Review | Bitbox Hardware Wallet
The Unboxing
The device comes in a small cardboard box covered in a plastic sleeve for security purposes (if the sleeve has tampered, contact the company and don’t use the device). With a price tag of £58 the packaging leaves you asking for more but if you pay close attention to the box and the company, you can understand why Shiftcryptosecurity has opted to go for an environmentally friendly approach, using only recyclable material and trying to minimise the amount of cardboard they use, without compromising the integrity and safety of the device. I think more companies should follow this approach; after all, the earth is our home and we must respect it!
“Not your keys; not your Bitcoin,” as coined by Andreas Antonopoulos
Aesthetics
The device itself, as you can see from the pictures, looks like a simple USB device made of plastic. Its design is simple and ergonomic but feels cheap and lacks creativity. It doesn’t have the wow factor like some other competitors and everywhere I have used it in public, it didn’t attract a second glance. Unlike other devices, I have tested where friends have asked ‘hey what’s that?’. Initially, you would say this is a negative thing, but if you think about it, it’s not. You want it to fly under the radar; you want it to look like just any old cheap USB, as this reduces the risk of it getting stolen. Of course, even if stolen, the risk of having your Cryptocurrency stolen is very low due to the password protection offered on the device and the U2FA (Universal 2 Factor Authentication) offered. In the unlikely scenario that this does happen though, your data is backed up on a micro SD card which can be inserted on a new BitBox to recover your Cryptocurrencies.
The device unlike many others in the market comes with a Desktop app that is a great security feature (more later). The app itself has a minimalist design, Shiftcryptosecurity have taken a simple clean design. I personally am a fan of the ‘less is more’ approach taken by many companies in the Tech space. However, in this case, I feel that the app lacks creativity, This we have found is not just a BitBox problem, it’s something we have witnessed by nearly all Hardware Wallets we have tested up to now, they all go for simple. The main focus for all these devices may be security but for the asking price, a little creativity wouldn’t hurt.
User Friendliness:
Pros of User Friendliness:
Once you open the device box you are instructed to go to the BitBox website to download an app, supported by Windows, Linux, Source Code and IOS (great for me!). Once opened the app is simple to use and guides you step-by-step on how to set up the device (You can see the process in the pictures below). The device supports Bitcoin, Litecoin and if you want you can also get an Ethereum (and any ERC20 token) wallet via MyEtherWallet. This is a trusted online wallet for Ethereum that you can access using the BitBox as your Authenticator. (We were not able to test this out as we enabled U2FA on the device which makes this feature unavailable. As such we were only able to test out the Bitcoin and Litecoin wallets. Transactions are simple to do and each Cryptocurrency supports 20 different addresses, offering you greater security when transacting for each Cryptocurrency in the same Hardware wallet. An even higher level of security is ensured if you have U2FA enabled that allows you to verify your device address before transacting by using the authentication app on your phone.
Cons of User Friendliness:
The U2FA was hard to set up and even with the step-by-step guide, I had to go through the process 5 times until I got it right and managed to set it up. Only then to have it glitch out on me. The desktop app said the device was connected to the U2FA app on my phone but my phone wanted to re-initiate the setup process from the beginning. After playing around with it for 10 min I managed to the U2FA app to get back on board. With a small update patch, I am sure this will be sorted and I have used the device several times since and have had no issues again.
Performance
Pros of Performance:
- The BitBox comes with an app; avoiding some of the security risks that other wallets face by being directly open on your browser.
- Offers U2FA
- Offers increased security by offering 20 addresses for Bitcoin and Litecoin
- Supports an SD Card backup in case you lose the Device
- Allows you to confirm actions by touching the physical device itself
- Only supports Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum and subsequently ERC20 Tokens
Cons of Performance:
- It may support Ethereum and ERC20 coins but you have to do so via MyEtherWallet
- If you enable U2FA you can receive Ethereum but cannot send it, according to Shiftcryptosecurity this is an issue that will be fixed in the future.
Overall Verdict: 6.5/10
The device design is simple and ergonomic; it supports 3 different Cryptocurrencies which for someone with a diversified portfolio it is not ideal; but with the BitBox you can relax and take a good night’s sleep. You know that with the U2FA offered, your Cryptocurrency is safe and if you lose the device, you still have your micro-SD to recover your wallet. The price tag at £58 may seem steep but if you keep in mind that the wallet is storing thousands of pounds worth of Cryptocurrencies, it’s a real bargain!
