Caribou
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Terms of Service

Effective date: 28 July 2026 Version: 2026-07-28 Current version of this document

1. Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of: (a) the website at caribou.you and its subdomains (the "Site"), and (b) any pre-compiled binaries, desktop applications, mobile applications, or other client-side software builds of Caribou, together with the documentation distributed with them (the "Software"), distributed or made available by Bisoncraft LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Wisconsin ("Bisoncraft", "we", "us", or "our").

When you first run the Software, it presents these Terms and asks you to accept them, and asks you to acknowledge the Caribou Privacy Policy. In any event, by accessing the Site or by downloading, installing, or using the Software, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site or the Software. If you use the Site or the Software on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms for that organization.

The Site is informational. It describes the Caribou wallet software ("Caribou") and links to its source code and releases. The Site does not provide a financial service, does not offer accounts, and does not transact on your behalf.

2. What Caribou is

Caribou is non-custodial, self-hosted software that runs entirely on your own device. Understanding this is a precondition to using it:

  • We hold no keys. Your private keys and recovery seed are generated on your device and remain there. They are never transmitted to us.
  • We take no custody. We do not hold, control, or have any ability to move your funds at any time.
  • We transact for no one. We do not transmit money or digital assets on your behalf, take the other side of any transaction, or act as an intermediary between you and anyone else. Every transaction you make is one you construct and authorize on your own device and broadcast to a public network yourself.
  • There are no accounts. Using Caribou does not require registration, identity verification, or any submission of personal information to us. The Software does not require, collect, or forward identifying information to its chain or swap backends in order for you to hold or move your own assets.
  • We operate no servers on your behalf. Caribou connects to blockchain networks and to third-party services without routing anything through us. Depending on the asset and your configuration, those connections may be to public peer-to-peer networks or to independently operated infrastructure providers; in neither case are they ours, and in neither case do we see what passes over them. The Caribou Privacy Policy describes what each connection discloses and to whom.

These are architectural properties of the Software, not policies we administer. We cannot change them for an individual user, and we cannot make exceptions.

Caribou is software, not a financial service. Bisoncraft does not act as a bank, broker-dealer, exchange, custodian, money services business, money transmitter, or investment adviser.

3. The Software is licensed, not provided as a service

The Software is open-source and licensed to you under the Blue Oak Model License 1.0.0, available at blueoakcouncil.org/license/1.0.0 and distributed with the Software. That license covers the Software in every form we distribute it, source and compiled alike.

Your rights in the Software come from that license, not from these Terms. These Terms do not modify, limit, revoke, or add conditions to it, and nothing in these Terms restricts anything the license permits. To the extent these Terms and the Blue Oak Model License conflict with respect to the Software, the Blue Oak Model License governs.

These Terms supplement that license only where it is silent: they describe the third-party services a build may be configured to reach (section 6), and they disclaim warranties and liability in respect of the Site and of our distribution of builds, in addition to — and without narrowing — the disclaimers the license already makes.

We do not provide the Software as a service. We make no commitment to maintain, update, support, or continue distributing it.

4. No custody, and no ability to recover

Because we hold no keys and take no custody:

  • You are solely responsible for your recovery seed and private keys. If you lose them, your funds are permanently and irrecoverably lost. We cannot restore them, because we never had them.
  • We cannot cancel, reverse, refund, or recover a transaction, under any circumstance, including theft, fraud, your error, or your loss of access. A transaction sent to a wrong address, or in a wrong amount, is not something we can undo.
  • Treat every confirmed transaction as final. Once confirmed, a transaction is not reversible by any action available to you or to us.

We have no recovery mechanism. This follows from the Software's design — we hold no keys and take no custody — rather than from a limit on our willingness to help.

For completeness, a confirmed transaction being beyond our reach is not the same as it being beyond every party's reach in every circumstance. A transaction that is still pending may sometimes be replaced before it confirms; a blockchain may reorganize; the issuer of a token may be able to freeze or seize it, which is a property of that token and not of this Software; and a recipient may voluntarily return funds. None of these are things we can do, cause, or obtain for you, and none of them should be relied on. The operative point is the one above: assume finality.

