In this post, you’ll learn about our company’s mission and how our flagship product, Jaxx Liberty, empowers users to be in control of their digital assets. You’ll also get an introduction to blockchain and learn why it’s crucial to safeguard your Jaxx Liberty 12-word backup phrase.
Decentral: driven by decentralization
Decentral Inc. opened its doors in 2014 and has grown to become one of Canada’s leading blockchain companies, championing the decentralized movement by building technology that empowers individuals and creates wins for all, and our team of engineers makes software that follows this principle. As an innovation hub for disruptive technology, Decentral brings together like-minded people to connect, collaborate, and help usher in a new decentralized era.
Jaxx Liberty: empowering users to take control of their digital lives
Decentral’s flagship product is Jaxx Liberty, a free multi-platform blockchain wallet and interface that has empowered millions of people with the tools they need to be in control of their digital lives.
What’s a non-custodial wallet?
Jaxx Liberty is a “non-custodial” wallet, which means that neither Jaxx Liberty nor Decentral ever has the ability to hold, access, or transfer users’ cryptocurrency. Only the user has access to the security information required to access their digital assets.
When you download Jaxx Liberty, you are installing software that enables you to manage, send, and receive multiple cryptocurrencies; and to buy and trade digital assets through our third-party partners.
Privacy & security by design
True to the decentralized philosophy and in pursuit of our mission to empower users, we avoid collecting personal information of any kind. In that way, we function differently than many technology companies. We don’t collect personal information, and we don’t want it. It’s important to us that you stay in full control of your information.
Jaxx Liberty puts you in control
With Jaxx Liberty, you are in full control of your funds and your identity at all times. We’re committed to supporting user freedom in all aspects:
- we don’t collect personal information: we don’t have or collect personal data about our users. Our platform is intentionally designed with privacy in mind.
- we don’t hold users’ crypto: Your digital assets are always on the blockchain, and only you have access to the 12-word backup phrase and private keys required to access them. Jaxx Liberty is simply an interface that connects the two together.
- we don’t charge fees: the only fees you’ll encounter on Jaxx Liberty are mining fees that go directly to miners who enable blockchain transactions and fees our third-party partners may charge (e.g., when you buy & sell crypto).
Your 12-word backup phrase is the key to your crypto
Let’s take a look at the concepts of blockchain and 12-word backup phrases more closely to understand how Jaxx Liberty works.
The blockchain: a safe that holds a record of your digital assets
A blockchain is a chain of data blocks that forms an immutable digital ledger, which can be thought of as a next-level database. While there are many blockchains (Ethereum, Bitcoin, Polkadot, etc.), they share key similarities: all rely on a unique distributed network of computers that each have a copy of that blockchain’s ledger stored on them. These computers use a well-defined mathematical process to validate every transaction made on that blockchain. In order for a transaction to be confirmed, it must be fully validated by the entire network. Once it is, a new data block is added.
This process ensures that blockchain transactions are transparent, decentralized, and immutable (i.e., unable to be changed).
It may be helpful to think of the blockchain as a safe that holds a record of your digital assets. The record of your crypto transactions resides there permanently and can be viewed through your transaction history or the block explorer within the Jaxx Liberty interface. It can also be viewed through many third-party block explorers.
Jaxx Liberty does not hold your funds and we don’t have access to them. We also don’t have any more knowledge about your transactions than what is publicly available on the blockchain.
Your 12-word backup phrase: the key to unlock your digital assets
If the blockchain is the safe that holds the record of your digital assets, you can think of your 12-word backup phrase (sometimes referred to as a mnemonic or a seed phrase) as the password to unlock it. When you create a wallet in Jaxx Liberty, a random 12-word backup is generated using an industry-standard known as BiP39 and a derivation process known as BiP44. This information is only stored locally on your device—nothing is ever shared with us or stored on our servers.
When creating a wallet in Jaxx Liberty, users are advised to record their 12-word backup phrase in a secure location offline and to never share it with anyone. This helps ensure you remain in full control of your crypto. Giving up your 12-word backup phrase is the equivalent of giving away the combination to your safe; anyone who has it has the ability to empty it. Guard your 12-word backup phrase carefully. If you lose it, we can’t help you recover your funds because we simply don’t know it. It’s yours and yours alone.
Learn more about protecting your digital assets
There are many things you can do to safeguard your digital assets. Knowledge is power, and understanding what you can expect from us and how to avoid phishing attempts will help ensure you remain in control of your digital assets.