What Happens to My Funds If Casa Shuts Down?

This is one of the most common questions new Casa members ask, and it deserves a direct answer.

If Casa ever ceased to exist, shut down, went offline, or was otherwise unavailable, you would still be able to access and move your funds. No action from Casa would be required. No permission. No waiting period.

This is possible because Casa is non-custodial. Casa never holds, controls, or has the ability to move your funds. You hold your own private keys, and those keys work independently of Casa's app and servers. This is true for every membership level.

Why your funds are always accessible

Casa vaults are built on open Bitcoin and Ethereum standards. Here's what that means in practice:

Your keys are real cryptographic keys. They exist on your hardware devices and your mobile phone. They are not stored on Casa's servers. Even if Casa's infrastructure were completely unavailable, your keys would still function exactly as they do today.

Your vault uses multisig, not a proprietary system. A Casa 3-key vault is a standard 2-of-3 multisignature wallet. A 5-key vault is a standard 3-of-5 multisignature wallet. These are widely recognized Bitcoin configurations that any compatible wallet software can understand and interact with.

Your Ethereum vault uses open-source smart contracts. Casa Ethereum vaults are built on Gnosis Safe (now Safe), one of the most widely used and audited multisig contract wallets in the Ethereum ecosystem. These contracts live on the Ethereum blockchain itself, not on Casa's servers.

The recovery tools are open-source. You don't need any Casa software to move your funds. Widely available, free tools like Sparrow Wallet, Electrum, and Gnosis Safe can be used to reconstruct your vault and create transactions.

What is Sovereign Recovery?

Sovereign Recovery is the process of accessing your vault and moving your funds without using any Casa software or servers. It's designed for exactly this scenario, however unlikely, so that you are never dependent on Casa to access what's yours.

When you set up a Casa vault, you are automatically sent a Sovereign Recovery email containing the technical information needed to recreate your wallet in third-party software. This email includes your public keys, derivation paths, and step-by-step instructions. It contains no private keys and cannot by itself be used to move your funds.

You can request this email again at any time from the Casa app by going to Settings → Send Sovereign Recovery Info.

How Sovereign Recovery works in practice

The process depends on which type of vault you have:

Bitcoin vaults (3-key or 5-key)

To recover a Bitcoin vault outside of Casa, you would use a compatible open-source wallet such as Sparrow Wallet or Electrum. The general steps are:

Gather your Sovereign Recovery information (from the email Casa sent you, or exported from the app).
Install Sparrow Wallet or Electrum on your computer.
Recreate your multisig wallet using the public keys and derivation paths from your Sovereign Recovery data.
Connect your hardware wallets to sign transactions.

For a 3-key vault, you need 2-of-3 private keys to move funds. For a 5-key vault, you need 3-of-5 private keys. In both cases, you should assume the Casa Recovery Key is unavailable, meaning you rely entirely on the keys you hold personally.

The fastest method for Bitcoin vaults is Wallet Descriptors. You can export a Wallet Descriptor from the Casa app (navigate to your vault → Deposit Funds → tap the three dots → View Wallet Descriptor), then import it directly into Sparrow Wallet using either text or a QR code. This skips the manual public key and derivation path setup entirely.

Ethereum vaults

Ethereum vault recovery uses Gnosis Safe (Safe), the same open-source multisig smart contract your vault is built on. Your Sovereign Recovery email contains the contract address and device information needed to interact with the contract directly through Safe's web interface.

You connect your hardware wallets to Safe, enter the derivation paths from your Sovereign Recovery email, and create transactions just as you would in the Casa app, but entirely independently of Casa.

Casa Pay wallets (BTC Pay and ETH Pay)

Casa Pay wallets are single-key wallets. Recovery involves exporting the seed phrase from the Casa app and importing it into a compatible wallet. Only export this information if absolutely necessary, this feature is designed strictly as an emergency measure.

Two things to do right now

You don't need to wait for an emergency to prepare. There are two simple steps every Casa member should take:

1. Save your Sovereign Recovery email

When you first set up your vault, Casa sends you a Sovereign Recovery email. If you can't find it, request a new one from the app: go to Settings → Send Sovereign Recovery Info. Save this email somewhere safe and accessible, a separate email archive, a printed copy stored securely, or both.

Remember: this email contains no private keys. It cannot be used on its own to move your funds. But it does contain the technical details you would need to reconstruct your wallet, so keep it private.

2. Keep your hardware devices safe and accessible

Your hardware wallets (Trezor, Ledger, Coldcard, etc.) hold the private keys that authorize transactions. In a Sovereign Recovery scenario, you'll need access to enough of these devices to meet the signing threshold for your vault: 2-of-3 for a 3-key vault, 3-of-5 for a 5-key vault.

Make sure your hardware devices are stored securely, that you know your device PINs, and that your devices are in working condition. Regular Health Checks in the Casa app help you confirm this on an ongoing basis.

What about your public keys?

Your public keys are stored locally on your mobile device, not on Casa's servers. This means you can access them even if Casa's infrastructure is unavailable, and even if your phone doesn't have an internet connection. To ensure this works, make sure the "Clear Cache on Logout" option is disabled in your Casa app Settings.

Frequently asked questions

Does Casa ever hold my private keys? No. Casa holds one recovery key per vault as a backup, but this key is designed only for use in key-replacement scenarios (like if you lose a hardware device). It is not required for Sovereign Recovery. You can recover your funds using only the keys you personally hold.

What if I lose my Sovereign Recovery email? You can request it again at any time from the Casa app. Go to Settings → Send Sovereign Recovery Info. A new email will be sent to the address on your account.

Do I need technical skills to do Sovereign Recovery? The process is more hands-on than using the Casa app, but the step-by-step guides linked below walk you through every detail. If you can install software on a computer and plug in a USB device, you can complete Sovereign Recovery.

Can I test Sovereign Recovery without moving funds? Yes. You can import your vault into Sparrow Wallet using a Wallet Descriptor to verify that your addresses and balances appear correctly, without broadcasting any transactions. This is a good way to confirm that your Sovereign Recovery information is up to date.

What happens to my Ethereum vault's smart contract if Casa shuts down? Nothing. The smart contract exists on the Ethereum blockchain, not on Casa's servers. It will continue to function regardless of whether Casa is operational.