5. No professional advice

Nothing on the Site or in the Software is financial, investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Nothing on the Site is a recommendation, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell any asset. We do not evaluate the merits or risks of any digital asset, network, or third party. You are solely responsible for your own decisions and should obtain independent professional advice where appropriate.

Digital assets are volatile and carry a substantial risk of total loss.

6. Third-party networks and services

Caribou can interact with public blockchain networks and with services operated by third parties. Depending on the features you choose to use, these may include swap counterparties, fiat on-ramp or off-ramp providers, block explorers, and price data sources.

  • We do not operate or control them. They are independent of Bisoncraft.
  • Your relationship with them is your own. Their own terms, privacy policies, fees, and requirements govern your use of them, and those requirements may include identity verification, jurisdictional restrictions, or other conditions that Caribou itself does not impose.
  • Fiat On-Ramp and Off-Ramp Services: The Software may integrate third-party fiat-to-cryptocurrency gateways. Any such integration is disabled by default and clearly labeled, and no other feature of the Software depends on it. The provider is identified, together with a link to its own terms and privacy policy, at the point where you choose to enable it, and in the Caribou Privacy Policy. If you choose to use such an integration:
    • You are entering into a direct financial transaction and contractual relationship with the third-party provider, not Bisoncraft. Bisoncraft does not act as an exchange, broker, or financial intermediary.
    • The third-party provider will require you to undergo identity verification (KYC/AML compliance) and may impose geographic restrictions, transaction limits, and processing fees.
    • Your use of the third-party gateway will cause your wallet's deposit address and transaction details to be transmitted to the provider, which will associate your blockchain address with your verified legal identity in their records. Your identity documents and payment credentials are submitted to the provider directly and are never received by, transmitted to, or accessible to Bisoncraft. The Caribou Privacy Policy states what, if anything, the provider makes available to us.
    • Exchange rates, processing fees, and transaction execution are determined solely by the third-party provider. Bisoncraft is not responsible for any price slippage, transaction failures, delays, or losses.
  • They are optional. Any third-party service integrated into the Software is opt-in. You choose whether to enable and use it.
  • We are not responsible for their acts, omissions, fees, availability, accuracy, security, or handling of your information, and we make no representation or endorsement regarding any of them.

Blockchain networks themselves are public, permissionless, and outside anyone's control, including ours. We are not responsible for their operation, availability, forks, reorganizations, congestion, or fees.

7. Assumption of risk

Digital assets and blockchain networks carry substantial risk. By using the Software you acknowledge and accept, among others, the following risks:

  • Finality. Confirmed transactions should be treated as final, as described in section 4. Funds sent to a wrong address, or in a wrong amount, are generally not recoverable.
  • Loss of keys. Loss of your recovery seed or private keys means permanent loss of your funds (section 4).
  • Volatility. The value of digital assets can change rapidly and may fall to zero.
  • Technology risk. Software, networks, and smart contracts may contain defects or vulnerabilities and may behave unexpectedly. Price and fee data obtained from third-party sources may be delayed or inaccurate.
  • Network risk. Blockchain networks may fork, congest, reorganize, or change their rules in ways that affect your assets or transactions.
  • Regulatory risk. Laws applying to digital assets are evolving and may change in ways that affect your use of the Software or the value, transferability, or legality of your assets.
  • No recourse. Because your funds are in your sole custody, there is no institution that can reimburse you, and no chargeback mechanism, if something goes wrong.

You are responsible for evaluating these risks before using the Software.

8. Your responsibilities

You are responsible for:

  • Eligibility: You must be at least eighteen (18) years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction of residence) to access the Site or use the Software. By using the Site or Software, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement.
  • Complying with all laws applicable to you, including those of your jurisdiction of residence and any jurisdiction from which you access the Site or use the Software.
  • Determining whether your use of the Software or of any digital asset is lawful where you are, including any tax obligations arising from it.
  • Not using the Site or Software if doing so is prohibited where you are, or if you are subject to applicable sanctions, or are located in a jurisdiction subject to comprehensive sanctions, or appear on any applicable restricted or denied-party list.
  • Prohibited Uses: Agreeing not to use the Site or Software for any unlawful purpose, including but not limited to: money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, tax evasion, facilitating the purchase of illegal goods or services, or circumventing sanctions.
  • The security of your own device, seed, keys, and passwords.

