Introduction
What Is Ethnotary?
Ethnotary is a non-custodial, multi-signature wallet platform that helps multiple people securely manage shared digital assets.
It allows teams, partners, and organizations to create a shared vault where important actions—like sending funds—require approval from more than one person. Ethnotary does this without ever holding your assets or controlling access.
Ethnotary is best thought of as a control panel for vaults that live on the blockchain. It helps you view balances, propose transactions, and collect approvals, while ownership and control always remain with the wallet owners.
Who Is It For?
Ethnotary is designed for anyone who needs complete control over digital assets, including:
- Teams managing a treasury
- Businesses handling on-chain payments
- Partners sharing custody of funds
- Individuals who want extra security through shared approvals
- Individuals who want to send and receive payments freely, without restrictions
You do not need to be a crypto expert to use Ethnotary. If you can use a wallet and follow simple steps, you can use Ethnotary.
What “Non-Custodial” Means
Non-custodial means Ethnotary never holds your funds or private keys.
Your assets live in a smart-contract vault on the blockchain. Only the wallet owners you designate can approve actions. Ethnotary cannot move funds, freeze accounts, reset access, or override your rules.
Even if Ethnotary were unavailable, your vault and funds would still exist and remain accessible using other compatible tools.
How Ethnotary Works
Accounts & Ownership
An account is a shared smart contract that holds your assets and enforces approval rules.
When you create an account, you define:
- Who the owners are
- How many approvals are required for actions
Once deployed, the account generally operates according to these rules.
Emergency Access
At creation, you set a PIN. This PIN allows vault owners to add or remove owners in emergency situations. Think of it like a bank PIN. It should be kept secret and only used when absolutely necessary.
No owner can bypass approvals or access funds without the correct combination of approvals or the emergency PIN.
PIN Verification & Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Ethnotary uses a zero-knowledge proof (zk-SNARK) system to verify account PINs without ever revealing or publishing the PIN itself.
The PIN is entered and verified entirely on the client. When a protected action is requested, the application generates a cryptographic proof that confirms the correct PIN was provided—without exposing the PIN or any derivative of it.
How it works:
- The PIN never leaves your device
- A zk-SNARK proof is generated locally in your device
- Only the proof is submitted to the blockchain
- The smart contract verifies the proof, not the PIN
This allows Ethnotary to enforce administrative security rules while preserving full privacy. At no point is the PIN stored, logged, or recoverable from on-chain data.
Multi-Signature Explained
Multi-signature (multi-sig) security requires more than one approval to complete an action.
For example, in a 2-of-3 setup:
- Three owners exist
- Any two must approve a transaction
This prevents a single person from acting alone and protects against lost wallets, compromised devices, or mistakes.
Transactions & Approvals
Transactions in Ethnotary happen in stages:
- An owner submits a transaction
- Owners review the details
- Required approvals are collected
- Owner executes transaction after review
No transaction can execute until the approval threshold is met.
Getting Started
Connecting Your Wallet
To use Ethnotary, you connect a Web3 wallet. A wallet is a key pair that allows you to approve or reject transactions in your account.
This wallet:
- Lets you approve or reject actions
- Does not give Ethnotary access to your funds
- You can disconnect your wallet at any time.
Creating Your First Account
Ethnotary includes a guided 6-step setup process called the Wizard:
- Contract Type: Choose the type of actions the account will perform.
- Contract Name: Give your account a reference name.
- Parameters: Configure security settings and approval rules.
- Add Owners: Add wallet addresses that will share control.
- Select Networks: Choose the blockchain networks (Ethereum, Polygon, Base, etc.).
- Deploy: Submit your configuration to the blockchain.
Understanding Networks
Ethnotary supports multiple EVM-compatible blockchain networks. You can think of each network as a separate financial system that follows the same basic rules.
When you create an account, you can select one or more networks where your account will be available. This allows you to manage the same account across multiple networks without changing ownership or security rules.
Key things to know:
- Your account can exist on multiple supported networks
- You can add more networks later as your needs change
- Ownership and approval rules remain the same across networks
- Switching networks only changes which network you are viewing or interacting with
This interoperability lets you use Ethnotary flexibly across networks while keeping a consistent and secure setup.
Transaction History
Every action taken by the account is recorded on the blockchain.
Ethnotary displays:
- Past transactions
- Approval history
- Execution status
This creates a transparent and verifiable audit trail.
Portfolio
The Portfolio view shows the assets held by your account, including supported tokens. Balances update automatically based on blockchain data and reflect the current state of the account.
In addition to balances, the Portfolio provides visibility into account activity, including:
- Recent actions taken by account owners
- Inactivity & transaction count on the account by owners
This gives all owners a shared, transparent view of what’s happening, helping everyone stay informed and aligned.
NFT Gallery
The NFT Gallery displays all non-fungible tokens owned by the account.
You can view:
- Artwork and media
- Names and descriptions
- Ownership details
- Transfer history
Address Book
The Address Book helps you manage frequently used addresses.
Features include:
- Automatic account tracking
- Easy access to frequently used addresses
Account Settings
The Account Settings page lets account owners manage configuration and administrative actions for an Ethnotary account.
