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https://www.coindesk.com/new-crypto-hardware-wallet-fits-your-phones-sim-card-slot?utm_source=social&utm_medium=Hootsuite&utm_campaign=

New Crypto Hardware Wallet Fits Your Phone’s SIM Card Slot

U.S.-based startup VaultTel has launched a tiny cryptocurrency hardware wallet that sits in the SIM tray on mobile phones.

The firm announced Tuesday that the wallet solution combines an app and the VaultTel Intellichip card to store cryptocurrency private keys on mobile devices, using biometric authentication and “military grade” encryption to keep the funds safe.

The card can be placed in the SIM card slot of dual-SIM Android mobile phones, or can be used with a dongle accessory on iPhones, VaultTel said.

The biometric authentication feature ensures that only the phone’s owner can transfer funds from the wallet, VaultTel explains on its website. “More than that, no spy screen recorder or Trojan can record what is happening on your hardware wallet, as it’s a not using your laptop or system resources,” the firm adds.

The wallet is available for pre-order with two options: an Android package at a cost of £75 ($98) and an iOS package at £100 ($131), the website indicates.

https://static.coindesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/v2-728x368.png

The Intellichip uses the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 512 to securely store data and also has optional features such as being able to restrict wallet access to a particular device and “geolock,” which constrains access to a particular geographic area.

VaultTel further said that it has implemented the latest bitcoin standards for the product, including Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 39 for mnemonic seeds and BIP44, which allows for HD (hierarchical deterministic) wallets. Users can back up their wallets on other VaultTel cards.

The product has now launched for the U.S. market and is expected to be made available “immediately” in European countries through VaultTel’s U.K. subsidiary.

The use case for securely storing cryptocurrencies on mobile phones is fast taking off, with a flurry of launches occurring in recent months.

Samsung’s upcoming flagship device, the Galaxy S10, is to feature a hardware enclave within the phone that is aimed to protect wallets on the device from hacking. Sirin Labs’ blockchain phone also features a built-in hardware wallet.

However, none so far have taken the form factor that would fit a device’s SIM slot. If you want to go really small, you can also get a chip that will store crypto keys that can be inserted under your skin.

Sounds cool. I do not have a sim slot to spare though and they're getting rarer by the generation. They're also shrinking in size to nano only and this one certainly doesn't look like one of those. They may have missed the boat a bit with this one.

Looks great and very attractive! But I would like to go for Ledger Nano X because their Bluetooth system is better than this sim slot. I don't have many sim slots in my phones, so this is not for me  ;D I owned a ledger nano S, now I set my plan to buy a Ledger X! But I appreciate this innovative idea. Could you please share any intro video or tutorial about this hardware wallet?

Geez I feel like I'm a robot if I'll have this under my skin. Like those we watch on movies while I'm pretty sure that this chip is maybe worth our life savings. Though I'm bother if this chip will be detected easily? It's ridiculous but who knows! Definitely I'll go with this if I have overwhelming assets but for now I'm good with my current wallets.

A great alternative even though it might looks outdated for some users. Most likely we'll need to buy a phone or use our unused phone to make sure that we can access the apps securely. I personally won't use this as I don't really need such thing, my Ledger Nano S is enough and not everybody here knows about crypto anyway.

A chip option is a bit overkill imo, I personally would prefer Ledger than something which is embedded on my own body.

lots of new phones have dual sim these days. my iphones haven't (not sure about post-6 versions) but my new huawei does. my impression was it was becoming more common, not less. it's useful for international travelers who need to pop in temporary sim cards.

the idea is cool as far as securing a mobile wallet. are you sure it doesn't fit nano sims? if not, it wouldn't work on my phone.....

In the UK at least dual sims are rare. It's almost always imports that have it, not the domestic market version. Some double as memory card slots. I'd have much more mileage for a memory card than this.

https://i.imgur.com/kvBzmE8.png

Nano sim's on the right. This looks considerably bulkier than that.

Wow! Another new very interesting inmovation has been come out the community. Well, I know for sure that most crypto users will come to be amazed to this too. I am excited to see one of this and try thus new crypto hardware wallet that is very convenient as it fits my phone's simel card slot.

This is very impressive. Given the proliferation of hacks to steal cryptocurrency, I foresaw the growth of biometrics for authenticating transactions. I'd like to see how this chip performs, and if it's found to live up to its promise, I would seriously consider something like this. The price is also reasonable.

Taking hardware wallets with you is quite tedious and also they don't work with mobiles. This chip based hardware wallet has certainly made things better.

the pictures are mostly simulation rather than the real product so you can't really say that. they don't have any scale either so it is impossible to tell. i did some search and i couldn't find the dimensions of it anywhere! you have wait for its release and check the seller's website, they usually include those things.

It seems like there could be some better way to insert hardware wallet into cell phone. I also got 2-SIM phone but it is not the latest flagman and it doesn't have much memory so I have to use this 2nd slot for SSD card. Considering that I use SSD more often than cryptocurrencies I probably won't use such wallet if I get one.

This idea is pretty cool. However, I only have 1 sim slot in my iphone, otherwise I will surely get one if the security is good. Currently E-Sim card seems to be taking over traditional sim card, what if one day most of the phone don’t come with sim card slot anymore?

It is cool the only problem is how would the iphone user's going to use it?
They only have 1 sim slot unlike android which have dual sim slot,
And also it is kind of risky for those who doesn't have an extra slot because it is just a small chip that could easily be misplace.

