This feels like the future to me. Today's smartphone platforms have given a canonical ID to the user, and often their location. Location tracking is starting to become a really hot issue for the general public. I think its a gateway drug to digital security. The model of a dedicated secure device that uses external communications accomplishes a lot technically, but also 'fits' comfortably in the habits of millions of people. Such a device could fit right in with phone, wallet, and keys, and it could be an ideal tool for storing your on-the-go crypto. People trust things they can touch and can audit.
The first team that can ship a universal, secure hardware wallet that 'just works' for $50-$150 could sell 5 million units in a year. In 7 years there could be billions of them, selling for $10+ a unit; a consumable like a traditional wallet.
I would keep one on my person at nearly all times, and have it replicate state to another at home, and a third in some vault service (like a connected safety deposit box). They devices would establish a physical pairing by creating an irreversible key-pair on the hardware itself. The replication could be a sequential log (like mysql binlog or git), and the integrity of that log could be additionally verified by bringing the devices within close proximity. All that is to say, there needs to be a secure, peer-based way to mitigate inevitable loss, damage or theft of the physical device- without centralizing the data or losing state. It would do well to be dummy-proof and make fun sounds when performing the above pairing and verifying operations. Megacorps shouldn't get to be in charge of syncing everything for us.
Let's take back the autonomy that has been stolen from us during these awkward teenage years of a digitally-driven society, and this time let's keep it in our own hands.
The first team that can ship a universal, secure hardware wallet that 'just works' for $50-$150 could sell 5 million units in a year. In 7 years there could be billions of them, selling for $10+ a unit; a consumable like a traditional wallet.
I would keep one on my person at nearly all times, and have it replicate state to another at home, and a third in some vault service (like a connected safety deposit box). They devices would establish a physical pairing by creating an irreversible key-pair on the hardware itself. The replication could be a sequential log (like mysql binlog or git), and the integrity of that log could be additionally verified by bringing the devices within close proximity. All that is to say, there needs to be a secure, peer-based way to mitigate inevitable loss, damage or theft of the physical device- without centralizing the data or losing state. It would do well to be dummy-proof and make fun sounds when performing the above pairing and verifying operations. Megacorps shouldn't get to be in charge of syncing everything for us.
Let's take back the autonomy that has been stolen from us during these awkward teenage years of a digitally-driven society, and this time let's keep it in our own hands.