Some time ago, I blatantly asked
@KeystoneWallet if I could try their latest hardware, the Keystone Pro 3 for the
@Solana ecosystem. They said yes, and not only did they send me one, but they also had it customized with my pfp! Look at this thing, it’s amazing!
When unboxing it, a few things immediately stand out; this thing is very nicely packed, and the box even comes with a piece of jelly tape to turn it into a secret drawer! The Keystone comes with a USB-C cable and a couple of sheets for your seedphrase. It comes with 6 sheets because you can have 3 seed phrases on it simultaneously. Having all your seed phrases on one device may be handy, but should the device break, you’d be locked out of all your wallets until you’ve replaced the device. If I were to start my crypto journey today I would probably prefer to have all my wallets on the same device (and have a backup device).
Next up was the getting started. I was already aware this device was an "over air” hardware wallet, meaning it doesn’t have to connect to your computer, ever, but I didn’t think about how you would update the device. The clever people at
@KeystoneWallet thought of this as well: You can download the latest update on your computer, transfer that to a microSD, put the microSD in your Keystone, and run the update. (I must note here that I luckily found a microSD card lying around; it is not included in the box and is not offered as an option on the website.) You can also connect the device to your laptop or PC and update it through the website. The Keystone never needs to be exposed. Talk about safety!
Setting up the device after the update is really intuitive; the 4-inch touchscreen is very responsive and works a lot faster when compared to 2-button devices. You get to choose between using a passcode or password when setting up the device, and then comes the next surprise: The fingerprint scanner. You can unlock the device and sign transactions with your fingerprint!
The first time I heard about
@KeystoneWallet was when @solflare_wallet announced that they would integrate it. So naturally, the next step in testing this is connecting my Keystone to my Solflare extension.
When you go to "Add Wallet” on your Solflare extension (or mobile app) you can select Keystone. When you do this, a new browser tab opens with a blurry camera. This page will read a QR code generated on the Keystone. After that, your wallet is imported! When you want to have other assets on your Keystone, like
$BTC or ERC-20 tokens, you’ll find out that Keystone does not have their own wallet. So for ERC-20 you’d have to rely on, for example, MetaMask or OKX wallet. For
$BTC you’d have to download, for example, Sparrow. Although I really like the power of choice, I can imagine that people with many different tokens would mind installing 3 to 7 different wallets instead of having everything in one UI. From a hardware manufacturer perspective, I totally understand that the cost of running a UI like that would make the product you build a lot more expensive, forcing up the prices of your product to maintain availability for the existing users.
Now for the real testing. I’ve loaded up my Keystone with some SOL. Because most people reading this are probably avid
@Solana ecosystem users I won’t bore you with explaining every interaction. You probably just want to know one thing; how is the transaction signing?
I start my timer and unlock my device, it powers and I put in my passcode.
I initiate a transaction in the Solflare interface, it generates a QR, I press the “read QR button on my device”, I scan the QR-code. This prompt the transaction simulation on the frigging Keystone! I slide a button on the touchscreen, I scan my fingerprint. Now it has the signed transaction, which I need to broadcast; the device has generated a QR, which I show to my laptop's camera. All done. The experience with mobile is exactly the same!
Working with the Keystone is equally fast as it’s main competitors. What I really like is the transaction simulation on the device's screen! The device itself never touches my laptop or phone, which makes it incredibly secure. Having three seed phrases really speeds things up as well.
One other good thing to note: Both the hardware and software on the Keystone are
#opensource!
The Keystone is not small enough to hide it in a pocket on the side of your fishing hat. This could be a good or a bad thing. Also when you are a PC user and don't have a webcam: This is probably not the product for you.
Thank you,
@KeystoneWallet , for this amazing gift. I promise it’ll go to good use!
If you made it here, make sure you retweet and leave a comment; among those who do, I’ll raffle a discount code for Keystone products.
#Giveaway