S8 E12: Lixin Liu on the KeyStone Hardware Wallet

It was only 5 episodes ago that Lixin Liu had joined the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast to talk about the Cobo Vault. But a simple twist of fate led to the creation of the KeyStone hardware wallet, the technical and spiritual successor of Cobo. Since some of the same people who built the Cobo are now working on the KeyStone, you can rightfully call it a rebrand. However, the situation is a little more complex.

When Lixin Liu was told that his refinements for the Cobo Vault (which he described in S8 E7) were no longer on the company’s liste of priorities, he didn’t have the patience to wait for a more favorable managerial policy. So instead of hoping for a more favorable budget allocation during the next quarter, Lixin Liu bought the rights to manufacture the Cobo Vault and rebranded it as KeyStone.

Also, the most significant hardware improvements that were planned for the second generation of the Cobo Vault have been added to the KeyStone wallet: including the repositioning of the SD card slot and some battery fixes. Software improvements are also on the roadmap, as KeyStone’s compatibility with mobile and desktop wallets gets extended to fit the needs of an increasing number of users.

Throughout this interview, Lixin Liu expresses his desires and expectations for the KeyStone project – of which he is now CEO. He talks about wanting to become as open source as the SeedSigner in the long term, incentivizing Cobo Vault users to switch to the KeyStone with a 50% discount on the first purchase, and the hardware and software compatibility between the devices.

Essentially, he answers to all the questions concerning the transition and advocates for a complete switch to the KeyStone for the sake of receiving continued support and future software updates. And while the KeyStone is essentially a rebranded and revised Cobo Vault, it has lots of upcoming features that make the upgrade worthwhile. To find out more and receive answers to all of your potential questions, listen to the exclusive recording.

Listen to Lixin Liu on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

If you enjoy this season finale with Lixin Liu (which also happens to be the first time when the same person gets invited twice on the same season), don’t forget to leave feedback and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Only a minute of your time is going to help others discover the episode more easily and get the useful information.

Also, note that this episode was first aired on the Bitcoin Takeover Radio broadcast as an exclusive. To hear episodes a few days ahead of everyone else, keep an eye and lend an ear to the weekly playlist.

If you haven’t signed up for any of these streaming services, feel free to use the free web player. Not only that you get better privacy and no corporation will collect data about your behavior, but you can also use the Tor browser for better anonymity. This is definitely the cypherpunk way of enjoying every episode of the Bitcoin Takeover podcast. Furthermore, you get a free download button that you can use for offline listening – so if you want to enjoy the content during a bike ride or a workout on a device that is not connected to the internet (such as your old iPod Nano or a Microsoft Zune), you can absolutely do that.

Your privacy is more important than the accuracy of my data on listeners’ statistics. So even if you find yourself living in an authoritarian country which bans Bitcoin, you can still use these educational resources to teach yourself and others.

This Episode is Sponsored by Vaultoro and Wasabi Wallet!

Want to learn more about the values of the two companies? I have recorded episodes with both Joshua Scigala (Vaultoro CEO) and Nopara73 (Wasabi Wallet creator).

If you would like to support the show and you’re into trading hard money like bitcoin, gold, and silver, then sign up to Vaultoro using my referral link. Vaultoro will help you forget about shitcoins and focus on sound money. They also allow you topick up your gold bars or have them shipped to your address, so you don’t have to trust any custodian with your money. Keep in mind that you are responsible for your own decisions and I am not providing you financial advice.

And if you would like to increase your network and transaction privacy, you should download Wasabi Wallet on your computer. It routes your connection through the Tor network to hide your IP, it downloads block filters so you validate your own transactions locally without appealing to a trusted third party, and it also connects to your own full node to boost your financial sovereignty. Wasabi is best known for its link-breaking CoinJoins, which are giving a hard time even to the EuroPol. Use the wallet to increase your financial sovereignty, but don’t do any illegal stuff – use your financial sovereignty with responsibility (also read the Wasabi terms of service).