Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions that actually decide fit: when CLAVI makes sense, when a simpler signer is enough, and why CLAVI should be evaluated as sovereignty infrastructure rather than as a standard hardware wallet.
Platform & Product Overview
- What is CLAVI? Explain the whole system in simple terms.
- CLAVI documentation describes a Swiss-made Personal Vault for cryptocurrencies, digital assets, private data, and private communications. Its design targets pruned Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes for local validation, dedicated hardware with biometric, gesture, and PIN controls, and configurable local proprietary CLAVI AI workflows. It is broader than a signing device, but production capabilities depend on hardware, software, configuration, integrations, and version-specific validation.
- Break down the three components: Monolith, Rune, and ClavOS. What does each one actually do?
- The Monolith is documented as a local-first home or office intelligence server targeting pruned Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes and configurable proprietary CLAVI AI workflows. Private keys are intended to remain on Runes; other local data, logs, and backups depend on implementation and settings. The Rune is documented as a portable, biometrically gated signing and secure-storage component with fingerprint, gesture, PIN, and dock controls. Its dock-powered design removes an internal-battery dependency but requires compatible hardware. ClavOS is the custom Yocto Linux-based operating system designed to minimise operator-controlled remote paths for critical operations. No standards label makes a product future-proof; production cryptography and controls require version-specific engineering and independent validation.
- How is CLAVI different from a Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard, or a multisig setup like Safe?
- The main difference is the documented operating model, not just the chip or app. Ledger, Trezor, and Coldcard are signing devices, while Safe coordinates on-chain multisig. CLAVI combines planned local nodes in the Monolith, biometric hardware approval, configurable offline proprietary CLAVI AI, a planned multi-Rune distributed signing policy, and Swiss corporate domicile. The production signing mechanism—multisignature, threshold signatures, or another quorum design—remains subject to engineering validation. Simpler signers may be sufficient when the requirement stops at key isolation.
- For a high-net-worth individual or family office worried about privacy, estate planning, and subpoenas: is CLAVI the right solution?
- CLAVI may fit a threat model that includes privacy, estate planning, jurisdiction, family continuity, or coercion resistance, but suitability is not automatic. Its documented design combines Swiss corporate domicile, local-first hardware, and planned geographic Rune distribution. Buyers should verify production capabilities, legal and tax requirements, succession documents, recovery procedures, independent audits, and their own operating capacity before relying on it.
- Is CLAVI overkill for someone with a smaller portfolio?
- It can be if the requirement is only basic transaction signing or cold storage. It may be relevant when the threat model also includes local-first infrastructure, hardware-gated approval, continuity planning, privacy, and jurisdiction. Portfolio size alone does not decide fit; buyers should compare verified production capabilities, complexity, recovery duties, and cost with their actual risks.
- What does the CLAVI App look like? Is it beginner-friendly?
- CLAVI documentation describes a widget-based, customisable app with simplified and advanced layouts. Planned workflows include treasury views, distributed approval requests, and document work with proprietary CLAVI AI. Viewing and management are designed for phones and laptops; enforcement of sensitive operations depends on the production Rune, Monolith, software, and user configuration. Buyers should assess the released interface and accessibility rather than assume every workflow is one tap.
- Is there a mobile experience?
- The CLAVI App is designed for viewing, management, and monitoring from a phone, tablet, or laptop. The documented signing workflow uses a Rune docked with the Monolith for sensitive approvals. A dock-powered Rune removes an internal-battery dependency but adds reliance on compatible docking hardware; the security outcome depends on the released hardware, software, and configuration.
- What deliberate architecture decisions define CLAVI's design philosophy?
- CLAVI documentation lists a 6,000 CHF price, Swiss assembly, and a Monolith that requires dedicated home or office space. Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, and additional-chain capabilities are version- and integration-specific design targets. CLAVI states that devices are assembled and checked in Switzerland, but manufacturing and security assurance should be evaluated against published production processes, version-specific audits, test scope, remediation evidence, and the deployed configuration.
Related: The Monolith
Architecture & Security
- How does CLAVI protect against hacking, remote exploits, or someone stealing my Rune?
- CLAVI's documented design is local-first, with critical signing operations intended to be isolated and gated by physical Rune controls such as configured fingerprint, gesture, and PIN inputs. Under a correctly implemented distributed signing policy, one stolen Rune is intended to be insufficient to sign alone. Outcomes depend on production implementation and configuration, and no architecture eliminates every remote, firmware, supply-chain, configuration, physical, or coercion attack.
- What happens if I lose one Rune, damage the Monolith, or my house burns down? How does recovery work?
