# Key-Tiles  
## Where Does the User Store Their Wallet?

This pitch explores a core, recurring question in self-sovereign systems:

> **Where does the user store their wallet?**

Rather than assuming a specialized app, hardware device, or online account, this work reframes the wallet as something people *already* understand, trust, and manage every day: **images they possess**.

The proposal is to represent cryptographic authority as **key-tiles** — visual, tangible artifacts that users can store, recognize, organize, and carry in ordinary photo galleries, while remaining cryptographically meaningful and usable offline.

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## Motivation

Traditional wallets fail because they require:
- Dedicated software
- Persistent connectivity
- Abstract mental models (“keys,” “addresses,” “signing”)

In contrast, people already:
- Store important artifacts in photo libraries
- Recognize images instantly
- Share images intentionally
- Expect images to work offline

This pitch asks whether the **photo gallery itself can function as the wallet**.

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## Key Insight

The critical concern is **not steganography**.

What matters is the **binding of authority to an image artifact** in a way that survives real-world handling:
screenshots, compression, sharing, metadata stripping, and loss of connectivity.

The image is not “the secret.”  
It is a **capability container** — a tangible object that carries or binds to signed authority.

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## Key-Tile Variants (Explored)

![Key-tiles: visual, offline-valid authority artifacts](key-tiles.png)

The image above illustrates multiple ways authority can be bound to a visual artifact while remaining usable offline and understandable at a glance.

### Explored representations:

1. **URL + QR Reference**
   - The tile contains a visible URL and QR pointing to a cano