Japanese techno giant Sony has introduced a contactless hardware cryptocurrency wallet — press-release published on the website of the research division of the company Sony Computer Science Labs (SCSL).
The device is not yet named, uses smart cards, which are popular in Japan to work with bitcoin and other cryptocurrency networks.
As for the benefits of the new wallet, it is not only the lack of need to connect the wallet to the host device via the USB port, that still remains the industry standard, but also the ability “to safely generate and store private keys, which is possible using highly reliable, protected from unauthorized access the module inside the IC card”.
In addition, the statement emphasizes: the feature of the wallet is in the fact that, along with sending and receiving cryptocurrencies, it assumes multi-purpose use.
“This technology cryptocurrency hardware wallet type IC card not only controls the private keys used to cryptocurrency transactions, but also manages private keys for other purposes,” — said in a press release.
One example is working with access to personal information when using blockchain technology.
“It infrastructure technology with many possible applications,” explains the developers.
Information about when the device will go on sale and will there be a release of a product aimed at the mass market, not yet available.
It is worth noting that in recent years Sony has become a member of many blockchain projects, joining the experiments of other multinational companies, and presented several releases and filed several patent applications for the development of equipment for working with blockchain networks.
Meanwhile, the leading manufacturer of cold wallets that offer higher levels of security remains a Ledger. In July, the company announced that it had sold in 2017, more than one million wallets, earning $29 million
Another important event for the market of “cold” equipment is a large deal with participation of famous Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings in March this year it acquired a 40% stake in the Taiwanese manufacturer of hardware wallets Coolbitx.
