely on anything other than the two mnemonic phrases I keep memorized inside my brain. I don't want to rely on hard drives or encrypted files in the cloud to store the xpubs, etc.
chaulmianmints
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-05T05:43:09.543Z
Well this follows logically. Assuming the multi-sig is n of n you need n of n xprivs to sign. If you have those you will implicitly have n of n xpubs derived from the xprivs. If the multi-sig is k of n, you need n xpubs and k xprivs to sign. If you cannot provide all the xpubs you cannot specify the multi-signature output to spend from which is locked to a hashed version of these xpubs.
Poseidon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-05T19:05:20.407Z
For the record, the reason I will not say "Yes, just remember the two (2 of 2) recovery phrases and you're good to go" is because I don't want to accidentally give you incorrect info and have you lose funds. In the case that you are setting this all up yourself or something, you can always practice these operations on testnet first. It doesn't take a lot of time and will literally save you from losing money.
Poseidon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-05T21:13:25.407Z
This is very helpful thanks very much
chaulmianmints
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-08T05:47:01.707Z
xpubs are never revealed on-chain, and are not uncompressed.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-08T18:49:50.730Z
@PieterWuille Thanks
Poseidon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-02T21:42:31.427Z
2023-05-08T18:48:59.607Z
2023-05-08T18:48:59.607Z
Poseidon
<p>Background: <a href="https://medium.com/shiftcrypto/the-pitfalls-of-multisig-when-using-hardware-wallets-9b0e98e4c19c" rel="nofollow noreferrer">I read</a> that in a 2 of 3 setup, all funds would be considered lost in the event that even a single xpub was completely lost.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>if you can no longer derive the public keys of all cosigners, you can no longer determine the redeem scripts necessary to find and spend the UTXOs of your multisig account.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Therefore it is crucial that you securely and redundantly back up either all 3 recovery phrases (so you can recover all 3 xpubs) OR securely and redundantly back up 2 of 3 recovery phrases AND all 3 xpubs (so you can lose one recovery phrase and still sign transactions).</p>
<p>Effectively this means if you cannot reliably back up ALL of your xpub keys, then your 2 of 3 setup is actually a 3 of 3 setup. Seeing as it is impossible to memorize your pub keys, I have opted for a 2 of 2 setup so that I can memorize everything required to control my funds.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Regarding 2 of 2 multisig, is it safe to assume that if I memorize 2 of 2 recovery phrases, then I can recover my funds even if I lose the xpub info (since I can recover the xpubs from my recovery phrases)?</p>
<p>Edit: Added additional context</p>

<multi-signature><wallet-recovery><xpub>
Can 2 of 2 multisig funds be recovered without the xpubs
chaulmianmints
# Can 2 of 2 multisig funds be recovered without the xpubs

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-04-02)

Background: [I read](https://medium.com/shiftcrypto/the-pitfalls-of-multisig-when-using-hardware-wallets-9b0e98e4c19c) that in a 2 of 3 setup, all funds would be considered lost in the event that even a single xpub was completely lost.

> if you can no longer derive the public keys of all cosigners, you can no longer determine the redeem scripts necessary to find and spend the UTXOs of your multisig account.

Therefore it is crucial that you securely and redundantly back up either all 3 recovery phrases (so you can recover all 3 xpubs) OR securely and redundantly back up 2 of 3 recovery phrases AND all 3 xpubs (so you can lose one recovery phrase and still sign transactions).

Effectively this means if you cannot reliably back up ALL of your xpub keys, then your 2 of 3 setup is actually a 3 of 3 setup. Seeing as it is impossible to memorize your pub keys, I have opted for a 2 of 2 setup so that I can memorize everything required to control my funds.

**Question**: Regarding 2 of 2 multisig, is it safe to assume that if I memorize 2 of 2 recovery phrases, then I can recover my funds even if I lose the xpub info (since I can recover the xpubs from my recovery phrases)?

Edit: Added additional context

**Tags:** multi-signature, wallet-recovery, xpub


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-04-02. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

> Question: Regarding 2 of 2 multisig, is it safe to assume that if I memorize 2 of 2 recovery phrases, then I can recover my funds even if I lose the xpub info (since I can recover the xpubs from my recovery phrases)?

If I am understanding you correctly, then yes. I think the warning is alluding to the (hypothetical but likely) situation that you were not in control of the private key of each signer.

The text you wrote sort-of answers this already by saying:

> Therefore it is crucial that you securely and redundantly back up either all 3 recovery phrases (so you can recover all 3 xpubs)

Also it would be helpful to put the exact source that you read something from when referencing it, so that the context can be fully understood.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thanks for your response! I have added additional context  
> **username_0**: Thanks for your follow up! I guess the answer I'm really looking for (assuming it's true) is "Yes, just remember the two (2 of 2) recovery phrases and you're good to go". I don't think I want to use multi-sig if I have to rely on anything other than the two mnemonic phrases I keep memorized inside my brain. I don't want to rely on hard drives or encrypted files in the cloud to store the xpubs, etc.  
> **username_1**: Well this follows logically. Assuming the multi-sig is n of n you need n of n xprivs to sign. If you have those you will implicitly have n of n xpubs derived from the xprivs. If the multi-sig is k of n, you need n xpubs and k xprivs to sign. If you cannot provide all the xpubs you cannot specify the multi-signature output to spend from which is locked to a hashed version of these xpubs.  
> **username_1**: For the record, the reason I will not say "Yes, just remember the two (2 of 2) recovery phrases and you're good to go" is because I don't want to accidentally give you incorrect info and have you lose funds. In the case that you are setting this all up yourself or something, you can always practice these operations on testnet first. It doesn't take a lot of time and will literally save you from losing money.  
> **username_0**: This is very helpful thanks very much  
> **username_2**: xpubs are never revealed on-chain, and are not uncompressed.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Thanks  

---

