Offline Crypto Key Signing via Optical Cold Wallet Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cold storage solutions for blockchain assets are difficult to implement and require significant effort, while hot wallets are vulnerable to hacking and theft due to internet connectivity, posing security risks.
Innovation Solution
A cold storage apparatus with a computing module, input/output devices, and a camera generates cryptographic keypairs, displays public keys, and verifies messages using biometric authentication, creating machine-readable optical codes for secure transactions without internet connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cold storage is used to store private keys offline, then security is greatly enhanced, but implementation difficulty increases and user effort is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hot wallet application as an intermediary that handles all user interactions and transactions, while the cold storage device remains offline. The hot wallet serves as a mediator between the user and the cold storage system, eliminating the need for users to directly interact with or understand cold storage operations. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining high security through cold storage while preserving ease of use through the hot wallet interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into two distinct components: a hot wallet application running on internet-connected devices for user interaction, and a cold storage device kept offline for secure key management. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its function - the hot wallet handles convenience and the cold storage handles security - resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and security.
2Ease of operation
If hot wallets are used for convenience, then ease of use is improved, but security is compromised due to internet connectivity
Solution Approach 1:
The cold storage device acts as an intermediary that signs transactions offline before they are submitted to the blockchain. This intermediary role allows the system to maintain internet connectivity for user convenience while ensuring that private keys never expose themselves to online threats, thus resolving the security-convenience contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the transaction data that is signed offline, rather than requiring the private key to be present online. The hot wallet creates a copy of the transaction, sends it to the cold storage device for signing, and then submits it to the blockchain. This copying approach allows convenience operations online while maintaining security through offline signing.
Data Source
AI summary
A cryptographic cold storage apparatus and system. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a cold storage apparatus configured to generate a private key, compute an associated PK/PKY and display the latter on a visual display screen. An associated interface apparatus is configured to retrieve the PK/PKH optically and store it in memory. The interface apparatus is configured to produce an associated message and render it at a visual display. The cold storage apparatus may retrieve the message optically, and cryptographically sign the message utilizing one or more public key cryptography methods. The cold storage apparatus produces a graphical output comprising the signed message and renders it at the visual display. The interface apparatus retrieves the signed message and verifies that the cold storage apparatus signed the message, utilizing the public key cryptography methods.