AlwaysThere Vault

Decentralized Web3 digital will & dead man switch leveraging Shamir 2-of-3 secret sharing, client-side AES-256 encryption, and automated heartbeat fail-safes for trustless crypto & asset release.

Comment

💡 Inspiration

Millions of dollars in crypto assets, private seed phrases, and critical digital inheritances are permanently lost every year when owners pass away or face unforeseen emergencies without passing on access keys. Traditional legal wills are slow, custodial, expensive, and insecure for digital assets.

We built AlwaysThere Vault — an automated, non-custodial Web3 digital legacy and dead man's switch protocol. It guarantees that your crypto, private keys, passwords, and sensitive files are safely and automatically passed down to designated beneficiaries if you ever become inactive, without relying on central trusted parties.

🚀 What it does

  • Automated Heartbeat Fail-Safe: Owners set custom inactivity check-in periods. If a heartbeat expires without check-in, the automated protocol safely triggers asset clearance.
  • Zero-Trust Key Shares (Shamir 2-of-3): Encryption keys are client-side split into cryptographic Shamir shares. No single entity (not even AlwaysThere Vault) ever holds your unencrypted master key.
  • Client-Side AES-256-GCM Encryption: All media files (MP4, PNG, PDF, ZIP), password notes, and seed phrases are encrypted locally in the browser before being stored.
  • Hybrid Storage & Multi-Chain: Supports both decentralized Web3 storage (IPFS / Smart Contracts) and high-speed encrypted cloud storage (Backblaze B2).
  • Seamless Nominee Access Portal: Beneficiaries receive secure 1-click verification links via email to unlock, decrypt, and download inherited assets, accompanied by an official cryptographic transfer receipt.

⚙️ How we built it

  • Frontend Command Center: Built using Next.js 14, React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS, and Framer Motion for a dark/light responsive interface.
  • Backend API & Intelligence: Powered by NestJS, TypeScript, Drizzle ORM, and PostgreSQL for robust protocol execution, token verification, and automated background heartbeat crons.
  • Cryptographic Security Engine: Utilized Web Crypto API, WebCrypto AES-GCM, and secrets.js-grempe for client-side 2-of-3 Shamir Secret Sharing.
  • Decentralized & Cloud Infra: Integrated Ethers.js, Wagmi, RainbowKit, Pinata IPFS, Backblaze B2, and Docker container orchestration.
  • Gemini AI Integration: Utilized Google Gemini AI for smart protocol state analysis, security policy validation, and automated defect inspection/monitoring.

🛠️ Challenges we faced

  1. Zero-Knowledge Binary Encryption: Handling large binary streams (e.g. 10MB+ video files) client-side without crashing browser memory required constructing raw ArrayBuffer streams directly over WebCrypto APIs.
  2. Dual-Path Claim Token Retrieval: Nominees claiming assets via email access links needed seamless authentication without forcing complex Web3 wallet connection barriers, while preserving 100% cryptographic security.
  3. Resilient Network Storage Fallbacks: Resolving cloud network timeouts between local simulated environments and B2 S3 storage endpoints required implementing smart fallback chains across local disk, database buffers, and IPFS gateways.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully implemented 100% client-side 2-of-3 Shamir Secret Sharing combined with AES-256-GCM encryption.
  • Built a completely non-custodial architecture where server databases never hold raw unencrypted secrets or full keys.
  • Engineered a seamless light/dark adaptive UI with institutional-grade transfer receipt PDF generation for beneficiaries.

🎓 What we learned

  • Deepened expertise in Web Crypto API binary array buffers, Shamir secret splitting algorithms, and Next.js 14 hydration optimization.
  • Mastered building resilient backend microservices with NestJS, Drizzle ORM, and background cron scheduler engines.

🔮 What's next for AlwaysThere Vault

  • Multi-Chain Smart Contract Deployments: Expanding contract deployments to Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, and Solana.
  • Hardware Key & Passkey Support: Integrating YubiKey and WebAuthn biometric triggers for heartbeat check-ins.
  • AI Estate Advisory: Expanding Gemini AI capabilities to automatically audit vault health and suggest optimal inheritance distribution policies.

Built With

  • backblaze-b2
  • docker
  • drizzle-orm
  • ethereum
  • ethers.js
  • gemini-api
  • nestjs
  • next.js
  • postgresql
  • react
  • shamir-secret-sharing
  • smart-contracts
  • tailwindcss
  • typescript
  • wagmi
  • web3
  • webcrypto
Share this project:

Updates