About the launch of the BTC wallet bitcoin materialwe interviewed the CEO of this Spanish startup to learn more about the successful launch of this new product and the future plans that the company has for the crypto community in general.
Daniel Jimenez (DJ): Hi, Uxío Fraga, CEO of Material Bitcoin, tell us a little about your story and how you entered the world of Bitcoin and the crypto sector in general.
Uxio Fraga (UF): I like trading and the world of investment in general. I am an engineer, industrial automation specialist and trader. It is not a frequent combination, but here I am.
So naturally, in 2013 I started doing my first tests with bitcoin. I immediately saw its potential but, since then, the ecosystem was still in its infancy and it was difficult to operate safely. The good thing is that it helped me to make many mistakes and learn a lot.
(DJ): Why enter the industry with a physical wallet? What motivated you to create MATERIAL BITCOIN?
(PHEW): By now it goes without saying that everyone should own some bitcoin. But in the middle of 2022, for someone who is not a techie or a crypto enthusiast, it is still difficult to buy and store it properly.
Bitcoin material is used so that non-geeks can have bitcoin easily and safely, without having to go through a learning curve.
Essentially, it’s meant for my father. And for my brothers. And for all those friends I’ve helped buy bitcoin because they just can’t seem to make the move on their own, and continue to miss out on the benefits of bitcoin year after year.
(DJ): With so many hacks in the industry and malicious actors on the order of the day, what features does MATERIAL BITCOIN incorporate to differentiate itself from the competition and prevent BTC theft attempts?
(PHEW): Unlike other wallets on the market, Material Bitcoin does not have a chip, nor does it need electricity or the internet to work. It is a totally independent and isolated device.
This makes our wallet impossible to hack, since there is no way to know the private key electronically, only the owner has access to it.
In addition, Material Bitcoin is the only stand-alone wallet (not just a backup for a more complicated and fragile one) that is fire, flood, shock and hack resistant.
(DJ): Explain to us a little about the manufacturing process of MATERIAL BITCOIN and how they manage to avoid human interference in this key process
(PHEW): The production of Bitcoin Material takes place in a secure environment. For this we have implemented a fully automated production system.
Two robots are involved in placing the AISI 304L stainless steel plates on an aluminum bed. A high power fiber optic laser etches the design, address and private key onto the steel plate. Immediately after engraving, a metallic vinyl hides the private key. And, in turn, the complete wallet is sealed in a heat-sealed aluminum envelope, opaque even to X-rays.
The software used to generate the key pairs at that very moment is open source and has been audited numerous times. In addition, the system we have designed programmatically forgets the private key in each recording. There are no logs, no databases, no temporary files, not even environment variables.
All the machinery and all the computers in our company could be stolen right now and not a single private key would be found. They simply aren’t. They only reside on each Material Bitcoin plate.
(DJ): Has any recognized company in the crypto sector been able to audit and recognize its flagship product?
(PHEW): We are currently negotiating with well-known companies in the sector for the distribution of our products. We look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks.
(DJ): How many models are available for shipment both nationally and outside of Spain and what is the key difference between each one?
(PHEW): We currently sell a total of three models:
The Standard version, which is available in Spanish and English.
A second version, which we call Camouflage, in which all references to bitcoin are omitted. If you want discretion, this is your version.
Finally, we offer the possibility of personalizing the wallets with your name or that of your company.
It is becoming fashionable as a gift at weddings: Our clients ask us for personalized plaques with the name of the bride and groom and then they give it to the bride and groom with a certain amount of bitcoin inside.
It is a very original gift, and you also know that it will be revalued over the years.
There are also companies that ask us for a large number of purses with their brand name, usually to use as a corporate gift.
(DJ): What reasons motivated you to use KickStarter for the launch of MATERIAL BITCOIN?
(PHEW): Kickstarter is the most important crowdfunding platform in the world. What made us opt for this option was the possibility of reaching international markets.
The platform served us as a small demand study in which to find out which markets had the greatest demand for our product and to concentrate our efforts on these markets.
We discovered that, apart from Spain, in the United States our product is highly demanded, from Italy we receive special affection and the Japanese are especially interested in Material Bitcoin, given the high demand for this type of product there.
(DJ): What measures do you take as a company to avoid customer data leaks, as happened with Ledger in December 2020?
(PHEW): We do not store any sensitive customer data such as private keys, so a leak of this type of information is impossible.
Both the software and hardware used to produce the wallets have been audited by an external consultant that guarantees a maximum level of security.
Regarding the rest of customer data, such as the name, email or shipping address, despite being relatively innocuous and public data, we jealously protect it by complying with the RGPD standards, which are already strict in themselves.
(DJ): What guarantees can the client have that the private key of his wallet will not be used by a malicious actor?
(PHEW): For our part, the guarantee is total.
The client must be aware of how important it is to protect this data and, therefore, must not share it with anyone. He must store the wallet properly.
If the user does not expose their private key, the Bitcoin Material design takes care of the rest.
(DJ): What future plans does MATERIAL BITCOIN have?
(PHEW): Although we have already made great strides, the plan is to stick to the plan.
We have a business plan for the next five quarters, in which the main objective is to grow. Capture new customers and be present in new markets.
(PHEW): After the initial demand test in Spain, which had a conversion that exceeded the expected maximum by 20 times, we decided to explore the international market through a crowdfunding campaign.
And the numbers of the Kickstarter campaign were record: We received orders from 25 countries. We exceeded the campaign objective by 700%.
(PHEW): Until now, you could only buy our wallet on materialbitcoin.com and Amazon.
But now we are launching new packaging, because we will soon be seen in physical stores en masse and Material Bitcoin can be purchased directly on the street. We are very excited!
Disclaimer: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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