
In the adjacent future, Game Boy owners volition person the accidental to person their devices into a hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies. The project, known arsenic the Game Wallet, was unveiled by Joseph Schiarizzi, a developer hailing from Keyp, a Web3 startup. By employing a carnal cartridge, this innovation enables users to harness the powerfulness of their Nintendo Game Boy instrumentality arsenic a unafraid acold retention wallet for crypto assets.
Keyp’s Game Wallet: Turning Game Boy Into a Secure Hardware Wallet for Cryptocurrencies
On May 19, Joseph Schiarizzi, a developer from the cryptocurrency institution Keyp, unveiled a task helium has crafted since the opening of the year. Schiarizzi introduced a conception that utilizes a carnal Game Boy cartridge, resulting successful the instauration of a “truly offline hardware wallet” that operates independently without the request for firmware updates. To enactment his innovation, Schiarizzi shared a tweet helium published successful January, showcasing a Game Boy crippled wherever the quality tin make a seed, illustrating the imaginable of the endeavor.
“So we’re producing a existent carnal cartridge that lets you usage your Game Boy arsenic a acold retention wallet, make mnemonic phrases and prevention them securely offline,” Schiarizzi tweeted. “No firmware updates ever. Randomness for generating the keys is introduced by the subordinate arsenic they locomotion astir the satellite and implicit amusive quests, RPG style.”
Back successful April 1989, Nintendo unleashed the 8-bit handheld gaming instrumentality known arsenic the Game Boy successful Japan. Fast guardant to March 2021, and a Youtuber decided to propulsion the boundaries of the Game Boy’s capabilities and released a video showcasing an audacious feat: mining bitcoin (BTC) utilizing the iconic device. However, it rapidly became evident that the Game Boy’s humble processing powerfulness paled successful examination to today’s cutting-edge mining rigs. Another idiosyncratic embarked connected a akin task successful 2013, developing a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) miner.
Although some mining experiments with the Game Boy and NES were intriguing and fun, their applicable worth (which was impractical successful presumption of mining) paled successful examination to thing with existent utility. The Game Wallet task has adjacent established a dedicated website, inviting visitors to motion up and enactment informed astir the availability of the archetypal batch of cartridges. The website further emphasizes the value of offline functionality successful safeguarding integer assets. The Game Wallet website states:
Devices that physically cannot link to the net are much unafraid by nature. A instrumentality that was created earlier cryptocurrency existed, that tin ne'er beryllium attacked done integer phishing, and has been sitting connected your support for 20 years is adjacent better.
The Game Wallet quality comes connected the heels of recent criticism directed astatine Ledger’s caller Ledger Recovery service. It besides follows 1inch Network’s announcement of a caller hardware wallet successful January and Coinkite’s introduction of a “higher-end” Coldcard bitcoin wallet successful February. According to the Game Wallet website, Schiarizzi’s task utilized the Assembly programming language utilized for Nintendo consoles and games.
“We converted an unfastened root assembly implementation of the sha256 hashing algorithm utilized to make cryptographic effect phrases based connected BIP-39 into GBAssembly, the connection each Game Boy games are programmed in,” the website details.
What bash you deliberation astir the Game Wallet idea? Share your thoughts and articulation the treatment successful the comments conception below.