Trezor unveils Safe 5, its new hardware wallet with a Bitcoin-only variant

Share this article

Crypto hardware manufacturing company Trezor has launched a suite of new products aimed at promoting self-custody of digital assets. Unveiled onstage at BTC Prague 2024, the lineup includes the Trezor Safe 5 hardware wallet and the “Trezor Expert” onboarding service.

The Trezor Safe 5 enables users to securely store, manage, stake, and use thousands of cryptocurrencies through the Trezor Suite desktop and mobile app. The device features a larger color touchscreen with haptic feedback, a new secure compute element for protecting critical and sensitive information alongside performing cryptographic operations, and an enhanced 20-word backup process.

The Trezor Safe 5 also has a Bitcoin-only variant, but this is not immediately available for purchase. Interested users may pre-order the device from Trezor, with shipping to begin by July. The Trezor Safe 5 is priced at $169 (nice).

Trezor claims that unlike its competition, their devices are built with open-source code, enabling community-based (or even individual initiatives) audits. With open-source device resources, hotfixes for any discovered vulnerabilities are also easily implemented and distributed. Trezor Safe 5’s secure element has an EAL 6+ certification, the highest level of assurance within the Common Criteria framework for on-device security.

This certification is usually used for national defense systems, but is also applicable for high-security devices such as hardware crypto wallets.

Trezor Safe 5’s new backup process allows users to upgrade from a single-share backup to a more advanced multi-share backup using Shamir’s secret sharing. This splits the master secret key into multiple unique shares, offering improved security with no single point of failure. Trezor will also offer a 20-word version of its Trezor Keep Metal solution from July to protect wallet backup phrases from physical damage.

“Users can decide how many unique shares the advanced backup consists of and how many are needed to restore the wallet. Even if some shares are lost, users can still access their crypto,” Trezor explains.

Alongside the new hardware device, Trezor announced the launch of Trezor Expert, a personalized, one-on-one onboarding service that would provide expert knowledge and help for customers who wish to get assisted with setting up their crypto cold-storage devices. The service, priced at $99, will be available globally seven days a week and ensures that only the customer knows the wallet backup and other sensitive information.

Share this article