With new developments in the world of crypto eagerly watched by CFD traders who favor forex transactions based on digital currencies, the news that blockchain tech company Blockstream has launched a new wallet will be of interest. Known as ‘Blockstream Green’, the new crypto wallet is available for download for use on both iOS and Android platforms and devices. It features 2-of-2 multisig security alongside two-factor authentication and a range of other features, including hardware wallet support.
Blockstream has already built up quite a reputation in the sector as the company has released the Greenbits and GreenAddress wallets, but both of these will now be withdrawn so that the consolidation of Blockstream Green will have a wider impact. Blockstream is also known for its Bitcoin satellites which target the way in which blockchains are dependent on the internet.
Crypto wallets
Just as physical money is often kept in a wallet, cryptocurrencies use so-called wallets for safety and security too. Cryptocurrency wallets come in several forms, as a physical device, a program or a service. All perform the same tasks of storing public and private keys and can track ownership of coins. They are also used to carry out transactions such as spending or receiving coins. Of course, a cryptocurrency itself is never actually in a wallet, as most are stored decentrally and maintained via blockchain based public ledgers.
Functions
A cryptocurrency wallet is really more comparable to a bank account than a traditional physical wallet. On its most basic level, a crypto wallet will contain a pair of public and private cryptographic keys. The public one allows other wallets to make payments to the wallet’s address, while the private key allows cryptocurrency to be spent from that address. Whether a wallet is hardware-based or uses a digital app, the functions remain the same. If the private key is stored remotely, transactions are then run through a third party for authorization.
Wallet security
In Blockstream’s new wallet, the use of 2-of-2 multisig security means that there are two private keys, one which is held on the device and another which is stored on Blockstream’s servers. This is a double-bind safety feature which means that in the event of the loss or theft of the user’s device, funds are still secure.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a method that is becoming fairly common across many different platforms and UIs and is the system whereby an identity is confirmed by a combination of two different methods. At its basic level, this could mean a traditional password alongside some randomly chosen digits from another identifying string, but essentially it can include any piece of data that is known, owned or previously agreed upon between the parties. Blockstream Green’s app features a choice of parameters for the 2FA process including Google Authenticator, email, a phone call or SMS text message.
Blockstream Green features
The Android version of Blockstream Green offers support for integrating with hardware wallets such as Trezor One and Ledger Nano S. This will appeal to fans of these as the security features of both the physical device and Blockstream’s offering can be used together for even greater effect.
Language support includes Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Russian, Ukrainian, Korean and of course English, as well as other major European tongues such as French, German, Italian and Spanish. Even more will be added soon. Android users can connect to Green using the free open-source software Tor which is famous for its anonymous communication functionalities. A further feature is fee control, which is a two-factor threshold allowing transaction limits to be set, up to which 2FA is not activated.
Future developments
Blockstream’s plans for its wallet go much further. Hardware wallet support is expected to be added to the iOS version soon, and the ability to add multiple partitioned accounts for use in the same wallet is also in the pipeline. Future support for other operating systems including Mac, Linux and Windows is also promised by the company.
Blockstream’s previous wallets had achieved in excess of 50,000 downloads on Android and now that Blockstream Green is available on Google Play Store and the iOS App Store, the uptake is expected to be significant. However, one of the complaints from the crypto community so far is that the new wallet doesn’t have a singlesig option, but a spokesperson from Blockstream wrote that plans for this to be included were on the table, although there was no elaboration as to when it might be implemented.
Forex matters
For CFD crypto traders in both the currencies themselves and as matched pairs on forex markets, this is another indication of the rise in use of digital coins that reflects both the health of the sector and the increasing pace of wider acceptance and use. Transaction volumes are a big factor in making CFD trading opportunities more readily available, so a new initiative of this size from an important crypto player such as Blockstream is big news.