These settings are used to maintain ownership, security rules, and network consistency. They do not give Ethnotary control over your funds.
PIN Verification & Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Ethnotary uses a zero-knowledge proof (zk-SNARK) system to verify account PINs without ever revealing or publishing the PIN itself.
The PIN is entered and verified entirely on the client. When a protected action is requested, the application generates a cryptographic proof that confirms the correct PIN was provided—without exposing the PIN or any derivative of it.
How it works:
- The PIN never leaves your device
- A zk-SNARK proof is generated locally in your device
- Only the proof is submitted to the blockchain
- The smart contract verifies the proof, not the PIN
This allows Ethnotary to enforce administrative security rules while preserving full privacy. At no point is the PIN stored, logged, or recoverable from on-chain data.
Account Owners
This section displays all current owners of the account and the approval requirement needed to execute transactions.
You can see:
- The list of owner addresses
- The total number of owners
- How many confirmations are required for transactions
This information is always visible and reflects the current state of the account.
Add or Remove Owner
Account owners can add or remove other owners when necessary.
To make a change:
- Enter the wallet address to add or remove
- Enter the PIN that was set during account creation
- Submit the request for confirmation on the blockchain
Important
- Only existing owners can make these changes
- The correct PIN is required
- All changes are recorded on the blockchain
This feature is intended for emergency or administrative situations, similar to updating authorized signers on a bank account.
Replace Owner
Replacing an owner allows you to remove an existing owner and add a new one in a single action.
This is useful if:
- A wallet is lost or compromised
- Ownership needs to be transferred
- An owner is rotating keys
To replace an owner:
- Select the existing owner
- Enter the new owner’s address
- Enter the account PIN
Once confirmed, the change is submitted to the blockchain.
Change Approval Requirement
This setting lets owners change how many confirmations are required to execute transactions.
For example:
- Changing from 1 confirmation to 2 confirmations increases security
- Changing from 3 confirmations to 2 confirmations increases flexibility
To update the approval requirement:
- Enter the new number of confirmations
- Enter the account PIN
- Submit the change for blockchain confirmation
Approval rules apply to all future transactions.
Sync Account Across Networks
If your account exists on multiple networks, this section ensures that owners and approval rules match everywhere.
When synchronization is enabled:
- All networks share the same owners
- All networks use the same approval requirements
Synchronization may take a few minutes to complete, depending on network activity.
Delete Pending Transactions
If a transaction has been proposed but not yet executed, owners can remove it.
To delete a pending transaction:
- Select the network
- Enter the transaction ID
- Enter the account PIN
- Submit the request
This is useful for:
- Canceling outdated transactions
- Removing mistakes before execution
Deleted transactions do not affect completed transactions.
Security Reminder
- Keep your PIN secret, like a bank PIN
- Use it only when making administrative changes
- Never share it with untrusted parties
The PIN does not allow direct access to funds—it is used only for account management actions.
Security Design
Non-Custodial Design
Ethnotary is built so that control always remains with the owners.
It does not:
- Store private keys
- Hold funds
- Require accounts or passwords
All sensitive actions require explicit wallet approval.
What Ethnotary Can & Cannot Do
Ethnotary can:
- Display account data
- Propose transactions
- Collect approvals
Ethnotary cannot:
- Move funds or tokens
- Change account rules
- Access private keys
- Recover lost wallets
Best Practices for Owners
- Choose trusted co-owners
- Set realistic approval thresholds
- Verify transaction details before approving
- Keep wallets secure and backed up
- Use test networks to practice before mainnet
Troubleshooting
RPC Errors & Rate Limits
Ethnotary reads blockchain data through public infrastructure.
During high network usage:
- Data may load slowly
- Temporary errors may appear
Your funds remain safe. Waiting a short time usually resolves the issue.
Unsupported Networks
Ethnotary includes built-in network switching to help you move between supported networks automatically. In most cases, this happens seamlessly in the background.
Occasionally, you may still see an unsupported network error. This usually means the network your wallet is currently connected to does not match the network you are trying to interact with.
What to do:
- Use the network selector in Ethnotary to switch to a supported network
- Confirm your wallet is connected to the same network shown in the app
- Always review transaction details carefully before confirming, especially after switching networks
Network mismatches do not put your funds at risk, but confirming a transaction on the wrong network may result in unexpected behavior or failed transactions. Taking a moment to double-check the network before approving helps ensure everything works as intended.
Delayed Data
Sometimes balances or history may appear outdated.
This is typically caused by network congestion and resolves automatically once access stabilizes.
Crypto-Free Glossary
A simple reference for common terms used in Ethnotary.
- Vault / Account
- A shared digital container for your assets with custom approval rules.
- Multi-sig
- Short for multi-signature; a security requirement needing multiple approvals.
- Non-Custodial
- You own the keys; no middleman can touch your money.
Support & Community
If you need help or have feedback:
- Join the Ethnotary Discord
- Ask questions in the support channel
- Share ideas and feature requests
Ethnotary is built with the community, for the community.
