We’ve just seen a prototype of the Bitcoin hardware wallet that Jack Dorsey’s Block (the company formerly known as Square) is working on, a device to help people “safely own and manage their Bitcoin,” according to the company. Block’s hardware lead, Jesse Dorogusker, tweeted an image showing several devices on Wednesday, all seemingly including fingerprint readers and USB-C charging ports — both things Block said its hardware wallet would include in a blog post last month.
Dorsey announced his company’s work on the crypto wallet in June 2021, and since then, we’ve gotten a few details on it. The company said the hardware wallet would be just one component in its crypto storage system and that it would have a corresponding mobile app for your phone. Block also provided a breakdown of the potential recovery processes available should you lose your wallet or your phone. It also said details would follow later on what you could do if you lost both.
As for the actual hardware, it’s looking a bit rocky, or “rockey,” as Dorsey put it when he quote tweeted the image. I don’t mean that in a bad way — the devices in the image shared by Dorogusker are made to look like various types of stone, like marble and granite, and they have a slightly geometric shape.
In a statement emailed to The Verge, Lindsey Grossman, head of product, marketing, and partnerships for Block’s wallet said that the images were “some prototypes we are experimenting with for the hardware component of the wallet, which also will include a mobile app and a set of self-serve recovery tools.” She also mentioned that the company would share “future explorations,” which doesn’t help us narrow down how close these prototypes are to becoming a real product.
When Block does release its wallet, we know of at least one person who won’t be getting one: Dorsey’s mom, who recently roasted him on Twitter for having “#Bitcoin” in his bio.
Update April 6th, 6:42PM ET: Added comment from Block saying that the image shows prototype wallets.
