On Wednesday, December 19, 2024, the Foundation announced the release of its new service, Passport Prime.
Introducing Passport Prime – Your Personal Security Platform!
We are pleased to introduce Passport Prime, the world’s first personal security platform designed to protect your Bitcoin and your entire digital life.
Consider: The Swiss Army Knife of your online security. pic.twitter.com/3HH2eG7vhU
– FOUNDATION (@FOUNDATIONdvcs) December 18, 2024
The device offers a wide range of features that not only help users protect their bitcoin keys but also other digital information, as well.
Features
First, Passport Prime offers the same bitcoin wallet capabilities as the company’s second-generation Passport device, including multisig functionality and temporary seed phrases.
Beyond Bitcoin-related security, Passport Prime also helps you store other sensitive digital data.
Its 2FA Codes app allows users to store 2FA codes offline, while its Security Keys app works as a replacement for Yubikeys and allows users to create multiple security keys for use with NFC or USB.
In addition, the device provides an encrypted flash drive. Users can store up to 50 GB of data on the device. And as a way to keep your data private, the Airlock feature in the File Browser app allows users to access selected files only when the device is connected to a phone or computer.
The device also has its own custom operating system – KeyOS – which enables apps to run in their own sandbox while the OS manages permissions.
We’re Pushing the Pin Bag Industry Forward
Earlier this year, the Co-founder and CEO of the Foundation told Bitcoin Magazine that he was looking to create an iPhone of Bitcoin hardware. Passport Prime is the closest Prime has come to this good yet.
“The hardware wallet industry has been stagnating for years, failing to deliver any meaningful innovation and unable to respond to the rapidly evolving challenges of digital assets,” said Zach Herbert, founder and CEO of the Foundation in a press release.
“Wallets have become the weakest link in crypto: they’re hard to install, complicated to use, and increasingly insecure in a variety of modern blockchain operations,” he added.
“Passport Prime is the first device of its kind, a Personal Security Platform that is ready for the future economy, making it easy to protect all your private keys on one offline device, and sign every type of transaction or contract with complete peace of mind. .”
We welcome Third Party Apps
Around mid-2025, developers will be able to build third-party apps to run on KeyOS. In other words, developers will be able to list their apps in the Foundation’s App Catalog.
The first of these third-party applications will be produced by Cake Wallet and will allow users to trade privately using Bitcoin, Monero and other cryptocurrencies.
Powerful, Yet Simple and Secure
The Foundation says that setting up and using Passport Prime will be easy, despite its various functions.
Users can set up the device using Envoy, Foundation’s native app that guides the setup process and connects to the device via QuantumLink Bluetooth.
QuantumLink Bluetooth is enabled by a dedicated Bluetooth chip embedded in the Passport Prime that can send and receive encrypted messages using quantum resistance technology.
Users can also back up their seeds with Shamir’s 2-of-3 secret sharing configuration that splits the seed into three pieces – two stored on physical cards and one stored on the Envoy mobile app.
Details
The device will retail for $299 and ship in Q2 2025.
The device comes in two different colors – Arctic Copper and Midnight Bronze – and both are open source and built in the United States.
Read more about the product here.