Bitkey First Impressions
Last week, for some reason, Bitkeys were selling for $25 via the Safari browser. I bought one for the hell of it. Why not at that price? Over the weekend it arrived in a small, simple box. Nothing fancy. The device itself is aesthetically pleasing. A smooth, shiny, rock. It reminds me of a piece of mysterious alien technology from a science fiction movie.
Set up is simple. A QR code is included in the box that will take you to the companion app. Once you have the app you are instructed to pair the device with your phone and set up a fingerprint.
You can buy Bitcoin directly on the Bitkey app or transfer funds in. The two “partner” exchanges are Cash App and Coinbase. Otherwise you can generate BTC address.
I have very little experience with NFC in general...this is my first time playing with it in terms of Bitcoin. You just have to wake up the device with your fingerprint and then “touch tips” with your phone. It does have an option to set a daily limit within the within the phone which allows you to spend without the Bitkey present.
For backup you are given two options: iCloud and/or an emergency kit. I am not technical, and don't know how everything works on the back end. I did not have to write down a seed phrase. Is it a hot wallet? Cold storage? It doesn't feel like either in my non-expert option. It feels like “room temperature” storage to me.
For someone who has no experience with self custody and has their sats sitting on exchange, this is a great option for them to consider. It pairs well with Cash App which I think is a solid exchange.
For me personally, I am trying to figure out how the Bitkey could be useful to me. I already have a great set up and am accustomed to accumulating to my desired UTXO size and withdrawing to cold storage. Perhaps I'll use the Bitkey to set aside some on chain funds as spending money since I generally defer to fiat for spending so I don't disrupt my current stacking rhythm.
#Bitkey
Nostr Gang
npub1jx…t62rj
2024-07-23 01:32:47
Author Public Key
npub1jxh2kga4ve8d4ftahcqtqswvk5z5f7ya0k2kx3dm679hmw4ysesqvt62rjPublished at
2024-07-23 01:32:47Event JSON
{
"id": "af9dcab1465776039529b62f19928a671660191a4202228ddd5b102f30d3bfce",
"pubkey": "91aeab23b5664edaa57dbe00b041ccb50544f89d7d956345bbd78b7dbaa48660",
"created_at": 1721691167,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"t",
"bitkey"
]
],
"content": "Bitkey First Impressions\n\nLast week, for some reason, Bitkeys were selling for $25 via the Safari browser. I bought one for the hell of it. Why not at that price? Over the weekend it arrived in a small, simple box. Nothing fancy. The device itself is aesthetically pleasing. A smooth, shiny, rock. It reminds me of a piece of mysterious alien technology from a science fiction movie.\n\nSet up is simple. A QR code is included in the box that will take you to the companion app. Once you have the app you are instructed to pair the device with your phone and set up a fingerprint.\n\nYou can buy Bitcoin directly on the Bitkey app or transfer funds in. The two “partner” exchanges are Cash App and Coinbase. Otherwise you can generate BTC address.\nI have very little experience with NFC in general...this is my first time playing with it in terms of Bitcoin. You just have to wake up the device with your fingerprint and then “touch tips” with your phone. It does have an option to set a daily limit within the within the phone which allows you to spend without the Bitkey present.\n\nFor backup you are given two options: iCloud and/or an emergency kit. I am not technical, and don't know how everything works on the back end. I did not have to write down a seed phrase. Is it a hot wallet? Cold storage? It doesn't feel like either in my non-expert option. It feels like “room temperature” storage to me.\n\nFor someone who has no experience with self custody and has their sats sitting on exchange, this is a great option for them to consider. It pairs well with Cash App which I think is a solid exchange.\n\nFor me personally, I am trying to figure out how the Bitkey could be useful to me. I already have a great set up and am accustomed to accumulating to my desired UTXO size and withdrawing to cold storage. Perhaps I'll use the Bitkey to set aside some on chain funds as spending money since I generally defer to fiat for spending so I don't disrupt my current stacking rhythm.\n\n#Bitkey",
"sig": "654f3ed77026aade2ffb074ebd4882040c662e2279c7f18b877c83665d254bc9279a48ad7b0af096d4d4f36697875841e0f786a08ac589c303ec6ae772fcc96b"
}