Quote from: Lucius on May 15, 2022, 10:47:29 AM

Quote from: n0nce on May 14, 2022, 01:04:41 PM

I recently thought about this and maybe it helps people think of hardware wallets a bit differently: think of the device mostly as a signer. Don't rely on it not breaking, not getting lost or not ceasing to turn on, to be able to access your coins; instead, rely on your seed backup(s) and use the device as a convenient way to utilize said seed in everyday scenarios.

The problem that a lot of people have when it comes to hardware wallets is that they think that the device actually has something like Bitcoin in itself - and they don't realize that a 24-word backup is something far more vulnerable and important than the device itself. In addition, $50 or $100 for such a device is considered too high by most and they think that such a device should last a lifetime - and on the other hand, they buy expensive smartphones and gaming consoles every 2-3 years and do not complain to anyone.

Indeed; the hardware wallet is basically just a convenient way to access and use your seed.
With the cost, I do get that they can be pricey, especially if you don't live in a first-world country; however, in people don't realize how much money they lose to inflation and through buying useless throwaway devices all the time. Or think about laptop / phone storage upgrades; people pay hundreds for those even though they could get away with putting in some time and deleting loads of old data and media they don't need anymore.
Personally, I think even $200 is worth it for a device that can help you securely store and use money amounts larger than its cost by multiple orders of magnitude. But I digress!

Quote from: dkbit98 on Today at 01:56:24 PM

Quote from: n0nce on May 14, 2022, 01:04:41 PM

I recently thought about this and maybe it helps people think of hardware wallets a bit differently: think of the device mostly as a signer. Don't rely on it not breaking, not getting lost or not ceasing to turn on, to be able to access your coins; instead, rely on your seed backup(s) and use the device as a convenient way to utilize said seed in everyday scenarios.

I started to do something similar, and I will keep repeating that seed backup is much more important than device you use.
Signing devices is much better term than hardware wallets, but I think it will be very hard to change that for masses now

Interesting; I first heard the term from the SeedSigner guy on Twitter, but it applies more to his product than to the 'real hardware wallets' that actually store the seed internally. I don't know who came up with this distinction (or if it's just my own definition) but just wanted to bring this up, because HW wallets don't just sign. But they shouldn't be the main means of seed storage either; it's just a feature that makes them more convenient to use (instead of typing in 24 words every time you power them up).