According to local reports in South Korea, demand for hardware wallets is increasing exponentially. The demand has stemmed from attempted hacks last year against domestic trading platforms like Upbit and Bithumb.
Regional Reports Detail South Korean Hardware Wallet Demand is Rising
South Korean cryptocurrency traders want to keep their digital assets safer after a few scares from local exchanges in 2017. The cryptocurrency trading platform Upbit, and Bithumb were both targeted last year with attempts at breaching the firm’s hot wallets.
Further, the recent Coincheck exchange hack in Japan has frightened South Koreans as well, which has bolstered more individuals to get their hands on some form of cold storage.
Many cryptocurrency enthusiasts worldwide use cold storage devices like Trezor, Ledger, Bitbox, and Keepkey. However, South Koreans also have a few local choices to choose from when it comes to hardware wallets and more in the near future. The cold storage hardware producers selling products in South Korea or plan to launch this year include Key Fair, Penta Security, Coldwelt, and K-Sine.
Two Local Choices
Key Fair’s CEO Lee Chang-keun has created the ‘Key Wallet Series’ that utilizes its own developed algorithm tethered to a dedicated security chip. There are also features called “Pro and Touch” which uses fingerprint recognition and NFC communications with smartphones. The Key Wallet can hold multiple cryptocurrencies including bitcoin core, ethereum, bitcoin cash, dash, ethereum classic, ripple, and litecoin.
Another company offering cold storage devices in South Korea is Penta Security although the products beta testing is due to finish in June of this year. Penta’s offering is a hardware wallet that resembles a credit card which uses advanced key storage and offers multiple authentication features. This includes a one-time-password, two-factor authentication and being tied to the user’s mobile device.
Two More Hardware Wallet Manufacturers Plan to Offer South Korean’s Cold Storage Products
Two other companies planning to launch cryptocurrency hardware wallets to the Korean market includes Kay Sine, and Coldwelt. Kay Sine’s subsidiary S-Tech Co., Ltd will launch the ‘Touch X-Wallet’ later this year which uses biometric fingerprint authentication. It also provides an electronic signature function through BLE communication with a smartphone application.
The French company, Coldwelt, will also be selling its hardware wallet to Koreans later this year with a device that is similar to Ledger’s Nano S. According to Coldwelt, the product will hold up to 20 different cryptocurrencies.