9. Site and Software Content

Site and Software content is provided for general information only. It may be incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date, and we may change or remove it at any time without notice. We do not warrant that the Site or Software will be available, uninterrupted, or error-free.

You must not attempt to interfere with the Site or Software's operation, gain unauthorized access to them, or use them to distribute malware or unlawful content.

10. Intellectual property

The Software's source code is licensed under the Blue Oak Model License 1.0.0, as described in section 3.

The names "Caribou" and "Bisoncraft", and associated logos and branding, are trademarks of Bisoncraft LLC. The Blue Oak Model License does not grant any trademark rights. You may use the marks nominatively — to accurately refer to the Software or to Bisoncraft — but you may not use them in a way that suggests endorsement, affiliation, or origin that does not exist, including on a modified distribution of the Software.

11. Disclaimer of warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SITE AND THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING ANY THIRD-PARTY INTEGRATIONS EMBEDDED THEREIN) ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, SECURITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THE SOFTWARE IS SEPARATELY LICENSED UNDER THE BLUE OAK MODEL LICENSE 1.0.0, WHICH CONTAINS AN INDEPENDENT AND BROAD DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES IN RESPECT OF THE SOFTWARE IN EVERY FORM IT IS DISTRIBUTED, SOURCE AND COMPILED ALIKE. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION NARROWS THAT DISCLAIMER.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of these exclusions may not apply to you.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:

  • IN NO EVENT WILL BISONCRAFT, ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRIBUTORS, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR DIGITAL ASSETS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SITE, THE SOFTWARE, OR THESE TERMS, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.
  • OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SITE, THE SOFTWARE, OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD 100).
  • NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING LIABILITY FOR FRAUD OR FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE.

LIABILITY IN RESPECT OF THE SOFTWARE IS SEPARATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY DISCLAIMED BY THE BLUE OAK MODEL LICENSE 1.0.0.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of these limitations may not apply to you.

13. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Bisoncraft, its members, managers, employees, contributors, and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of or access to the Site or Software; (b) your violation of these Terms; or (c) your violation of any rights of a third party, including but not limited to third-party fiat gateways or blockchain network operators.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may revise these Terms by posting the revised version to the Site and updating the effective date above. Each published version is identified by a version identifier equal to its effective date, and every previously published version remains available on the Site at a dated permanent link, so that the version in force at any given time can be established.

A revised version applies from its effective date and does not apply retroactively; the version you last accepted governs any dispute arising before the revision took effect. If a revision materially changes these Terms, the Software presents the revised Terms and asks for your acceptance before you continue using it. Your continued use of the Site after a revised version is posted, or of the Software after you accept a revised version, constitutes acceptance of that version.

15. Governing law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT.

  • Binding Arbitration: Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Site, or the Software will be settled by binding individual arbitration administered by JAMS or the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in accordance with its consumer arbitration rules. The arbitration will take place in Madison, Wisconsin (or another venue mutually agreed by the parties or determined under the JAMS/AAA rules, such as remote/virtual hearings). The arbitrator's decision will be final and binding.
  • Class Action Waiver: You and Bisoncraft agree that any arbitration or proceeding will be conducted in your individual capacities only and not as a class action, collective action, or representative action. You and Bisoncraft explicitly waive the right to file or participate in a class action.
  • Exceptions: Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court or seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property rights.

16. Miscellaneous

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. These Terms, together with any documents they expressly incorporate, constitute the entire agreement between you and Bisoncraft regarding the Site and Software, and supersede any prior understandings regarding them. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms, and legal notices: legal@bisoncraft.org, or Bisoncraft LLC, 2800 E. Enterprise Ave STE 333, Appleton, WI 54913.

Privacy enquiries and data-subject requests: privacy@bisoncraft.org. See the Caribou Privacy Policy.

Security vulnerability reports: security@bisoncraft.org.

This is version 2026-07-28 of the Caribou Terms of Service. The permanent link to this exact revision is caribou.you/terms/2026-07-28/.