- Square has announced that it is to design and launch its own cryptocurrency hardware wallet
- The wallet will be an “assisted self-custody” design, which may not please purists
- Square founder Jack Dorsey mooted a hardware wallet last week
Payment processor Square has announced that it is to build a cryptocurrency hardware wallet five days after founder Jack Dorsey mooted the idea. Square’s hardware developer Jesse Dorogusker announced the move on Twitter yesterday, saying that the company hoped to “make bitcoin custody more mainstream” by building the wallet. Dorsey posted a lengthy tweet thread last Sunday outlining the principles behind the wallet were it to be built, with community input stated to be a key factor in the design and blend of “availability and security” foremost in the approach.
We have decided to build a hardware wallet and service to make bitcoin custody more mainstream. We’ll continue to ask and answer questions in the open. This community’s response to our thread about this project has been awesome – encouraging, generous, collaborative, & inspiring. https://t.co/CHf9hAmKnn
— Jesse Dorogusker (@JesseDorogusker) July 8, 2021
Square Looks to Build on Solid Reputation
Cryptocurrency hard wallets have long been considered the best way of storing cryptocurrency, and developments over the past few years have seen them become more flexible while retaining their security features. The Ledger scandal aside, hardware wallets have generally received a good press in terms of security, and Square is looking to take their potential to the next level.
Dorsey’s post last week detailed several areas that a Square hardware wallet would seek to incorporate. Dorsey said that a Square wallet would be “an inclusive product that brings a non-custodial solution to the global market”, adding that Square were looking at an “assisted self-custody” route that would appear to be a hybrid of self-custody and exchange ownership. Other features that Dorsey hinted at included a screen-free design and Layer 2 architecture (potentially meaning Lightning Network implementation).
No Launch Date Offered
The official announcement from Dorogusker was lighter on detail, but he thanked the community for their “encouraging, generous, collaborative, & inspiring” comments. He added that with the signoff now complete, Square would begin to pull a team together to work on the project, although no approximate launch date has yet been given.
