According to an announcement made yesterday, Block, Inc. (formerly called Square), founded by Jack Dorsey, has officially launched pre-orders for its new hardware wallet, Bitkey.

Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and in fact, blockchain as a whole have always been a way to give investors control of their assets. With centralized entities over-shadowing the space, it is important to remind ourselves why this new tech was created in the first place. Custodial wallets have become the norm even with the risks involved.

What is Bitkey and Why Bitkey?

In an effort to democratize access to self-custody for Bitcoin, this hardware wallet was created. Observe the use of Bitcoin and not other cryptocurrencies. That’s because this new hardware wallet (Bitkey) will store Bitcoin and not any other altcoin (unless stated otherwise). If you’ve been following up, you’d know by now that Jack Dorsey is a stern believer in the power of Bitcoin. I mean, the man’s X bio states “#bitcoin and chill.”

For Bitcoin holders, this hardware wallet will redefine ownership and security. Bitkey launched yesterday (7th of December) in more than 95 countries on six continents, seeking to empower users by offering simple and safe Bitcoin management because a majority of Bitcoin holders in the world today hold their coins in custodial wallets, which gives them less control and puts their assets at risk of getting lost due to scam or unfortunate events.

This is not, in any way, the first hardware wallet used to store cryptocurrencies as there are other hardware wallets like Ledger Nano X, Trezor, and more. However, unlike others that allow people to store Bitcoin and other altcoins, Bitkey intends to focus on Bitcoin storage (unless plans change in the future). Aside from this, Bitkey also aims to eliminate the complications associated with using other hardware wallets.

Bitkey Features

2-of-3 multi-signature design: The main feature of Bitkey is the 2-of-3 multi-signature design which removes the need for lengthy, complicated passwords, and seed phrases as required by traditional hardware wallets. If you’re familiar with multi-sig wallets, then this part should be easy to fathom. The 2-of-3 multi-signature design simply means that 3 keys will act as guards to any user’s Bitcoin assets, but only 2 of the 3 keys can be used to perform transactions involving the assets stored in the Bitkey wallet. The 2 keys are given directly to the users to be able to access their assets.

Mobile app: Bitkey has a mobile app where one of the 2 keys will be housed. This key can be used for transactions conveniently.

Hardware device: It has an offline hardware device where the second key is housed. This can be used in recovery in case a user loses his/her mobile phone.

~ In case you’re wondering what happens to the 3rd key, it is stored on the company’s server which can then be used as a last option in case of mobile phone loss and hardware device loss. This doesn’t imply that the company (Bitkey) can access users’ Bitcoin without consent, it can’t because of the 2-of-3 multi-signature design. Users alone have the 2 keys that can initiate transactions and the 3rd key can be used when users request for it to be used in recovering their assets.

~ This 3rd key option is a smart move IMO, because there are cases where people lose their hardware wallets and because the company that issued the device doesn’t have a key to their wallets. This solves that problem.

Is Bitkey Available Now?

It is currently available for pre-orders and shipments are slated to begin next year.

You can learn more about Bitkey here

What do you think about this new hardware wallet? Would love to know what you think.