Bitcoin hardware wishlist
1339 sats \ 20 comments \ @davidw 3 Oct 2023 bitcoin
At this point, it feels like our software needs in Bitcoin are going to be met. If not now, at least within the next few years. Open source is booming.
If you could wave a magic wand and request a single specific piece of hardware or a physical product from bitcoiners, what would it be?
A few categories to get you guys & gals thinking out of the box (and beyond just the usual memorabilia):
  • Health & Fitness
  • Energy & HVAC
  • Networking & Internet
  • Wearables & Fashion
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Education
  • Computing
(I’m sure there’s a bunch of products aligned with Bitcoin values that need not directly add to the utility. This may also be an opportunity for us to provide feedback on solutions that some of us did not know already exist)
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328 sats \ 5 replies \ @orthwyrm 3 Oct 2023
An idea for every category you listed...
Health & Fitness
  • Something like a Fitbit where you earn one sat for every step you take.
Energy & HVAC
  • Central heating systems powered by ASICs. I know some people do this already but would like to see it at scale with noise cancellation.
Networking & Internet
  • A phone that doubles as a hardware wallet with in-built secure element. Also uses this to sign Nostr and email messages.
Wearables & Fashion
  • Micro hardware wallets that look like inconspicuous objects you can take across borders without drawing attention. Embedded into a necklace, say.
Food & Nutrition
  • There's gotta be a market for cooking food with ASIC heat. Imagine being paid to grill steak.
Education
  • "Bitcoin For Boomers" education package so they ape in their retirement funds and pump my bags.
Computing
  • Running a full node on a phone would be pretty cool.
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521 sats \ 1 reply \ @Athena_Alpha 4 Oct 2023
Central heating systems powered by ASICs
Check out CryptoCloaks S9 Space Heater case and free design guide. Looks FIRE and runs over WiFi at like 45dB so basically makes no noise
phone that doubles as a hardware wallet with in-built secure element
Most high end phones already have some form of SE, eg the Pixels have their own "Titan M2 security chip". There's also other phones that have crypto wallets built in, they're trash. Also the entire point of a HWW is to be physically separate from your malware infested phone / computer. Trust us, the way it's done now is best :)
Micro hardware wallets that look like inconspicuous objects you can take across borders without drawing attention
To be a proper HWW it needs to have a screen, so that kind of limits their size / design. OTOH, seed words can be engraved into any object / thing so this essentially already exists. You can further protect them with a Passphrase which can be anything (rather than the obvious 12/24 words) so it wouldn't draw any attention. BitBox02 is a great HWW that's low key and looks like a media card reader / USB stick. Foundation Passport also looks like an old school Nokia phone. Last one is the SeedSigner which can be 3D printed to look like anything you want, best one we've seen is the one that looks like a game controller lol
cooking food with ASIC heat
If your ASIC is getting THIS hot... you've got some serious problems lol
Bitcoin For Boomers
Unfortunately many Boomers hold the majority of their wealth in the house they live in... so to ape in they'd have to become homeless or substantially down grade which is unlikely
Running a full node on a phone would be pretty cool.
Indeed
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @orthwyrm 4 Oct 2023
Thanks for the comprehensive reply. To be honest I spat out that list of half-baked ideas during a boring meeting I was stuck in, so didn't give it too much thought...!
On this,
Last one is the SeedSigner which can be 3D printed to look like anything you want, best one we've seen is the one that looks like a game controller lol
3D printed cases make a lot of sense to me. The advantage I suppose is that you can oversaturate the market with many different designs to the point where it would never be obvious to an attacker what is inside the case.
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50 sats \ 2 replies \ @scottathan 3 Oct 2023
I like the phone with a secure element idea, and the one about hardware wallets that look like normal objects. Of course, if you are trying to disguise your keys as an every day object then you can just store slips of paper with seed words on them inside the object or something like that, hidden compartment style
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @orthwyrm 3 Oct 2023
Agreed that it's easy to conceal / memorise the seed. But the nice thing about the HWW is that a) it's also a signing device, b) seed isn't accessable to attackers without the PIN and c) easy to destroy as attackers can be thwarted with a "brick me" PIN.
HWWs are great, I just wish the market offered more discrete designs. The Bitbox is alright as it kinda looks like a USB stick, but the others have their brand / logo stamped all over them.
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50 sats \ 0 replies \ @scottathan 3 Oct 2023
Fair. Coldcard, especially their more recent version, looks a lot more like a calculator or something, although anyone who knows what a Coldcard looks like would instantly recognise it as one
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254 sats \ 3 replies \ @nullcount 3 Oct 2023
More tech that closes the gap between energy and sats.
Examples:
power meter that displays "sats spent" in addition to kWh. Either using USD exchange rate and cost/kwh or tied to hashprice somehow.
EV chargers or public outlets at cafe require paying invoices to use
USB-C cables already have chips in them that negotiate voltage demands from the PSU. Would be cool if power plugs could "negotiate" an electricity rate with a smart outlet and automatically stream sats while in use.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Athena_Alpha 4 Oct 2023
Check out Satimoto for EV charging paid via sats (it's pretty awesome and real already)
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @DeltaClimbs 3 Oct 2023
This is an extremely stupid idea based on a nonsensical premise 🤦‍♂️
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullcount 3 Oct 2023
Lots of people are interested in tracking and billing electricity use. Think landlords, RV camping lots, motel rooms, etc.
All it takes is a couple tenants plugging in an ASIC on "free power" to make the landlord start billing for usage.
It doesn't require sats to do this, but for machine-to-machine settlement, sats can't be beat.
Value for value. In the current model, the customers that use little to no electricity are paying for the "free electricity" used by those who exploit it or use it heavily.
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40 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 3 Oct 2023
A phone is the obvious target. Then a car. Maybe homes.
Really, I'd prefer to buy just about anything from someone who is building for the long term.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @fred 4 Oct 2023
Learn to earn platforms can be use to boost Bitcoin education
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @joyepzion 4 Oct 2023
Move to earn features in smart watches
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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @DeltaClimbs 3 Oct 2023
Why should I care that a bitcoiner produce the products/hardware I want as opposed to anyone else???
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @davidw OP 3 Oct 2023
Not everyone will or should. Many buyers are just scrimping by looking to pay the least. Perhaps you’re one of them.
But all else being equal, there are plenty of people who may prefer buying from people in a community they feel aligns with them. Especially when the workmanship & quality is there. A butcher is a perfect example. Bitcoiners are very much the same.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @DeltaClimbs 3 Oct 2023
I'm not looking to pay the least, I'm looking for good value. Usually bitcoiner products are actually a poor value with price inflated due to being bitcoiner made, rather than being a good value due to bitcoiner thoughtfulness.
Anyway, I have a list of certain online bitcoiner businesses here: https://circularbtc.xyz
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @davidw OP 4 Oct 2023
I did not expect that answer from you. I’m glad you clarified and shared a useful resource
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DeltaClimbs 3 Oct 2023
No, needs are not met, and you don't even understand the basics of money. 4 functions, not 3
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ladyluck 3 Oct 2023
Running your mining from your car
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Zepasta 3 Oct 2023
A afordable & profitable ASIC Miner for regular people.
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