Smart piggy bank concept brings the Bitcoin feeling to physical coins

Posted on 08/02/2024 by JC Torres

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and its cousins were supposed to revolutionize the way the world sees and uses money, but it will take more than just a few revolutionary ideas to change a system that has been in place for centuries, even millennia. That said, the craze did reveal a few advantageous features, particularly the handling of money through digital wallets. Of course, the latter only makes sense for the money you’ve already “digitized” through banks, digital or otherwise, not so much for the money you still have at hand. That’s especially true for coins that are often chucked into containers, presuming they don’t get lost, and are almost forgotten. This concept design for a “smart piggy bank”, however, gives importance to every dime and penny, allowing you to really see where your money is going, even if still exists in physical form.

Designer: Guilherme Ferreira, Pietro Vitelo, Gustavo Billo (Breathe Design & Strategy)

Digital wallets that let you monitor the flow of your money have been around for a long time now, but it wasn’t until the cryptocurrency craze became mainstream that people started to realize the benefits that such a system has to offer. In particular, it gave people more direct control over the money they have in their accounts, especially when it comes to monitoring how much goes in and out of their savings. Real physical coins, however, aren’t as easy to handle and they often get dropped anywhere and lost, money that could have added up to big savings over time.

Smart Piggy is a concept that upgrades the iconic pink piggy bank into something fit for the 21st century. In a nutshell, sensors on the slot at the top of the pig-shaped device detect when a coin is inserted and pass this information to a connected smartphone. The mobile app, which is actually the center of the whole experience, is where users get to monitor the comings and goings of their savings, particularly those from the Smart Piggy. It’s a simple feature that has a significant impact on user behavior, encouraging people to actually pay attention to where those coins go.

The concept does leave a few details open to interpretation, like how the system will be able to identify different coin denominations. It also doesn’t mention anything about taking out coins from the piggy bank, so presumably, the coin detection and monitoring is a one-way street. Still, it touches on the possibility of an implementation that can take into account both cash flows, so to speak, giving people not only the tools they need to keep track of those coins but also the motivation to actually pay attention to where they go.

The post Smart piggy bank concept brings the Bitcoin feeling to physical coins first appeared on Yanko Design.

Crypto Wallet fob concept gives digital currency a physical form

Posted on 12/03/2022 by JC Torres

Bitcoins, dogecoins, and NFTs all live exclusively in the digital realm, but designers are now pushing back to make these virtual entities more tangible and, ultimately, more humane.

We live in a world that’s increasingly becoming more reliant on digital objects. A lot of work files today are digital, and much of our entertainment and communication happens over digital lines. Although it merges with the physical realm, the Metaverse aims to make our world half digital as well. Humans, however, are not just their eyes or ears. They have even more senses that get neglected, like smell and, most importantly, touch. It’s for that reason that designers are coming up with ideas to pull these digital artifacts into the real world, including the most perplexing one of them all: cryptocurrencies.

Designers: Giorgio Mastropasqua, Ivan Vecchia

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum aren’t going to replace conventional money anytime soon, and not just because they’re still too young. They are often considered to be distinct from traditional currencies, running in their own decentralized world. More importantly, the concepts and processes behind this kind of digital currency are so alien to most people that they approach it with fear, uncertainty, doubt, and even ridicule.

Even with many transactions and purchases happening online, people still find some comfort knowing that their money has some physical representation somewhere. They also take comfort in having a physical wallet to keep their money in, and wallets have become one of the most popular expressions of product design across all ages and genders. That’s the kind of comfort and familiarity that this Auroom Crypto Wallet tries to bring for digital currency owners.

The Crypto Wallet admittedly doesn’t look like a conventional wallet or plastic card, and it really doesn’t need to since it’s not storing conventional money. That frees it to take any form that is appropriate to the digital currency or brand. In this case, the designers opted to let it resemble the iconography of the fictional Auroom logo while still leaving some room for color options.

The most eye-catching part of this “wallet” is the screen that not only informs the owner about the state of a transaction but also authorizes it. A fingerprint scanner is presumably hidden beneath, just like on some smartphones today, to authenticate the owner before a transaction is completed. Given how cryptocurrencies depend heavily on security-related technologies, such a feature would be a necessity for any crypto wallet.

The one drawback with such a brand-specific wallet is that it might not be compatible with other cryptocurrencies or brands. That would mean you’d have to carry different fobs and keys with you, almost like carrying different cards that take up more space. Then again, cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy, even after so many years, so there’s no telling yet if there will be a unified system or wallet for all of them in the future.

