The Blockchain SIM Card That Will Change the Way You See Hardware Wallets Forever

One of the main tools that we use to interact with web3 and blockchain applications is the wallet. New users can choose from custodial and self-custodial options, custodial being the easier and more user-friendly and self-custodial has a tendency to be more complicated. However the market once again had to learn after FTX that:

“Not your keys, not your crypto!”

For this reason we recommend that people use self-custodial solutions and keep their assets safe. One of the key development direction in web3 is to make self-custodial solutions more user-friendly, easier to interact with and make it accessible to everyone. Let’s analyze the available options and see what can you use and what the future holds.

The first option is software wallets like Metamask. It is easy to use with dApps, cheap and portable with its smartphone app. However you give up on security features and it is generally considered a hot wallet which you should not store assets beside a small amount of crypto for gas usage.

The second option is hardware wallets like Ledger. It is the safest available method currently on market, and you get a good amount of portability and functionality on the Nano X or the coming up Stax. These models will cost you $149 or $279 respectively, which can be considered quiet a high barrier to new users. The transactions are done in a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), providing a much greater security than software wallets. TEE is an isolated execution environment provides security features such as isolated execution, integrity of applications executing with the TEE, along with confidentiality of their assets.

The third option will be Solana’s Saga smartphone. It will offer a Trusted Execution Environment like Ledger, but it is more user-friendly because users can finally interact with their assets safely from their smartphone. It has quite a high price, but when you compare it with other smartphones it offers a competitive pricing. Still it is a barrier to entry because of the switching costs associated with it, and iPhone users will lose access to certain apps. The main value proposition for dApp developers will be the dApp store that gives access to the Solana ecosystem for users and a marketplace to find new products.

The fourth option will be Conflux’s BSIM solution, it is a Blockchain SIM card that enables users to store their private keys and interact with their web3 assets. BSIM will have 10–20 times the storage capacity of normal SIM cards. Developed by partnering with China Telecom, the second largest telecom company in China with 390 million users, BSIM will offer a solution that brings the blockchain to smartphones by an intermediary. It offers a TEE to securely store seed phrases. While it won’t offer a dApp store like Solana smartphone, the SIM card does not require a specific hardware, and web3 can gain a wider audience by launching a similar dApp store on Apple and Android. Users already have preferences for smartphones and BSIM allows them to keep their preferred devices, removing any barrier to entry and providing high security at the same time. Pricing has not yet been announced, but it can be expected to be very competitive since it is a sim card, further lowering the barrier for people to safely enter the new internet.

And remember guys:

“Not your keys, not your crypto!”

But with the BSIM you can enjoy the safety of Ledger, with the convenience of Solana Mobile on any device.