Blocktrail has launched its first bitcoin wallet into the market, and while there are plenty of competitors, this bitcoin startup believes it has the right mix to convince users that its wallet protects its bitcoins.
The company announced the rollout of its new wallet today (Sept. 14) on its blog and explained the key features of the wallet. Not only does it use multi-signature technology — for added security — but it works across multiple platforms and allows for the user’s private bitcoin keys to be accessed solely by the wallet owner. What that means is that those bitcoins are going to be secured in that wallet, regardless of any security blip that may occur, the company said.
“If Blocktrail is ever hacked, raided by government, or if our servers magically disappear into thin air, you remain safe because our wallet never has direct access to your bitcoin. This is a totally different paradigm from most other bitcoin wallets which take custody over the user’s bitcoin and ‘secure’ it with insurance,” the company wrote in its blog post about the launch. “Blocktrail’s wallet is able to do this because transactions are signed client-side (in the users’ browser or mobile device) rather than on our servers, and due to bitcoin’s design, we have no ability to manipulate these transactions before broadcasting them to the network. The world needs our wallet because centralized bitcoin wallets put people’s future in financial danger.”
[bctt tweet=”If Blocktrail is ever hacked…you remain safe because our wallet never has direct access to your bitcoin”]
The multi-platform feature allows for the wallet to be used on the Web and via mobile, but regardless of where and how that transaction is made, the wallet is always synced between devices. The new wallet can be downloaded on Google Play of the Apple App Store.
While bitcoin in general doesn’t always have the best track record for trust, Blocktrail’s CTO said that consumers should be looking toward alternative financial options like bitcoin. That’s why he’s hoping this wallet solution can help propel bitcoin into the mainstream consumer market even further.
“The whole reason why people get into bitcoin is to no longer be dependent on a bank,” said Blocktrail CTO Ruben De Vries in an interview with TechCrunch. “The motto that I like about bitcoin is ‘be your own bank.’ You don’t want to be part of a financial system that keeps you hostage when they own your funds.”
“People [in the bitcoin community] know us, and there’s reason to trust our brand and use our apps. But in the case of bitcoin you don’t even need to trust us, so if we were to disappear… people still own their bitcoins. We cannot run away with their bitcoins. And they could still use the app and restore their wallets even without us, which is really what makes us special,” said Blocktrail co-founder and CEO Boaz Bechar.
[bctt tweet=”The whole reason why people get into bitcoin is to no longer be dependent on a bank”]
And for those looking to send or receive bitcoin to a family member or friend, no matter where they are located in the world, the Blocktrail wallet also has P2P bitcoin payments. And Blocktrail can be used at any merchant location that accepts bitcoin. In the blog post, the company also explains how the new wallet makes it easier than ever to send bitcoins to another person — and to send those without a QR code.
“We made our wallet as friendly as possible and you can exchange bitcoin without using long bitcoin addresses. If you need to send bitcoin to your friend across the globe, you [no] longer need to send an email first asking for their bitcoin address. You can just select them from your phone’s address book, enter an amount, and click send. In the background our wallet creates a new bitcoin address for your friend, and associates it to their phone number that has been verified,” the post reads.
And the best part? The company explains that because of the HD wallet technology that’s embedded into its new bitcoin wallet, it allows those bitcoins to be securely stored, allowing the user to have full ownership over then.
“We feel it’s important that a wallet that claims that ‘you are in control of your bitcoin’ actually proves that you are,” the blog post reads.
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To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.
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