The post Crypto Wallet fob concept gives digital currency a physical form first appeared on Yanko Design.

The CORAZON is a high-end titanium crypto wallet that securely stores all your Dogecoin

Posted on 29/04/2021 by Sarang Sheth

Partnering with Trezor over the technology, luxury brand GRAY has recently unveiled the CORAZON, a hardware crypto wallet made from robust materials while boasting of an incredibly secure internal software that lets you store your cryptocoins offline in a practically impervious digital vault.

Named after the Spanish word for the heart, CORAZON comes almost in an abstract heart-shaped design machined from aerospace-grade 6Al4V titanium. The strategic partnership between GRAY and Trezor has allowed the product to rely on the expertise and experience of both companies. The wallet’s secure software is based on the Trezor Core Firmware of the Trezor Model T, while its components sit perfectly within a tamper-resistant outer-casing manufactured by GRAY.

The CORAZON puts the digital equivalent of Fort Knox in the palm of your hand. The CORAZON is your wallet, your security keychain, and your digital safe, with support for over a 1000 cryptocurrencies. Moreover, it also serves as a password manager for your digital accounts, and a U2F hardware token to aid in authentication requests, fulfilling the role of a hardware wallet as well as a hardware key for your digital accounts. A USB-C port on the wallet’s base allows you to connect it to a computer to have it serve as a hardware authenticator. The same USB-C port even lets you charge your CORAZON.

While being secure, Trezor’s technology is open-source and gets frequently audited by security researchers. According to CORAZON’s website, “Anybody can verify its integrity, look for vulnerabilities and suggest improvements.”

The hardware comes hermetically sealed within two robust CNC-machined titanium halves. The two halves of the wallet are first closed with a screw, before a resin is used to seal the joint. The resin is hardened with UV light, creating a device that can no longer be opened without compromising its physical integrity. The high-end materials and secure backend mean CORAZON comes with a pretty heavy price tag. The Titanium variant retails for $999, while a slightly cheaper Aluminum version of the same device costs $599. The CORAZON definitely isn’t for everyone. Although if you’re Elon Musk or one of those recent Dogecoin millionaires, you could easily grab yourself one of these without breaking a sweat.

Designers: GRAY and Trezor

Layer’s new wearable crypto-wallet is a CMF paradise!

Posted on 06/06/2018 by Sarang Sheth

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Aside from being a state-of-the-art piece of tech that houses your crypto-coins in an un-hackable offline device, the Trove is just refreshingly different to look at. Shaped literally like a coin, the Trove is simply secure, and its designers call it unhackable and unloseable.

Keeping your crypto-coins offline, the Coin is a physical representation of a cryptocoin, and something that you can wear on your person as a necklace or a wristband. Aside from safely storing your cryptocoins offline, it comes with a state-of-the-art ECG sensor to even take the worry of remembering passwords. Simply press your skin against the Coin and it reads your unique bio-rhythm (the rhythm at which your heart beats) to identify you from the others, eliminating the need to remember complex passwords for your crypto-wallet. With a slim Kvadrat wristband and neckband, you can wear the Coin on your person, carrying it around with you, and pairing it with your phone to use the cryptocurrency within.

Aside from the remarkable technology behind the workings of the coin, it’s more of the aesthetic that we’re wowed by. Benjamin Hubert pushed for a finish that’s virtually unseen with the “Aerated Aluminum” construction of the coin. Looking like a pristine, polished piece of pumice rock, the Coin is simply wonderful to look at and has a tactile quality that’s unmatched. It looks wonderfully ornamental on one’s person, and pairs brilliantly with the Keep, a charging platform made for the Coin. The Keep is actually made from pumice, a volcanic rock that’s known for its bubbly, aerated physical appearance. Place the Coin on the Keep and it inductively charges the wearable, while the two of them look just beautifully complementary with their perforated aesthetic. The keep even comes with a tinted acrylic case to ‘preserve’ the Coin, making it look almost like a relic.

The Trove aims at making cryptocurrency storage more secure, while effectively introducing another category to the wearable market. It also showcases a new type of aluminum production, aerated aluminum, that not only looks incredibly natural and unique but also results in lighter products that use less material too. I can’t wait to see this being used more!

Designer: Benjamin Hubert/Layer

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