SET UP YOUR IMPACTPLATE

Enhanced Security

Our recommendations

You have the ImpactPlate kit, you probably already know what you're doing. However, here's our recommendation for handling the seed backup, this is how we do it.

For optimal protection, use a 24-word seed phrase you generate on a hardware wallet (not online!) together with a long passphrase, sometimes called the 25th word (even though it could be 50+ random characters depending on your crypto wallet). That extra secret means the plate alone is not enough to spend funds, so the backup remains incomplete without the separate passphrase.

A good way to generate that passphrase is with an encrypted password manager like Bitwarden or KeePass. Aim for 5+ random words plus extra characters and a number, something long enough to be impossible to brute-force but still realistic for you to store and recover correctly. This passphrase is fine to be stored digitally, as long as you keep the main seed phrase strictly in the physical realm.

You can sanity-check the strength with zxcvbnzxcvbn tests by lowe, demo for Daniel Lowe Wheeler's password-strength estimator before committing to it. This is the kind of long random passphrase you want, not a memorable quote or a reused password.

Store the physical plate in a secure, stable location such as a safe, and store the passphrase separately. For extra resilience, consider creating a backup plate and keeping it off-site with a trusted person or in a bank safe deposit box. The plate is engineered to survive fire and flood, but it can still be stolen, misplaced, or buried under unreachable debris. The point of geographic separation is absolute redundancy—ensuring you never lose access to your wealth even if your primary home is completely compromised.

Access Tools

Open the kit and lay out every piece first

Lift the top tray to access the lower compartment. Inside you will find the spring-loaded punch tool, the security envelopes, and the anti-tamper seals.

Before you start marking the plate, make sure everything is within reach and the punch tool resets cleanly after each press. The included punch is a convenience tool, not a premium instrument, so test it a few times before trusting it on the real backup.

If it sticks, skips, or leaves weak marks, do not force your way through the plate blindly. Cycle it a few times by hand, retest on a spare spot first, and if needed try a very slight angle instead of perfectly vertical. If it still feels faulty, try unscrewing the cap and threading it back together tightly to reset the spring. If that does not fix it, switch to any decent automatic center punch or metal punch you already trust.

Record Your Seed

Punch in the words, then verify everything

For BIP-39 seed words, you only need the first 4 letters of each word. No two words in the BIP-39 list share the same first 4 letters, so those 4 characters are enough to make the seed unique and fully recoverable.

Record words 1-12 on the front and 13-24 on the reverse side. Align the punch tool directly over the chosen letter cell, keep it vertical, and press firmly until you feel or hear the full indent click into place.

• Use only the first 4 letters of each BIP-39 word
• Keep word order exact from first to last
• After punching, read back the entire seed phrase and confirm every word

Seal & Monitor

Finish by making tampering obvious

Once marking and verification are complete, slide the plate into the provided envelope.

Apply the 2 anti-tamper stickers across the envelope seams, one for each glued edge. If a seal is broken or starts showing a VOID pattern, you have an immediate signal that the backup may have been inspected or copied.

That visibility is the final layer of peace of mind: you do not have to guess whether someone accessed the backup. The envelope tells you.

Keep the punch tool; it’s a versatile addition to any toolbox for marking drill points or can be kept in your car’s glovebox as an emergency break-glass rescue tool.