Watch-only evidence without exposing signing keys

Documentation engagements fail when clients feel pressured to connect signers to the internet for convenience. Our standard practice accepts three evidence tiers:

Tier A — watch-only exports — Specter, Sparrow, or wallet-specific read-only profiles. You generate exports on an isolated machine, deliver via encrypted channel, we cite file hash in the valuation appendix.

Tier B — third-party attestation — Your counsel or accountant signs a one-page statement that they viewed balances on a stated date. We index the statement; we do not duplicate their letterhead.

Tier C — client declaration — When devices are in vaults you cannot open before a deadline, you sign our declaration template with ranges instead of exact figures. Jurisdictions vary in acceptance; we flag risk in the scope letter.

We never ask you to photograph seed plates or type mnemonics into email. If a jurisdiction demands exchange-grade precision, we say so in writing rather than improvising risky procedures.

Air-gapped laptop signers stay powered off during our process unless you choose to demonstrate watch-only software in our office—with your SIM removed, on your terms.

For multisig, balance evidence may require combining partial views. We diagram which signers contributed screenshots and mark gaps explicitly instead of smoothing numbers.

Custody descriptions accompany every tier: where the device sat when evidence was captured, who witnessed, and whether the device returned to the same slot afterward.

This approach keeps your signing keys cold while producing paper counsel can file. The appendix footnotes tell reviewers exactly which tier each line used.