- CLAVI documentation describes optional seed-based recovery within a multi-Rune design, but it does not establish unlimited or automatic recovery. Losing a Rune or Monolith requires the deployed cryptographic mechanism, approval and recovery policy, available Runes, valid backups, replacement compatibility, and tested procedures to work together. Private keys are intended to remain on Runes rather than persist on the Monolith. Buyers should test the exact production recovery process before relying on it.
- How does the zero-knowledge architecture and multi-sig with geographic distribution work in practice?
- ClavOS's documented threat model treats endpoints as potentially compromised and aims to isolate sensitive operations in the Monolith-Rune environment. CLAVI describes configurable roles and a multi-Rune distributed signing policy, but does not yet establish whether production uses multisignature, threshold signatures, or another quorum mechanism. Geographic separation can reduce dependence on one device or location and raise coercion costs, subject to law, compatible hardware, configuration, and tested access procedures.
- How long does the initial Bitcoin/Ethereum node sync take?
- The Monolith is documented to target pruned Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes. Synchronisation time, bandwidth, storage, and recovery after interruption depend on chain activity, software, hardware, configuration, and connectivity. A connection or power loss can delay network-dependent functions; queued transactions may broadcast after connectivity returns if the software state remains valid. A local node can reduce reliance on third-party explorers, but peer connectivity and public-network metadata remain relevant.
- What does the local AI in the Monolith actually do?
- CLAVI documentation describes the Monolith as hosting proprietary CLAVI AI with a tag-based retrieval-augmented generation architecture associated with Research Semantics research. The claimed 11-year provenance and performance have not been independently verified. In configured offline workflows, processing is intended to stay local without a CLAVI-hosted AI service. Exposure still depends on software, settings, logs, backups, imported sources, host devices, and enabled network features. No AI system is free of error or hallucination risk; outputs require verification.
Related: The Monolith
Custody & Setup
- Walk me through the full setup process. What do I need?
- CLAVI documentation describes three setup stages: download the CLAVI App, pair the Monolith and connect it for initial node synchronisation, then dock a Rune for biometric, gesture, and PIN enrolment. The process is intended to be accessible, but users remain responsible for approvals, backups, recovery, network settings, updates, and operational security. Availability, collection locations, hardware requirements, and supported onboarding flows should be confirmed against current production information.
- How do I safely transfer existing assets from Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask to CLAVI?
- A cautious transfer workflow is to generate a receive address in the released CLAVI App, verify it on the intended hardware, send a small test amount, and wait for sufficient confirmation. If checks pass, proceed only in batches appropriate to your risk and obtain professional or operational support for material transfers. A test transfer does not prove that every address, endpoint, or workflow risk is absent. A synchronised local node can validate transactions without making a third-party explorer the sole source of truth, but connectivity, public-network metadata, address verification, software state, and user procedure still matter.
- What blockchains and assets does CLAVI support? Can I stake, use DeFi, or handle NFTs?
- CLAVI documentation identifies Bitcoin and Ethereum local-node functions as design targets. Ethereum EVM, Layer 2, DeFi, NFT, staking, and additional-network support are version- and integration-specific and may introduce external contracts, RPC services, bridges, validators, or other dependencies. Confirm the released software, supported networks, transaction paths, and risks before using any feature.
- How does CLAVI work for family offices, multi-user setups, or generational wealth transfer?
- CLAVI documentation describes distributing Runes across family members, trustees, or advisors under configurable roles and a distributed signing policy. This may reduce dependence on one device or location, but the production signing and recovery mechanisms require engineering validation. Inheritance is not automatic: it also requires valid legal documents, trained designated parties, tested recovery and revocation procedures, compatible replacement hardware, and implementation-specific review.
Related: The Monolith
Related: The Monolith
Jurisdiction & Privacy
- Can CLAVI, the Swiss government, or anyone else ever access my keys, balances, or data?
- CLAVI's documented design objective is to keep private keys, vault secrets, and protected local content outside operator custody and to minimise operator-controlled remote access on critical paths. That objective depends on production implementation and configuration and does not mean the company holds no personal data: commerce, delivery, account, support, security, accounting, and legally required records may still be processed and retained. Switzerland is outside the EU, EEA, and Five Eyes, but Swiss law, international cooperation, and lawful requests still apply to records actually held. Security claims require version-specific audit, test, and remediation evidence; public Ethereum materials are not product validation.
Pricing
- How much does a Clavi cost, what is included, and are there ongoing fees?
- CLAVI documentation currently lists the system at 6,000 CHF and describes a package with one Monolith, one Rune, ClavOS, a power supply, hardcase transport box, and metal purchase certificate. It states that core ownership has no mandatory usage subscription and describes optional paid concierge and advanced multi-Rune services. Pricing, package contents, payment methods, availability, support periods, upgrade programmes, dependencies, and contract terms can change and should be confirmed directly before purchase.