After sending out indications about Web5 and BitKey in June 2022, Block (NYSE: SQ) is officially launching its self-custody hardware wallet, BitKey.
What Happened: Global tech company Block will soon release its inaugural Bitcoin hardware wallet, BitKey, publicly.
The goal is to provide additional layers of security and eliminating intermediary roles are the highlights of the product.
The news was announced via X. Many beta users highlighted the image of the wallet, which is like a compact hexagon. The device with a stone-like exterior also adds a fingerprint sensor increasing the layers of bitcoin security to the device. The launch comes amid the overall crypto industry facing security and governance issues.
BitKey, a multi-signature self-custody Bitcoin wallet, will feature a mobile app, hardware device, and a set of recovery tools. Add, send, receive and transfer are the facilities available by BitKey. The transfer of Bitcoin to BitKey is facilitated from exchange partners - Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Cash App - safely without the conflict of standard copy and paste. Users can also buy Bitcoin through third-party partners who provide this service integrated into the BitKey app.
Why It Matters: Co-founder Jack Dorsey has emphasized the need for user autonomy over the user's Bitcoin assets. BitKey will let users securely manage their Bitcoin holdings without the interference of an intermediary.
The hardware wallet is expected to allow users to control their private keys thereby avoiding the risk of losses in customer assets.
Dorsey had expressed last year the idea of BitKey along with his Web5 idea, a new decentralized Web, centered on Bitcoin. Web5 will be the combination of Web3 and Web2. Unlike Web3, which relies on blockchain and tokenization technology to decentralize the network, Web5's entire dependence will be on a single network, Bitcoin, and without any intermediary who can control user data. BitKey could be the key to this new web.
The product disclosure comes on the heels of Jack Dorsey recently posing tech giant, Apple a question on platform X (earlier Twitter) as to why it does not support Bitcoin. Apple did not respond to the same. However, discussions on the web spread that if Apple adopts Bitcoin, it would be regarded as the queen of crypto.
Major players in the industry are also looking to onboard Bitcoin in the major financial stream. PayPal is looking to make Bitcoin into a worldwide payment network and Coinbase added Lightning support prioritizing Bitcoin.