Sony Creates Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet Tech, Plans to ‘Commercialize’ it
Electronics giant Sony has created technology that it perceives will help cryptocurrency users store their assets safely, and that technology may soon be launched.
The Japanese tech group announced this week that its Computer Science Laboratories division (Sony CSL) has created a cryptocurrency hardware wallet that could help store bitcoin and other digital assets in a secure offline environment while maintaining the ease of less secure online crypto storage systems.
Different from traditional cryptocurrency hardware wallets such as the Trezor One and Ledger Nano S, which connect to the user’s PC or mobile device using a USB cord, Sony CSL’s wallet would store the user’s private keys on a contactless IC card, allowing the user to easily sign transactions from an NFC-enabled mobile device.
Sony stated:
“This IC card type hardware wallet is small, portable and useful, unlike typical existing hardware wallets that connect to PCs via USB. In addition, it is possible to securely generate and store a private key with a highly reliable tamper-proof module within the IC card.”
The announcement goes on to explain that this sort of wallet card would have “multiple possible applications,” as well as enabling a user to sign a blockchain transaction authorizing the use of their personal data.
Possibly, Sony’s creation of cryptocurrency tech does not seem to be a small research project, or, as in a usual scenario, an instance of a company planning to rank itself as a developer in cutting-edge technology, although it has no intentions to change its research into real-world products and applications.
At the beginning of this year, Sony applied to patent a system that uses blockchain technology for digital rights management (DRM). Recently, the company announced the production version of that system, which will develop on Sony Global Education’s existing DRM platform for sharing educational information.
In its most recent announcement, the firm noted it plans to work toward the “commercialization” of its cryptocurrency wallet, with the ultimate aim of furthering the expansion of blockchain technology.
The company noted, “Sony CSL will continue advancing towards the commercialization of that ‘cryptocurrency hardware wallet technology’ that allows for safe and secure transactions of digital assets including cryptocurrencies with the aim of further…adoption of blockchain technology.”
