Altcoin News: Bobby Lee Launches a Pseudo-Hardware Wallet
September 12, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE
Founder of China’s first cryptocurrency exchange, Bobby Lee, announced his return to the industry. By selling BTCC in 2018, the brother of the creator of Litecoin intends to conquer the market for portable cryptocurrency storage solutions.
At the Invest Asia conference on September 12, Lee announced the launch of his new “hardware” wallet the size of a credit card called Ballet. According to Lee, the solution is suitable for storing Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and some other altcoins.
“We wanted to create a wallet that is simple and elegant. And that is what we’ve done,” Lee said on stage.
By its manufacturer, Ballet is positioned as a new participant in the highly competitive space of hardware crypto-wallets, where brands such as Trezor, Ledger and KeepKey are already represented. Lee claims his device will stand out thanks to the ability to generate public addresses and private keys in advance. It is assumed that this feature will simplify the experience of interaction for inexperienced users. On this, however, all the “hardware” Ballet ends.
Each wallet will be delivered with a QR code corresponding to the public address, as well as an encryption code under the protective layer. By combining the two codes in the wallet application, the user will be able to see the private key, “which will be the same for all cryptocurrencies on a variety of supported blockchains.”
“I’ve been working on this hard since January of this year,” Lee said during his presentation. “We’ve gone through six iterations of this hardware wallet design.” he admitted, adding that 20 people are involved in Ballet development.
As follows from the description, Ballet is a hardware wallet or, in the words of Lee himself, a “hardware wallet”, that is, by definition, a device that operates due to electronic or mechanical components.
“The best feature is that the wallet is not electronic, that is, it is free from compatibility problems. He doesn’t have Bluetooth, NFC, a chip that needs constant updates, batteries, cables, USB connections,” Lee says right away. — “Literally, you can transfer your bitcoins to it and put it under the mattress. We call it the world’s first multi-currency non-electronic hardware wallet.”
Judging by the information presented, Ballet is another variation of the paper wallet, or in this case steel, which are usually generated and printed by the users themselves, although this is also not always safe. When using Ballet, the stage of decrypting the key is added using publicly available open-source software. Some users have already expressed doubts about the security of Lee’s wallet, all the keys on which the manufacturer will put it. No additional protection, like a paper wallet, is also provided in case of loss or theft of Ballet.
“We generated the keys for you in two locations thousands of miles apart,” he said. “[After that] we manufacture ourselves out of the process.”
What could be expected, and this follows from the video posted above, to store various cryptocurrencies, the user will have to buy a separate wallet each time. The developer’s declared ability to use one key to gain access to many assets, in this case, refers, perhaps, to Ethereum tokens.
Lee plans to sell Ballet at the pre-order stage for $29. Estimated delivery will begin in October.
Author: Marko Vidrih
