Block, Inc., led by Jack Dorsey, has launched Bitkey, a self-custody Bitcoin wallet, in over 95 countries worldwide, including 21 African countries.

The team has announced that Bitkey is open for pre-orders across six continents and plans to commence product shipments to customers starting early in 2024. They also stated that Bitkey will broaden access to self-custody and empower people all over the world to truly own and manage their bitcoin easily and safely.

Bitkey's goal is to create a simple and secure way for people to use Bitcoin.

Many Bitcoin owners face challenges with self-custody. Currently, most of the millions of bitcoin owners store their bitcoin on custodial platforms or exchanges where they purchased it. This means their bitcoin is under the control of the custodian.

Bitkey has emerged to change this by offering a simpler way for people to take care of their bitcoin themselves, without the worry of losing their money or having to remember complicated passwords.

Bitkey includes a mobile app, a hardware device, and a set of recovery tools in case the customer loses the phone, their hardware, or both. It is available for pre-order at bitkey.world.

Bitkey was developed by the Proto team at Block,which is led by Thomas Templeton. According to Templeton, Bitcoin's decentralized payment system could make the financial system more inclusive for everyone, especially those who usually don't have easy access to financial services.

“In the future, we believe customers will demand ownership and self-custody because it brings peace of mind, reduces dependence on any one entity, and puts individuals in control of their bitcoin. With BitKey, we are building a safe and easy way for people all around the world with different levels of experience with bitcoin to take control of their finances on their terms,” he said.

Bitkey features a two-of-three multi-signature wallet that includes a mobile key, a hardware key, and a server key. It comes with a secure hardware device as well as recovery tools in case of a loss. To approve transactions, users will need to authenticate with both their fingerprint and phone. Coinbase and Cash App are among the initial global partners for Bitkey.

Block emphasized that Bitkey uses three keys to secure Bitcoin, requiring any two keys to work together for moving Bitcoin or authorizing security-related actions such as recovery or modifying settings. Bitkey cannot access or move a customer's Bitcoin without their participation, thanks to the wallet's 2-of-3 multi-signature framework.
(For more information on how Bitkey’s 2-of-3 multi-signature design and recovery tools works, read how it works here)