What "cold storage" means
on this platform
The phrase gets used loosely. Below is the specific mechanism Qblockx uses, the exact path an asset takes when you move it, and what we do and do not control about your funds.
Two layers, one gap
A wallet is not "cold" because it is slow or inconvenient. It is cold because the private key has no network path to a remote attacker. Qblockx separates the system into two layers with different jobs and different trust:
- The cold layer holds private keys and signs transactions. It has no listening network services. Nothing can reach in from outside to ask it for a key, because there is nothing there to answer.
- The connected layer is what you see in your browser: balances, history, requests, the interface. It holds no private keys, so compromising it exposes data, not funds.
The two layers exchange one thing and one thing only: an unsigned transaction going in, and an already-signed transaction coming out. The key moves in neither direction.
Your online account knows how much you have. It cannot spend it. The part that can spend is not on the internet, and the only message it accepts is a request that you authorised.
The bridge transfer
"Bridging" is where most cold-storage claims get vague, so here is the actual sequence. A bridge transfer moves value between the cold layer and a connected context without ever exporting a private key:
- The connected layer builds an unsigned transaction: from your cold address, to a destination, for an amount, with a fee. It is incomplete and harmless.
- The unsigned transaction crosses to the cold layer as data. One-way presentation; the cold layer does not open a return channel.
- The cold layer re-validates it against its own view of the ledger: correct balance, correct destination, fee within your configured ceiling. A tampered request is rejected here, and rejection is the safe default.
- The required signatures are applied inside the cold layer. This is the only step that touches a key.
- The signed transaction crosses back and is broadcast. Signatures are not reusable for a different transaction, so what leaves the cold layer cannot be edited en route and still be valid.
The online side writes a cheque. The offline side checks it, signs it, and hands back the signed cheque, never the pen.
Signing without connecting
Every outbound transfer is authorised by a signature produced in the cold layer, under a multi-signature policy. Multi-signature means a threshold of separate keys must agree before value moves, so no single stolen credential and no single insider can drain a balance alone.
The specific threshold, which parties hold which keys, and the recovery procedure are stated on the custody and security page, because those facts belong with the entity that holds the keys and not with the explanation of the mechanism.
Deposits and withdrawals
Depositing requires no signature at all. You send from wherever you already hold the asset to a Qblockx-issued address, and the asset is credited once the source network confirms it. Cold storage is not a barrier on the way in.
Withdrawing is where the cold layer is engaged, following the bridge sequence above. Expect this to be slower than an exchange withdrawal: an extra validation and signing step is the price of the air gap, not a backlog.
Tiers, mining and investments
Your account dashboard shows features that the landing page does not mention: a premium virtual card, mining rewards, and an investments section, gated behind paid tiers. Those are not storage tiers. They are separate products, and reading the two sets of claims as one is the most common way to misunderstand this platform.
Custody of your keys is not the same as control of your account
Storage
Holding, offline
In a storage plan your asset rests in the cold layer. Qblockx does not hold a key that lets it move that asset without your authorisation, which is what our Terms and custody policy describe.
The trade you are making is control for unreachability. If you lose your recovery shares, there is no support desk that can sign on your behalf.
Products
Deployed, on purpose
Mining rewards and investments are not cold storage. You are electing to put value into a yield-bearing arrangement with Qblockx as the counterparty, which is a different risk than holding.
Once deployed, that value is subject to the terms of the product you bought, not the protections of the air gap. Nothing here is a deposit account and none of it is government guaranteed.
If you are offered a storage plan that also earns a return, ask which of the two above you are buying. The honest answer determines whether your asset is reachable by us or not, and that answer should be in writing before you pay.
Who is responsible for what
Clear allocation, stated plainly, because most losses are allocation failures:
- You hold your recovery shares and account credentials. These are what authorise signing.
- You hold the decision to approve each outbound transaction.
- Qblockx holds the cold-layer infrastructure, its key-management procedure, and the accuracy of the ledger you see.
- Qblockx does not hold a standing ability to move your stored assets without your authorisation.
We will never ask for your recovery phrase. Anyone who does, including in a message that appears to come from us, is attempting to take your assets.
What this does not protect against
Architecture removes some risks and leaves others untouched. It is worth knowing which is which:
- Price risk. The asset you hold can fall in value. Cold storage does not hedge.
- Key loss. Lose your recovery shares and stored assets are unrecoverable by anyone.
- Upstream failure. Assets issued or operated by another network or issuer carry that operator's risk, not ours.
- Counterparty risk. Any deployed, yield-bearing product depends on Qblockx remaining solvent and able to pay. See custody and security.
- You, mistaken. A signed transaction sending to the wrong address is final.