Cryptocurrency IOTA announced compatibility with popular hardware wallet Ledger today. IOTA coin holders will be able to store their coins (MIOTA) on the ledger Nano S device.
Details
According to a release on IOTA’s blog, “[t]he Ledger hardware wallets integrate with the IOTA Trinity and Romeo Wallets and isolate user’s seeds (the key for their account) from their computer or smartphone, providing another layer of security from hackers”.
Ledger CEO Eric Larchevêque explained in IOTA’s blog release, that “[p]roviding the highest level of security and quality is a major focus at both Ledger and IOTA,” said Eric, CEO at Ledger”.
IOTA aims for scalability and free transactions, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) application. MIOTA is also a top twenty cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, via coinmarketcap.com.
Back in July, readers will remember seeing IOTA partner with Fujitsu, “a Tokyo-based multinational IT equipment company”, as reported by CCN. IOTA also made notable headlines with its Bitfinex listing in June.
IOTA Token has Record Breaking Launch on Bitfinex, Hits $1.5 Billion Market Cap https://t.co/KJEE4nPbv5 pic.twitter.com/lcpSFTsX4c
— CCN (@CryptoCoinsNews) June 13, 2017
IOTA Tech
IOTA runs on a technology called “Tangle”, which is different from blockchain. IOTA explains the technology behind the Tangle in a separate blog post. The Tangle is based on several different squares, linked by specified arrows, forming a “directed graph”.
IOTA Difficulties
IOTA has received significant criticism in past months, due to its network seeing downtime (times of non-function) last November. “That this has never happened in Bitcoin or Ethereum suggests the extent to which the IOTA network relies on the “coordinator”—a single point of failure—and is not truly decentralized”, explained a post from MIT Media Lab.
In July of this year, the IOTA network also saw a bug, resulting in reports of further network difficulties, according to an article from Trustnodes.com.
Ledger Wallet
IOTA holders have been anxiously waiting months for Ledger wallet compatibility, as seen on a Reddit discussion back in May.
Hardware wallets allow cryptocurrency holders to store their assets offline (via private key offline storage). Funds held online and on exchanges can be at greater risk. CCN recently reported on the hacking of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange MapleChange, leading to stolen customer funds.
According to the Ledger website – “Ledger hardware wallets are powered by BOLOS ™, a unique, proprietary operating system developed by Ledger. BOLOS creates an individual shield around each app on your device, ensuring they do not access your sensitive information”.
Featured image from Ledger.
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