BitBox02 Nova hardware wallet

[dkbit98]

It looks like Bitbox is preparing to release their new hardware wallet device called BitBox02 Nova.

There is no information on their website, but this advertising banner was spotted in BTC Prague conference I think:

 

We're very proud to show you what we've been working on in the previous months. With the BitBox02 Nova, we are addressing our users most asked features.

They also just posted a link for announcement video on their youtube page, and that is starting soon:
https://youtu.be/lkAZS7z7gnc

This device looks similar like BitBox02 and I think they are going to use standard usb type-c connection.

Update:

This was just posted on Bitbox website and Bitbox twitter account.
Price for new device is €175, it is supported on iPhones, and it has short range bluetooth connection.
Screen is more durable with glass top, and device comes in two color designs.
Bitbox02 is using Optiga EAL6+ Secure Chip, probably the same as Trezor 3 and Trezor 5.



https://shop.bitbox.swiss/en/products/bitbox02-nova-79/

[Forsyth Jones]

This is the first hardware wallet I've seen that supports iOS by connecting the device via USB. <3

The iPhone is very restricted in terms of USB permissions. According to the announcement video, besides the new external design and colors, it appears to be the same BitBox02.

Besides compatibility with iPhones, what other features will be available at launch? It would be great if they added encrypted backups to the micro SD card.

[Charles-Tim]

Besides compatibility with iPhones, what other features will be available at launch? It would be great if they added encrypted backups to the micro SD card.

This is all they included for the micro SD card backup:

Easy backup & restore: create and recover backups using the included microSD card

Some other features are included on the site: https://shop.bitbox.swiss/en/products/bitbox02-nova-79/

I think the major upgrade about the wallet is the iOS and iPad support.

[satscraper]

A bit more info from Shift Crypto, Swiss company behind BitBox line of wallets.

The BitBox02 Nova will support two firmware variants. One will be dedicated exclusively to Bitcoin, while the other will include support for altcoins. Based on my understanding of their statement the same device can be flashed with either firmware, giving users the flexibility to choose the version that best suits their needs.

UPD. Sorry, I was wrong with my assumption:

[dkbit98]

This is the first hardware wallet I've seen that supports iOS by connecting the device via USB. <3

I think they are actually connecting with iOS using bluetooth connection, but they claim it's more secure than regular bluetooth connection.
Their older device could not work with iPhones so this is certainly an improvement for them.

Besides compatibility with iPhones, what other features will be available at launch?

It's basically the same as BitBox02 with few added features, and better screen.
I still don't see support for monero and I see no reason why they are not adding it in Multi Edition.
On the bottom of posted page you can comparison between this old and new device:
https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/nova/

A bit more info from Shift Crypto, Swiss company behind BitBox line of wallets.

This is exactly the same as with old BitBox02 wallet.
  

[Pmalek]

The BitBox02 Nova will support two firmware variants. One will be dedicated exclusively to Bitcoin, while the other will include support for altcoins.

This was also the case with the original BitBox02. When you want to buy it, you will have to choose between the Bitcoin-only or Universal firmware models. I am not a fan of those limitations to be honest. I prefer Trezor's way of doing it. The same device should be able to run a Bitcoin-only or a Universal firmware depending on what the user wants. Why would the device limit you to only one firmware? It's a software choice after all.

[satscraper]

I prefer Trezor's way of doing it. The same device should be able to run a Bitcoin-only or a Universal firmware depending on what the user wants.

So do I.

Why would the device limit you to only one firmware? It's a software choice after all.

They mentioned doing this "to reduce complexity and potential attack surfaces." From what I understand, this means the schematics for those two variants are different. In Bitcoin only version they likely removed or disabled components that could introduce unnecessary risks if vulnerabilities were ever discovered in the chips used.
 

[Pmalek]

They mentioned doing this "to reduce complexity and potential attack surfaces." From what I understand, this means the schematics for those two variants are different. In Bitcoin only version they likely removed or disabled components that could introduce unnecessary risks if vulnerabilities were ever discovered in the chips used.

