CoolBitx Crowdfunding Its Hardware Wallet

“Our CoolWallet gives you the convenience of a credit card, but with a better security. No more identity theft, clone card, or fraud. We believe this will enhance the financial system,”
— – CoolBitx founder, Michael Ou.

CoolBitx is making a hardware wallet that will store bitcoins securely offline, but give the user the ability to spend those coins through convenient methods, including near field-communication (NFC) or Bluetooth. Like any other currency Bitcoin needs to be used online, as well as in brick and mortar stores. Compared to its already established hardware wallet competitors, Trezor and Ledger, Cool Wallet’s focus on making a device for daily commerce sets it apart.

Cool Wallet, which is the size of a credit card, securely stores Bitcoins. Tapping the hardware wallet twice on a paired phone initiates a transfer of funds. A one time password will be sent from the Cool Wallet to the CoolBitx mobile app through NFC, entering the password releases the requested amount. Payment can then be sent with one tap of the hardware wallets button.

Development of the company’s flagship hardware wallet is nearing completion. To finance the final stages, and increase awareness, CoolBitx has turned to crowdfunding through IndieGoGo. The campaign aims to raise $20,000, which will be used to fund the first batch of Cool Wallets, and finish developing the wallet software. So far, the campaign has raised $8,000.

“We have developed most of the IOS app, and 90% of the CoolWallet firmware. The hardware is complete. The current CoolWallet is already capable of sending bitcoins, generating receiving address, and restoring from backup seed. We are now optimising the app and the stability of the communication between the card and smartphone. We have also done waterproof test, and flexibility test,”
— – Ou

The wallet also has an unique security feature called Watchdog, that will inform you if your Cool Wallet gets more than 10 meters away from you. This feature is meant to prevent the wallet from being stolen or lost. The software for the wallets features is mostly open source. Ou explains, “The rest of the code will be evaluated and examined by various Bitcoin experts to prove the integrity and security. The reason for this is that some certain code libraries our supplier does not allow us to disclose,” said Ou.

CoolBitx also claims to be building a “decentralized BitStamp that will be impossible to be Goxed.” The exchange will allegedly never hold user’s funds and instead serve as broker, connecting sellers and buyers. The exchange will be integrated into their hardware wallets, allowing users to sell and buy bitcoins without the need of a separate device. The company plans to launch the exchange later this year.

Backers of the campaign will be some of the first people to be able to get their hands on the new wallet.  Besides a customized Cool Wallet exclusive to the IndieGoGo campaign, other rewards include a NFC charger, Bluetooth communicator or a large business pack. The company plans on shipping rewards to backers in April, a month after the campaign ends.