Charles Hoskinson, the CEO of IOHK, has demonstrated a new crypto gadget on Twitter. In a video, he taps a small card against his smartphone, which opens a Cardano wallet. He doesn’t explain exactly what the card is for, but the implication is that it is a payment tool:
Aaah Yeah pic.twitter.com/zMXX0i9mkw
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) March 9, 2019
This has left some users very frustrated. In response, Hoskinson has chided them for lacking a “sense of imagination and discovery.” One commenter has suggested that more will be revealed during the IOHK Summit in April—although that would be a long wait for a simple answer.
What Is It?
Some community members have already figured out what the card is. As suggested by the minuscule logo in the video, the card was created by Tangem, a Swiss company that makes cryptocurrency “banknotes” that can be scanned with a smartphone. These are being rolled out over the course of this year.
Tangem explains that its banknotes act as a store of cryptocurrency. The notes are inexpensive to manufacture and can be physically exchanged as a method of payment, just like real bills. The holder can scan the banknote, extract its value, and deposit it to their mobile wallet.
This is all made possible by NFC chips, which emit a signal that can be picked up by most modern smartphones. These chips are already being widely used in the crypto and blockchain industry. VeChain, for example, uses NFC chips for product authentication rather than for crypto transfers.
The Cardano Version
It seems that Cardano’s cards may differ slightly from Tangem’s banknotes. Toshitimes notes that Hoskinson previously discussed the cards last November. During an AMA session, he explained that there are two cards that act in tandem: one for spending cryptocurrency, and one for recovering funds.
This approach would make it safe to lose the spending card, as one could simply use the recovery card to retrieve one’s funds and move them elsewhere—a PIN will also be introduced for extra security. By contrast, Tangem’s banknotes can be used by anyone who has physical access.
Of course, either company’s plans may have changed in the meantime. In any case, this is a product with real user appeal—something that Cardano often neglects. Despite its technical prowess and prominent market position, Cardano rarely shows off, and products like this could change that for the better.
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