The crypto startup Keyp, which was developing a Game Boy cartridge that could store cryptocurrencies offline, has announced that it is pausing the project due to unfavorable market conditions. The team behind the Game Wallet said that they are pivoting to a new venture that will focus on stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi).
The Game Wallet was a novel idea that aimed to combine nostalgia and innovation. It was a custom-made Game Boy game cartridge that used gamification to generate users’ seed phrases through random quests and interactions with non-playable characters (NPCs). The Game Wallet was compatible with any cryptocurrency that used BIP-32 seed phrases, which meant it could store coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum at launch. The software was also open source and available for anyone to create their own implementation.
The Game Wallet was designed to be a truly offline storage option that promised no firmware updates, unlike some other hardware wallets that required online connectivity. The team behind the Game Wallet said that they were inspired by the recent controversy surrounding Ledger’s new “recovery” service, which raised concerns about the security and privacy of users’ funds.
The Game Wallet was not the first attempt to use a Game Boy for cryptocurrency purposes. In 2021, a pseudonymous IT security researcher demonstrated how to mine Bitcoin using a modified Game Boy console. However, the Game Wallet was the first project that aimed to turn a Game Boy into a fully functional crypto hardware wallet.
Keyp: A New Direction for the Team
Keyp is a crypto startup that was founded by Joseph Schiarizzi and Sascha Mombartz, who have backgrounds in web development and design. The company’s mission is to make Web3 accessible and safe for everyone with tools like social logins and extra security layers for wallets. The Game Wallet was one of their fun projects that they hoped would appeal to both gamers and crypto enthusiasts.
However, in a blog post published on November 23, 2023, the team announced that they are putting the Game Wallet project on hold due to the current market conditions. They said that they faced several challenges, such as supply chain issues, regulatory uncertainty, and low demand for the product. They also said that they realized that the Game Wallet was not aligned with their core vision and values, and that they wanted to focus on more impactful and scalable solutions.
The team revealed that they are pivoting to a new venture that will concentrate on stablecoins and DeFi. They said that they believe that stablecoins are the future of money, and that they want to create a platform that will enable anyone to create, use, and exchange stablecoins with ease and security. They also said that they want to leverage the power of DeFi to provide users with access to various financial services, such as lending, borrowing, saving, and investing.
The team said that they are grateful for the support and feedback they received from the Game Wallet community, and that they will keep them updated on their new project. They also said that they will honor their pre-orders and refunds for the Game Wallet, and that they will release the final version of the software and hardware schematics for anyone who wants to build their own Game Wallet.