It would be interesting to hear a technical explanation from someone competent of how the Bitcoin-only version is different from the Universal one physically. If the devices and chips are really built and set up differently. If the differences between them are only in the software, then it makes no sense to have different variants.

[Forsyth Jones]

This is all they included for the micro SD card backup:

The recovery words stored on the Bitbox02 SD card are not protected by a password, anyone can restore access to the recovery words once they have access to the SD Card with the recovery tool available in this guide: https://support.bitbox.swiss/en_US/microsd-card/extract-recovery-words-bitbox-backup-recovery-tool

You can only protect the device with a password, but not the SD card.

Optionally, in addition to the password, the user can extend the wallet with BIP39 passphrase, generating hidden wallets.

[Pmalek]

The recovery words stored on the Bitbox02 SD card are not protected by a password, anyone can restore access to the recovery words once they have access to the SD Card with the recovery tool available in this guide: https://support.bitbox.swiss/en_US/microsd-card/extract-recovery-words-bitbox-backup-recovery-tool

You can only protect the device with a password, but not the SD card.

Couldn't you protect the data on the MicroSD card on your own by using encryption software like VeraCrypt or something else if VeraCrypt doesn't work with SD cards? But if it works on USB drives and external HDDs/SSDs, I see no reason why it would be any different for SD cards. You just have to remember to decrypt the file before feeding it into the Bitbox software in whatever format it requires.

[Forsyth Jones]

Couldn't you protect the data on the MicroSD card on your own by using encryption software like VeraCrypt or something else if VeraCrypt doesn't work with SD cards? But if it works on USB drives and external HDDs/SSDs, I see no reason why it would be any different for SD cards. You just have to remember to decrypt the file before feeding it into the Bitbox software in whatever format it requires.

This is a good suggestion, but it might not be necessary if the user uses hidden wallets to store funds using strong passphrases.

If the user is willing to use third-party tools such as Veracrypt, it's important to use an offline computer specifically for this purpose. It might not even be necessary to use the Bitbox SD card backup. Also, it's necessary to do a test beforehand (with testnet funds) to verify the backup, after being decrypted, is accepted by Bitbox in the same way.

There are several ways to make encrypted backups that are more viable than exporting backups from Bitbox to SD cards, such as using tools such as Veracrypt, PGP, and others. For example, you can use the Sparrow wallet to import the seed, protect it with a wallet encryption password, and with that, we can save the wallet keystore that is password-protected. Sparrow allows you to view the seed even after creating/restoring the wallet. This should be done on an offline computer, since it's a seed from a hardware wallet.

[satscraper]

A bit more info from Shift Crypto, Swiss company behind BitBox line of wallets.

This is exactly the same as with old BitBox02 wallet.
  

Yeah, I know this. In 2023 Shift Crypto has been re-branded to BitBox:

 

Interesting fact. According to statistics this company is among four leaders who are currently shaping the market of crypto-wallets:

Jonas Schnelli rocks and I'm expecting the next wave of innovations from his company.

[SFR10]

I am not a fan of those limitations to be honest. I prefer Trezor's way of doing it. The same device should be able to run a Bitcoin-only or a Universal firmware depending on what the user wants. Why would the device limit you to only one firmware? It's a software choice after all.

If the differences between them are only in the software, then it makes no sense to have different variants.

The main culprit here is the secure bootloader on their devices ^{[refer to the "Firmware Edition Permanence" section]}, since it prevents both edition changes and firmware downgrades ^{[this is important as well when you face certain issues after an upgrade (back when I was using my Model One, firmware downgrades solved most of the issues that I faced, but you can't do it with all of their firmwares)]}.

• BTW, even though the above article is not for the Nova editions, I'm pretty much sure the same applies to both of their latest products ^{[e.g., no hardware differences]}.