Tony Fadell, a prominent Silicon Valley executive known as the father of the iPod, on Tuesday unveiled his latest project – a hardware wallet used to store cryptocurrencies. offline.
Tony Fadell, a prominent Silicon Valley executive known as the father of the iPod, on Tuesday unveiled his latest project – a hardware wallet used to store cryptocurrencies. offline.
Fadell, 53, has spent almost a decade at Apple Below Steve Jobswhere he oversaw the design of mobile devices Music music player and later helped create the company’s most famous device, the iPhone.
After quitting work Apple In 2008, he founded Nest Labs, a smart home device company. Nest was later acquired by tech giant Google for $3.2 billion.
Now Fadell has partnered with Ledger, the French technology company, to design a new offline crypto wallet.
Cryptocurrency transactions require the use of complex cryptographic keys, which are used to authorize transactions. These keys are often stored online, such as with an online exchange, which can make them more vulnerable to hacking or theft.
The recent collapse of crypto exchange FTX, which has seen more than $1 billion in customer funds disappear, has spurred demand for offline or “self-custod” services like Ledger unprecedented increase.
Previous models released by Ledger, such as the Nano S and Nano S, were shaped like a USB stick. Fadell’s new design, the Ledger Stax, is a credit card-sized device with a curved spine and an e-ink display.
Ian Rogers, Ledger’s chief experience officer, told Reuters: “All the security hardware up to this point is like all MP3 players before the iPod and it’s time for the iPod.”
Fadell has previously expressed skepticism towards some elements of “Web 3.0,” an easy-to-understand term that encompasses a wide range of next-generation decentralized technologies, including cryptocurrencies and the metaverse.
Ledger Stax will be sold online for $279 from early 2023.
