How Cloud Recovery works
Cloud Recovery replaces the 24-word seed phrase with an encrypted backup split across your personal cloud account and the infrastructure of Blockrise. This page covers how it works, setup, recovery scenarios, and the security details behind the design.
What is Cloud Recovery?
Cloud Recovery replaces the manual 24-word seed phrase with an automatic, encrypted backup. When you set up your Blockrise wallet, your seed phrase is generated on your device, encrypted, and stored in your own iCloud (iPhone) or Google Drive (Android). You never have to write down a single word. Recovery on a new device takes 5 to 10 seconds.
Where is my backup stored?
Two pieces, two locations.
The encrypted seed phrase sits in your personal iCloud or Google Drive, in storage only you can reach. On Android, this is a scopelocked app folder inside Google Drive that is not visible in the normal Drive UI. On iOS, it sits in your private iCloud record store (CloudKit Private Database), endtoend encrypted by Apple. The encryption key sits on Blockrise's servers, in a European data centre. Neither location holds enough on its own to access your Bitcoin. Only the two combined work.
How is the backup encrypted?
With AES-256-GCM, the same encryption standard used by banks and governments. Encryption happens on your device before anything leaves the phone. What gets uploaded is already scrambled.
The encryption key itself is then wrapped in a second layer of encryption on Blockrise's servers, using Google Cloud KMS. This means even Blockrise database access does not expose the key.
What is the difference between Cloud Recovery and a traditional seed phrase?
A traditional seed phrase puts every part of recovery in your hands: 24 words on paper, stored wherever you decide, secured however you decide.
Cloud Recovery removes the paper step. The seed phrase is generated, but it is encrypted and stored automatically in your cloud. You never see the words, and you depend on a working cloud account plus Blockrise's infrastructure to recover.
The trade-off is control. With a seed phrase, you are the only party involved. With Cloud Recovery, Blockrise's infrastructure is part of the recovery process. For most clients, especially those new to Bitcoin, the trade-off is worth it: the security model is sound, and the risk of losing access through a misplaced or forgotten seed phrase is far greater than the risk of a properly encrypted cloud backup being compromised.
Both options are available at setup. Neither is wrong.
What is the Blockrise Back-up service?
A separate recovery layer for clients who lose access to their cloud account and do not have a written seed phrase. The recovery key is held by Stichting Blockrise, an independent foundation, separate from Blockrise as a company. Using the Back-up service costs €999.
Clients who choose Quick Setup at onboarding are automatically enrolled in the Back-up service. Clients who choose Advanced Setup can opt in.
Is my data stored in Europe?
The encryption key at Blockrise is hosted in Europe (GCP)
The encrypted backup in your iCloud or Google Drive depends on your own cloud account settings. Apple and Google may store data in different regions. This does not weaken protection: without the encryption key from Blockrise, the backup is mathematically meaningless wherever it sits.
Does Cloud Recovery comply with European regulation?
The encrypted backup design, where no single party holds enough material to access the wallet on its own, aligns with European key management requirements for crypto-asset service providers. Blockrise is regulated by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) under MiCAR.
Are recovery actions monitored and audited?
Yes. Every key retrieval is authenticated, role-controlled, and logged. Recovery requires two-factor authentication. Activity is monitored continuously.
What makes Blockrise's approach different from other Bitcoin platforms?
Blockrise uses an encrypted backup model. Some platforms encrypt backups with a password the client must remember (which becomes a single point of failure). Some platforms store the entire backup themselves (which removes client control). Some leave everything with the client (which removes any safety net). Blockrise separates the two pieces: the encrypted seed sits in the client's personal cloud, and the decryption key is held by Stichting Blockrise. No user supplied password is in the encryption path. The encryption key is randomly generated on-device and never derived from anything the client types.
What do I do if something goes wrong during recovery?
Contact support@blockrise.com.
The manual seed entry fallback is always available for clients who have it, and the Blockrise Back-up service is available for clients who do not.
Find out more about Cloud Recovery
Whatever goes wrong, lost phone, lost access, compromised cloud, or a change of plans, your Bitcoin stays in your control, and this page explains exactly why.
Setting up Cloud Recovery, switching phones, moving between platforms, or managing multiple devices, this page walks you through everything the recovery flow covers.