Block, Inc. has presented Bitkey, a cryptocurrency wallet for self-custody of Bitcoin. The innovative product includes a mobile app, a hardware device, and a set of recovery tools.
Proto developers at Block, Inc. co-founded by Jack Dorsey, ex-CEO of Twitter, have unveiled Bitkey, an innovative crypto wallet solution designed to give users full control over their BTC.
According to Thomas Templeton, Team Lead at Proto, the main goal of Bitkey was to give everyone, regardless of their experience with digital assets, a safe and easy way to store and use Bitcoin. The team paid special attention to developing a user-friendly and easy-to-use interface and the ability to regain access to assets. Lindsey Grossman, Business Lead at Bitkey, said that recovery errors and loss of access are what users fear the most when moving to self-custody of assets, so they prefer to store assets under the control of a custodian, such as crypto exchanges.
The major advantage of the new cryptocurrency wallet is the multi-signature design that doesn’t require users to memorize long passwords or phrases and works on a 2-of-3 principle. Bitkey is managed through three keys:
- a mobile key stored in a mobile app on the user’s phone;
- a hardware key stored on a special device with a fingerprint scanner;
- a server key stored on the Block remote server.
At least two keys are required to initiate a transaction or make any changes to the device’s security settings. For example, in case the phone is lost, a combination of hardware and server keys can be used to restore access to assets. The server key will be needed to initiate transactions, so attackers won’t be able to access the assets even if they hack into the user’s phone or gain access to the hardware device.
Bitkey is scheduled for release in early 2024. The product is currently available for pre-order at $150 excluding shipping costs and taxes. The device will be shipped to over 95 countries worldwide. According to Bitkey’s website, Coinbase and Cash App are the first official partners of the app.
The efforts of the Proto team are inspired by the revolutionary ideas of Jack Dorsey, who previously developed the concept of the decentralized web platform Web5 and the decentralized social network Bluesky.
