Cryptocurrency Passwords Can Now Be Stored in DNA

For those who have amassed a small fortune trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero, keeping that money safe is of the utmost importance.

Should you store your password for the currency on a hard drive? That's one way. But a startup called Carverr has a more organic solution: storing it in a microtube of DNA. This is not just anyone's DNA either, but synthetic DNA created in a lab for the purpose of storing data. 

This encryption tool was designed with the notion that it will last longer than a more traditional hardware option. For those who have a lot of money tied up in a cryptocurrency, if that data is kept on a hard drive, it could easily have become corrupted and unable to access decades in the future.

"DNA is the only thing that won't become obsolete," said Carverr CEO and co-founder Vishaal Bhuyan to CNET.

The intelligence community is looking at polymers like DNA to store data for similar reasons.

Carverr has some other security methods in place to keep customers' data secure. If someone were to physically steal a vial of DNA to then obtain the password, they wouldn't be able to decrypt it without knowing Carverr's system. Business transactions are conducted over encrypted ProtonMail to provide an extra layer of security.

And while you have passwords on the brain, remember to choose strong ones, whether they will be encoded onto synthetic DNA or not.