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Sony Develops ‘Contactless’ Hardware Wallet for Digital Assets – Bitcoin News

Sony has announced the development of a new type of hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies that uses its IC card technology. The Japanese conglomerate also said it firmly believes in the potential for commercialization and widespread adoption of blockchain technology.

Also read: Blockchain Introduces Hardware Wallet

Secure digital assets

Sony develops 'contactless' hardware wallet for digital assetsTokyo-based Sony, a household name for decades, is stepping into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency solutions. Sony Computer Science Laboratories, a subsidiary of the group, announced on October 23 that it had developed a hardware wallet for digital assets. The new technology uses the IC card protocol, an application that enables high-speed communication with payment readers.

The company said the card is “contactless” because it uses “mutual authentication / encrypted communication” with the IC protocol. According to the documentation for the wallet, the company has further developed and refined the IC protocol in recent years.

“The IC card-type hardware wallet is small, portable, and useful, unlike typical existing hardware wallets that attach to PCs via USB,” said Sony. “In addition, it is possible to securely generate and store a private key with a highly reliable tamper-proof module within the IC card.”

Sony develops 'contactless' hardware wallet for digital assetsSony hardware wallet specifications

Focus on blockchain solutions

Sony said the IC-based cards manage private keys for cryptocurrencies, but added that they have other uses as well. The company is likely referring to a universal FIDO key (U2F) for platforms like Google and Dropbox.

“It is an infrastructure technology with several application possibilities,” it says, that people believe in the future of blockchain technology and hope to strengthen this infrastructure with their own product offerings.

Sony concluded by stating:

Sony CSL will continue to pursue initiatives to commercialize its “cryptocurrency hardware wallet technology” that enables secure transactions of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, with the aim of driving the widespread adoption of blockchain technology.

Sony’s announcement is not the first time that the Japanese company has expressed an interest in distributed ledger protocols. A week before the announcement of its hardware wallet, it announced that it was developing a blockchain solution for digital rights management. And about a year ago it filed a patent with IBM for a blockchain-based education platform.

What do you think of Sony’s efforts to develop a hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies based on its IC card technology? Let us know what you think on this matter in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Sony and Sony Computer Science Laboratories.

Tags in this story

Communication, Contactless, Corporation, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Ethereum, Hardware Wallet, Japan, N-Featured, Security, Sony, U2F

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Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a Florida-based financial tech journalist. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for bitcoin, open source code and decentralized applications. As of September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News on the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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