Permissionless Passkey Recovery
Passkeys remove much of the friction associated with traditional crypto wallets, but they introduce an important question: what happens if the device storing your passkey is lost, stolen, or replaced?
Without a recovery mechanism, losing access to a passkey could also mean losing access to the smart wallet it controls.
Denaria addresses this through a permissionless, peer-to-peer recovery system built in partnership with ZeroDev.
Users can nominate another trusted Denaria user as their Guardian. The Guardian does not receive access to the user's wallet, funds, or passkey. Their only role is to authorize a recovery request if the original user loses access to their passkey.
How Recovery Works
- Choose a Guardian – Select a trusted Denaria user by entering their email address. They receive an in-app request and can accept the Guardian role.
- Lose access to your passkey – If your device is lost, stolen, or otherwise inaccessible, log back into Denaria using your email.
- Request recovery – Start a recovery request and create a new passkey.
- Guardian approval – Your Guardian receives an in-app notification and verifies the recovery request.
- Restore access – Once approved, the new passkey becomes authorized and you regain control of the same smart wallet and its funds.
The entire process is handled onchain and peer-to-peer. Denaria does not hold backup keys, cannot access user passkeys, and cannot independently recover or take control of a user's wallet.
This creates a recovery model that combines self-custody with a familiar account-recovery experience, without introducing a centralized custodian.
Lose your phone. Not your wallet.