A U.S startup has announced a new crypto hardware wallet that fits into your phone’s SIM card slot. While making the announcement via a press release, VaultTel described the new wallet as the first of its kind. The wallet will go into the SIM card tray of dual SIM Android phones or use an accessory for iPhones.
The wallet comes with a secure software solution known as the VaultTel App. To access the wallet, a user will be required to use biometric authentication, further ensuring security. It also comes with an optional device lock, where a user can specify the particular device that can access the wallet. To top it all off, the wallet supports a geo fence, where a user can specify the particular area in which he accesses the wallet.
VaultTel further promised that even if hackers access the mobile phone, the wallet will still be secure. They wrote:
“Without knowing your biometric authentication, no one can transfer your coins from your hardware wallet. More than that, no spy screen recorder or Trojan can record what is happening on your hardware wallet, as it’s a not using your laptop or system resources.”
The VaultTel hardware wallet retails at $98 for the Android package and $131 for the iPhone package. Currently, it’s only available for U.S customers. However, the startup promised that it will “immediately expand use to European countries through their United Kingdom company.”
With the increase in hacks targeting cryptos in the past few years, hardware wallets have become a household item in the crypto industry. However, most of them are external devices with a micro USB connection. They also mostly work with computers and VaultTel will be the first hardware wallet targeting mobile phones.
The mobile phone crypto market is also growing at an explosive rate, with Samsung and HTC being among the front runners. Samsung recently announced its flagship Galaxy S10 device which comes with an inbuilt crypto wallet. HTC also recently announced that their Exodus device is available for purchase using fiat, after previously only being available for purchase with crypto. The HTC Exodus is the Taiwanese phone maker’s first blockchain-powered phone and comes with a “built-in secure hardware enclave.”
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