I would like to have one this, but I would like first to find out the security, and the accuracy of this Crypto hardware wallet, I'm sure this is going to be a very hit for the community and going to give the Nano Usb ledger wallet a run for their money, looking forward to having more news on this.

Actually, they do work with Android phones (iOS is not supported due to software restrictions). Mycelium is an example of an app which allows to use both Ledger and Trezor for making transactions on a phone. Ledger has released Ledger Nano X which supports Bluetooth so spending money on-the-go from a hardware wallet will be much easier.


What about flagship devices of the most popular brands? Don't the S9 and the S10 have dual-sim?

That's some fancy protection but the big problem with smartphone hardware crypto wallets I see is losing a smartphone. According to data here (https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/) and here (https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/mobile-device-security-startling-statistics-data-loss-and-data-breaches), 2.8% of smartphones are lost each year. It's not a very big amount, of course, but it's also not something to ignore. 93% of these are lost forever by their owners. Imagine that you had all of your bitcoins on your phone. Would it really make you feel better that nobody can access your money while you are not able to do that as well? That's why I prefer online wallets. Hardware ones just make me too nervous.

I cannot see how the SIM card size would make any difference, because we have seen Sim card pouches to fit micro sim cards in normal sim slots. The developers will also fit new phones with dual purpose slots, if there are a demand for that by the users.

I like the geo lock function, because most hacking attacks does not come from your local surroundings, it is mostly from people or groups in other countries.  ::)

This might just be the Ledger and Trezor killer in the future.  ::)

I got dual sim in my Xiaomi that makes you choose between sim and a memory card. Maybe they should think of a version of this that fits into a memory card slot, so that potential buyers can have more freedom.
The idea is good because it's cheap and convenient. We all have to remember to take our phones with us in the morning, right? A typical hardware wallet is just additional burden, unless you attach it to your house or car keys.

You can lose not only smartphone but any hardware wallet like trezor and etc, you can even lose keys of your digital wallet, you can lose any data, doesn't matter.
I like this news very much, when I read title, I already knew what it would be but I am amazed why such a thing wasn't already released, btw idea is great.
For iphone users, they can switch to android. I think anyone who loves modifing things, will choose android over iphone because on android you aren't limited.

Yes, you can loose hardware wallets, keys, data etc. It`s true. But you have your mobile phone always with your self, wherever you are going. The possibility of losing it is increasing that way, you don`t carry your laptop, desktop, private keys with you all the time. The possibility is always there and I wouldn`t be ready to take that risk.

I think this is pretty cool especially because such a small card can be easily hidden and it looks almost impossible to find it inside of someones house even if you look everywhere. My main concern about this is the security of it since you are using your phone hundreds of times during the day and it could be infected anytime.

Same thoughts where tendency on losing it would really be high compared to those hardware wallets which is only kept on a certain place compared to mobile phone which is always on your side.
Im bad on keeping my phone where i do lost almost 3 of them.So, i wont really consider this stuff to suit me. lol

True, a mobile phone is actively connected to internet and i wouldnt risk out to use this thing and i would still make use the traditional hardware wallets.

The authentification is biometric, so there is no problem with the phone connecting to the internet... unless someone can fork your fingers...
Also, you can use an old smartphone or tablet that you don't use anymore for example  :) reset the device to the manufactory settings...

The idea is a good idea for people with dual slot for the SIMs

It seems that they get the idea from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_lQdg8yAwM

Where you can use both sim and SD card Simultaneously.

So this only works on Samsung devices? it seems that also Xiaomi phones have the same SD/Sim slot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEpzWsE2Y9Y) as Samsung Edge 7.

This is interesting and I am sure they're more crypto user's will be interested and use this new hardware wallet because we always carry our phones anywhere.

That looks like a memory card. I was thinking if its possible to insert this chip into the memory card slot instead of the sim slot. Because dual sim could be useful for both networks specially for a business man.
Anyway, the idea and security for this chip is very impressive. Now, robbers will not only aim for your phone, they'll also need your finger lol.

Is it just me... or is that just a MicroSD card that also has the "sim" (smart card?) contacts on it?

https://b2breportsnews.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1500x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/i/micro-sd-card.jpg

As the video on their website seems to suggest it goes into the spare tray in a dual-sim unit... most of these slots actually double as a microsd card reader, I wonder if that is how it is actually interfacing with the phone? ???

I assume the "smart card" contacts are only used by their proprietary dongle

I visited their site and I think we got something wrong. It's not a "SIM card wallet", you don't insert it in a SIM card slot. In fact, on their website, it's mentioned nowhere the word SIM.

Take a look closely at this page https://vaulttel.net/features.
Scroll down a little and this how it's plugged on the phone. :) Also on the top of this same page you can read

I think it's much better than inserting it in a sim, so if they can only use their dongle then you can separate in case you will not use it, it's a better innovation than a USB, I'm sure it will be adopted widely by cryptocurrency holders all over the world but the price is not attractive to average investors.

And then look at about the 55 second mark of the video on the "About" page (https://vaulttel.net/index)... and watch as the device is inserted into the SIM Tray...

On the original Kickstarter page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vaulttel/vaulttel-securing-your-digital-assets), it also mentions:


Why do you think it is a better innovation than USB? We don't need "another standard" ::)

USB is an already widely adopted standard compatible with a lot of devices... most current devices (excluding iOS devices) already support USB-OTG... Apple just loves their proprietary connectors like "lightning" so they can sell overpriced apple-only accessories and further lock users into their ecosystem :P

I seriously doubt that this system will be adopted widely.