One of the oldest software wallet providers in the cryptocurrency industry is launching its first hardware product.
Announced Thursday, Blockchain has partnered with hardware wallet maker Ledger and started taking orders for a new handheld device called Lockbox. The first batch of shipments will go out in November.
While there are a number of hardware wallets on the market, Lockbox stands out in two ways, according to Blockchain CEO and co-founder Peter Smith. First, in addition to storing funds offline like other devices, it will facilitate crypto-to-crypto trades through Swap, the company's native brokerage, which is launching next week.
The aim is to make trading easier with an all-in-one account, Smith told CoinDesk, explaining:
"For us, what's really important right now is to get the product to a point where you don't need other places to complete your user actions in crypto."
Further, unlike other hardware wallets, Lockbox is "endpoint-controlled," Smith said. In other words, while the wallet connects to the internet by plugging into a computer, a special key set inside the device will only allow it to connect with legitimate websites, deflecting phishing attempts by fake versions of external platforms like MyEtherWallet, for example.
Much like Blockchain's online platform, which garnered nearly 30 million accounts since its founding in 2011, the Lockbox will mainly support bitcoin, ethereum, and bitcoin cash. However, the team said they are willing to consider adding support for additional assets if there's proven user demand.
Smith added that although his company will be selective about which assets it supports on Lockbox, the Swap brokerage will allow the whole Blockchain platform to expand crypto offerings faster than ever before because it will not be solely reliant on external liquidity sources.
"We built a machine trading platform," he said. "It connects to different liquidity [sources] across the ecosystem, everything from different exchanges to market makers."
As a result, "I think we will be more aggressive on adding assets in the next six months," Smith said. "In the long run, I see our trading system being both a consumer and a provider to DEXs," or decentralized exchanges, where traders retain custody throughout the process.
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Gradually, the market is being fragmented with several options for trader cryptos. This is very good since each person will have the possibility to choose the platform that offers them more security and options. And competition is what drives markets to approach perfection.
