Cardware Wallet - The Start-up Building A Hardware Crypto Wallet In South Africa

Cardware Wallet allows owners of digital assets such as bitcoin and ether to store their private keys on the device, promoting the self-custody of crypto assets - enhancing security.

"About a year ago, we started playing in the space of looking at consumer-based products within the market and there wasn't a product available that we could say objectively followed security best practices," said Greg van der Spuy, co-founder and CEO of Cardware Wallet, in an interview with TechCentral. "Also, the price of these units was unbelievably expensive, specifically when looking at addressing the African market."

Cardware Wallet has launched at a price of US77 R1 350, which, according to Van der Spuy, is "multiple times cheaper" than the next-best competitor once shipping costs and import duties are factored in.

The unit is powered via a USB-C port but is configured so that no data can be transferred, minimising the risk of the wallet being hacked physically through the port.

Other than the main processing unit and some buttons, Cardware Wallet relies on a CC EAL6 -certified chip for the generation and storage of private keys. The chip is designed to self-destruct if tampered with physically, rendering the keys inaccessible to the would-be hacker.