Feb 20, 2021
NGRAVE Zero — Initial Thoughts
The most exciting Cryptocurrency hardware wallet ?
As Cryptocurrencies are pumping hard and finding themselves flowing into the mainstream, adoption seems to be booming and with that we’ll most likely see horror stories of lost private keys and hacks. In my opinion anyone getting into Cryptocurrencies and holding even small amounts should be using a hardware wallet. If you’re not aware hardware wallets also known as cold wallets, allow you to keep your private keys secure and offline. Opposed to digital wallets that are connected to networks and susceptible to hacking, opening up the possibility that your private keys could be intercepted or stolen, meaning your Crypto could be going bye bye. The other option is paper wallets. Although this allows you to have a physical and secure offline copy, paper isn't always the best option, think coffee spills (we’ve all been there).
I’ve done a lot of research into various hardware wallets and I’m always looking out for the most secure and user friendly. Security and a good user experience don’t always go hand in hand as you don’t want to compromise for one over the other, so finding products that have the best of both worlds can be difficult, but not impossible.
The two most popular brands are most likely Trezor and ledger. These are the most tried and tested brands and most recommend one of these as your first hardware wallets. I was pointed in their direction and have tried the Trezor myself and found it easy to use and solid hardware wallet. I have no experience with the ledger but after doing research its held in high regard as well. If you’re really security conscious definitely check out the BC Vault, it uses FRAM storage which has a great read/write endurance and has full data retention over 200 years(that should last you well). As well as this it uses strong security protocols and has a good looking user interface and controls. Its important to check what coins each wallet supports to make sure you can store your coins on there. Some wallets are bitcoin only such as ColdCard, which is great option if you’re just looking to store Bitcoin but not so great if you’re an alt coin fan.
I can’t review all of these as I haven’t used them all but I always recommend to everyone to look at every option before making a choice and make an informed decision!
This brings me onto the Ngrave Zero. As I’m always on the look out for new wallets and systems this peaked my interest. The Ngrave Zero is a new hardware wallet (shipping April 2021) that claims to be the ‘coldest wallet’. As you can see from the pictures it looks great, but that’s far from the most interesting feature. The Zero generates your private keys offline and never exposes them, the device is also “air-gapped”. This means that is doesn't rely on a network connection to be operated, this means no WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC or USB. This completely removes the chance of being attacked over a network and loosing your private keys or having assets transferred. You use Ngrave’s ‘Liquid’ mobile app to interact with it, this allows you to monitor your portfolio and sign transactions by scanning QR codes (that contain no secret information) on the Zero and the App itself, making it seemingly easy to use.
To create wallets and keys the Zero uses a mixture of a True Random Number Generation process, bio-metric data in the form of a fingerprint, light technology that measures ambient light to alter the randomness of the key, and finally user interaction which allows you to freeze and change sections of the key. All this combines to create a unique key that even Ngrave themselves wont know, meaning there’s no secret back doors or way for them to know your keys. For me this seems like the most comprehensive and interesting way of implementing security into a hardware wallet.
Another really interesting feature and product in itself is the Ngrave Graphene. This is a Stainless Steel back up solution to keep your keys safe. This consists of 2 plates, one plain and one with a randomized template of letters and numbers that you use to punch holes into the lower plate, each upper plate is unique to the user and no two are the same. This allows you to store your 64 character hexadecimal key on material that can withstand extreme temperatures of up to 1660 degrees Celsius and is also resistant against water- & corrosion damage, and is shock- & buried-proof too. To access the key you need both plates so you can store these separately to increase security. This is a really unique way to store keys and move us away from digital or paper copies which both have there flaws.
By coupling the Zero, Liquid and Graphene Ngrave have created an end to end solution that’s not only secure but user friendly. To me it looks like a great 3 product system but as it’s not been tested yet we’ll have to wait and see if they deliver with all 3, but it looks promising!
The product is definitely on the pricier side with the Zero at the time of writing at €318 ($385, £275) and with the Graphene included at €398 ($482, £344). Maybe this wont appeal to people just getting into Cryptocurrencies but with anyone with a portfolio of value of that of the Zero, it seems like a no brainer. The questions is really, what price do you value your security at ? Sometimes the Cryptocurrency environment can seem a bit like the wild west to the uninitiated so having that extra bit of security definitely puts you at ease and to me the price is worth while. In my opinion (not an expert one by the way) the security and product ecosystem looks like on of the best out there and I’m really excited to use it. For the full explanation of the products head over to the Ngrave site and check out their videos.
Is it Legit I hear you cry?
Within the Cryptocurrency sphere there’s unfortunately a lot of scams and not a lot of trust. There’s been a lot of scams throughout the growth and emergence of the cryptocurrency markets and users have lost a lot of money and with that, confidence. With so much distrust floating about and with criminals waiting on the fringes for people to slip up, its important we look at our personal security and scrutinize new technologies and newcomers offering exciting products. I’ve seen some be cautious with trusting Ngrave due to shipping delays, but in my experience with interacting with the company and founders I see no reason not to. (I messed up my order email and address and contacted them straight away, the customer service was brilliant and one of the founders emailed me themselves and was very helpful).
I’ve looked into Ngrave and with the backing and partners they have from the likes of the Web3 Foundation, COSIC and with Jean-Jacques Quisquater as an advisor(referenced in the Bitcoin Whitepaper, if you don’t know look him up!), it fills me with confidence that they have a solid product that’s really going to be of merit. Obviously, only time will tell.
I’ve purchased an Ngrave Zero and Graphene and I’m excited for it to ship, even if it is delayed again. Once I have it in my hands I’ll be doing a full review and write up.
For more information definitely check out the Ngrave Website and see if for yourself, again, do your own research! Full transparency the above link and links in the article are affiliate links, when you purchase an Ngrave you are entered into the affiliate program.
Follow me @hockeydev on Twitter and feel free to DM me if you wanna chat Crypto or Tech.
