We live in a world where losing your bitcoin keys can mean losing your fortune forever, one engineer decided to build an indestructible ark for the digital age. Meet Chris —the man behind SEEDOR, a stainless steel-clad fortress for your seed phrase that laughs in the face of fire, floods, and even acid.
But this isn’t just a story about unbreakable metal; it’s about the unbreakable philosophy behind it: ‘Don’t trust. Verify.’
From hand-sorting 40,000 metal disks like a bitcoin-obsessed alchemist to redefining what ‘inheritance’ means in a world of digital scarcity, Chris has turned security into an art form. Why? Because over 4.5 million bitcoin are already lost to the void—and he’s on a mission to make sure not a single sat more joins them. 
Building on Bitcoin
- What’s one habit or philosophy that keeps you resilient as a founder?
Get your hands dirty! It’s a philosophy that’s kept me grounded and resilient. I believe no task is beneath me. I’ve personally done every step in our production process and still jump in when things go wrong, not because I want to, but because sometimes the fastest way to fix a problem is to handle it myself.
Once, I sorted 40,000 disks by hand due to a tolerance issue with the hexagonal hole. My hands were black with metal dust, like a coal miner’s. But that grind helped me understand the problem deeply, and led to automation and better quality control down the line. There’s no substitute for being close to work – go to gemba!
- What sparked the idea for SEEDOR? Was there a personal “aha moment” where you felt traditional seed storage solutions weren’t enough?
As an engineer you treat everything as broken and find a way to fix it (not relationship advice). I wasn’t satisfied with the steel wallet options on the market, so we set out to combine the best features from dozens of competitors into a single, superior product.
The result is what I believe to be the most complete, durable, and reliable bitcoin backup available today.
- How do you stay customer-focused while innovating in a niche as technical as bitcoin security?
I’m terminally online and endlessly curious. Staying customer-focused means constantly learning, listening, and engaging with the community. Attending conferences and connecting with the people actually building bitcoin’s infrastructure helps me stay ahead of the curve and anticipate user needs, sometimes before they even realize them.
Today, I work across the full spectrum of bitcoin security: from custody with SEEDOR.io, to inheritance with Satskeeper.con, and insurance with Bitsurance.eu. Bitcoin security is a moving target, and staying ahead means constantly adapting, rethinking, and evolving.
- Why focus on blending durability and elegance for a product?
Durability ensures the product protects what matters most under extreme conditions: fire, water, corrosion, etc. It’s about trust and long-term reliability.
Elegance makes the product intuitive, satisfying to use, and something you’re proud to own.
When you combine both, you’re not just building a tool, you’re creating a product people connect with, trust, and are more likely to use correctly and consistently and maybe gift to their nocoiner friends to get them started properly.
- What were the biggest technical hurdles in creating a product that’s fire, water, and acid-resistant? Any “trial by fire” stories from prototyping?
My business partner and I are both materials scientists, so selecting and testing materials that could withstand fire, water, and acid was actually the easy part. The real challenge has been manufacturing at scale while maintaining tight tolerances—something that’s far more complex in the world of consumer products than in the lab.
Every time bitcoin’s price pumps, we’re hit with a flood of orders. That’s when the real ‘trial by fire’ begins. Supply chain management wasn’t part of our university curriculum—and it shows. But with every backorder and bottleneck, we’ve learned, adapted, and improved. It’s a constant process of refining both the product and the systems behind it.
- How did you balance security (a non-negotiable for bitcoin users) with aesthetic design? Did one take priority early on?
I follow the Dieter Rams principle that form follows function, every design decision serves a single purpose: to protect your secret seed phrase. The fact that it turned out beautiful wasn’t the goal, but a natural result of thoughtful engineering.
The capsule is 25mm in diameter so a standard cordless drill can create a hiding spot. Its lid uses an M22 fine thread for a hermetic seal, and features a boring for leverage, so you can still open it after 25 years underground.
- “Made in Germany” is a core part of your brand. How did local craftsmanship or culture shape SEEDOR’s development?
With over a decade in the engineering industry, I had the advantage of knowing the right partners, which made it easier to scale early on. To ensure we’re using the right steel, I manufacture the critical components locally—this lets me personally test the material with an XRF gun and verify the alloy composition down to the element. I don’t rely on supplier claims. Don’t trust. Verify.
- How do you respond to skeptics who say, “Why not just laminate my seed phrase or use a safe?”
Any offline backup is better than storing your seed phrase digitally, especially in a password manager. Paper can work as a secondary backup, but speaking from personal experience, having lost my birth certificate in a flood, I know paper isn’t built to last. A fireproof safe is a step up, but it’s expensive, bulky, and not exactly easy to hide.
Yes, with enough knowledge and DIY effort, you can achieve similar security. But our product exists to save you that time and eliminate guesswork. We’ve thought through every detail to give you a durable, discreet, and convenient solution that just works, because when it comes to your bitcoin, you don’t really want to cut corners.
What’s Next?
- What’s your #1 piece of advice for someone building a product at the intersection of tech and physical design?
Design for yourself first. If you build something you truly want and use, your authenticity will shine through and that’s powerful in both product design and marketing.
In today’s global economy, there are thousands of people out there just as crazy as you, and that’s your product-market fit. But don’t forget: even the best product won’t sell if you don’t know how to tell its story.
- How can the global bitcoin community support your mission?
Spread the word. Teach the people closest to you about proper bitcoin self-custody. I truly believe everyone has a problem that bitcoin can help solve, it just looks different for each of us. This revolution is inevitable, but it’s up to us to bring our loved ones along for the ride.
The more people hold their bitcoin in self-custody, the closer we get to true price discovery, and the end of paper bitcoin shenanigans. There are over 2 million bitcoin sitting on Coinbase and Binance, that’s 2 million too many.
