Only 10,000 of the Ledger Nano S Plus, a new hardware wallet from the business, will be available for pre-order for $79 each, Ledger revealed on Tuesday. Additionally, Ledger has announced a global cooperation with the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP), an Ethereum-based system for verifying attendance at events.
A POAP is a digital memory of a nonfungible token (also known as an NFT) since it demonstrates a user's involvement and presence at significant occasions. When Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, spoke about the significance of making NFTs soulbound in January, he emphasized the importance of proof of achievement.
Lucas Verra, the CEO of POAP, emphasized the need of securing and maintaining digital memories, such as the POAP you can accumulate with your Ledger Nano S Plus. The Genesis Edition of the Ledger Nano S Plus will be engraved with a personalized message. Additionally, a card redeemable for a Genesis POAP NFT will be included in each package, allowing customers to keep a physical record of their purchase in addition to their digital wallets. For future Ledger events, POAP will also be minting limited-edition NFTs. Ledger's chief experience officer, Ian Rogers, made the following comments:
With the Ledger Nano S Plus Genesis Edition and POAP's collaboration, we've acknowledged that digital assets will only grow in importance as a tool for life experiences, and we want to bring millions more into the Web3 securely; as it happens. "
A new hardware wallet from Ledger, the Ledger Nano S Plus, is the company's first offering since the Ledger Nano X debuted in 2019. About 20% of the world's digital assets are now protected by Ledger devices according to the company's claims. More than 5,500 coins and tokens, including NFTs, are supported on the Nano S Plus.
The next Bitcoin hardware wallet from Block, the financial services business run by Jack Dorsey and formerly known as Square, would rely heavily on fingerprints for authentication.
A Friday statement from the company stated that "we believe that PINs, passwords, and seed phrases are complex and often not safe because of the workarounds that normal people have to devise given all the friction," according to a press release. "Instead, we plan to include a fingerprint sensor into the wallet hardware in order to provide seamless authentication in practice."
There are certain downsides to this method, but it is said to be more secure against theft or misuse than a traditional hardware wallet.
It reads: "We are conscious of the constraints we will have to deal with," the statement continues. "It will be possible for customers to opt in to more access ways as we create the product. In addition, fingerprint sensor data will never leave the physical device."
Last year, Block revealed that it was pursuing an open solution for a Bitcoin transaction signature device. User-customizable hardware and software components make this solution flexible and adaptable for a variety of scenarios.
"Customers will mostly manage their money by interacting with the mobile application we're designing, and will only need to interface with the hardware in tandem with the mobile app to authorize larger, less frequent transactions above an amount of their choosing," according to the statement.
Because Block intends to focus on the mobile application as the primary means of consumer engagement, its hardware wallet won't provide as many functions as those offered by competitors. The company's device will be powered by a lithium polymer battery and a USB-C connector and not have a display.
In an interview, Block remarked, "We don't want to drive people into new behaviors with a novel interface on the hardware component of the wallet." This will lead to more comfortable, intuitive user interfaces if the mobile app is the focal point of the encounter.
When it comes to building an easy-to-use bitcoin self-custody system, the company solicited the Bitcoin community for comments. The release date of Block's hardware wallet is unknown at this time.
Foundation Devices, Inc. has announced the Passport Batch 2 Bitcoin hardware wallet, an improvement to the previous Passport Founder's Edition that is slimmer and less expensive.
Envoy, a new Bitcoin mobile wallet from the company, works in conjunction with Passport to simplify the process of setting up and maintaining the hardware wallet.
Foundation's CEO and Co-Founder Zach Herbert told Bitcoin Magazine that "sovereignty and privacy are more crucial than ever in light of recent events throughout the world. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination." It is with great pleasure that I announce the availability of Passport Batch 2 and its companion app, Envoy.
An upgraded microSD card slot, an IPS color display that is scratch-resistant, and the ability to remove and replace the lithium-ion battery are just some of the features of the Passport Batch 2, according to Foundation.
However, Passport's core security procedures have not changed, despite its new look. An avalanche noise source is used to generate entropy in the Passport's second batch, according to the Foundation. Derivative works are permitted, but they must be licensed under the same terms as the original work's license.
Foundation claims that Envoy, Passport's companion app, makes use of Spiral's Bitcoin Development Kit to provide an intuitive user experience. Along with a simple Bitcoin wallet, the app makes it easier for users to set up their Passport devices, maintains them up to speed with firmware upgrades without the need for a computer, and provides rapid access to support resources. As a result, Envoy is a free and open-source software package (GPLv3).
However, coin control, a critical privacy feature that allows the user to decide which UTXOs they want to utilize in a transaction, will not be available at launch. But Herbert told Bitcoin Magazine the company has "no set timeframes for certain functionality at this time," despite Foundation saying it plans to make it possible in the future.
As a default, Envoy connects to the Bitcoin network and the Foundation servers via Tor, while communicating with Passport in an airgapped manner via QR codes. Envoy can be set up to use the user's own Bitcoin node if desired. A microSD card can be used to transfer and install essential firmware upgrades from the app to Passport.
