On Wednesday, December 19, 2024, the Foundation announced the launch of its latest device, which is Prime Minister’s passport.
Introducing Passport Prime – your personal security platform!
We’re excited to introduce Passport Prime, the world’s first personal security platform designed to secure your Bitcoin and your entire digital life.
Think: the Swiss Army knife of your online security. pic.twitter.com/3HH2eG7vhU
– The Foundation (@FOUNDATIONdvcs) December 18, 2024
The device offers a wide range of features that not only help users secure their Bitcoin keys but other digital information as well.
Features
For starters, Passport Prime offers the same Bitcoin wallet capabilities as the company’s second generation Passport deviceincluding multisig functions and temporary initial statements.
In addition to Bitcoin-related security, Passport Prime also helps you store other sensitive digital data.
The 2FA Codes app allows users to store 2FA codes offline, while the Security Keys app acts as an alternative to Yubikeys and allows users to create multiple security keys for use with NFC or USB.
Moreover, the device provides an encrypted flash drive. Users can store up to 50GB of data on the device. As a way to keep your data private, the Airlock feature in the File Browser app allows users to access selected files only when the device is connected to a phone or computer.
The device also has its own custom operating system – KeyOS – which enables apps to run in their own sandboxes while the OS manages permissions.
Pushing the hardware wallet industry forward
Earlier this year, the foundation’s co-founder and CEO told Bitcoin Magazine that he was looking to create an iPhone out of Bitcoin hardware. Passport Prime is the closest organization has come to that ideal yet.
“The hardware wallet industry has been lagging behind for years, failing to deliver any meaningful innovation and unable to respond to the rapidly evolving demand and use cases for digital assets,” said Zach Herbert, co-founder and CEO of Foundation, in a press release.
“Wallets have become the weak link in cryptocurrencies: they are difficult to join, complex to use, and increasingly insecure for a range of modern blockchain transactions,” he added.
“Passport Prime is the first of its kind, a personal security platform fit for the future decentralized economy, making it easy to protect all your private keys in one offline device, and sign every type of transaction or contract with complete peace of mind.”
Welcome third party apps
By around mid-2025, developers will be able to create third-party apps that run on KeyOS. In other words, developers will be able to list their own apps in the organization’s app catalog.
The first of these third-party apps will be produced by Cake Wallet and will enable users to make more private transactions with Bitcoin, Monero, and other cryptocurrencies.
Dynamic, yet simple and secure
The organization claims that setting up and using Passport Prime will be easy, despite its diverse functions.
Users can set up the device using Envoy, the Foundation’s native app that provides setup instructions and which connects to the device via QuantamLink Bluetooth.
QuantamLink Bluetooth technology is enabled by a custom Bluetooth chip built into the Passport Prime that can only send and receive messages already encrypted using quantum resistance technology.
Users can also back up their seeds via a 2 of 3 Shamir Secret Sharing configuration that splits the seeds into three parts – two stored on physical cards and one stored in the Envoy mobile app.
details
The device will retail for $299 and will ship by Q2 2025.
The device comes in two different colors – Arctic Copper and Midnight Bronze – and both are completely open source and manufactured in the US.
Learn more about the product here.
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