In 2017, ShapeShift announced its acquisition of the trusted cold wallet KeepKey. By pairing the KeepKey hardware wallet with ShapeShift, users have long been able to safely store their coins on a secure physical device while trading assets directly through ShapeShift. Since decentralizing into a DAO, ShapeShift spun KeepKey back into its own entity and has continued to work hand-in-hand with them.

Security has always been of critical importance when interfacing with assets on ShapeShift, and one of our priorities continues to be making our open source web platform experience as safe and frictionless for users as possible. Today, ShapeShift offers KeepKey users a tight integration with our new web platform and enhanced features and capabilities that enable the ShapeShift DAO to provide greater user support, ease of use, and security. 

What Does a KeepKey Wallet Do?

The KeepKey is a physical hardware device that helps protect users' funds from hackers and thieves. It uses wallet software located on the user's computer. The device takes over the management of private key generation and storage along with the signing of transactions. The hardware has a built-in random number generator for private keys, which works in combination with the "randomness" provided by the user's computer. After the private key is generated by KeepKey, the user is given the choice of a 12, 18, or 24 -word recovery phrase, which can be used to recover the device without compromising its private keys.

Users can hold their tokens on the KeepKey hardware device and manage their private keys offline. Security is of critical importance when it comes to holding and trading digital assets. One of ShapeShift’s priorities has always been to make decentralized finance as safe and easy for users as possible, and our continued integration and support with KeepKey enables us to provide an unmatched customer experience. This continued support reflects both KeepKey and ShapeShift DAO’s commitment to security and privacy. ShapeShift does not collect any personal information on its users一ever. Users maintain control of their keys and their crypto,  at all times.

What’s New?

With this new update, ShapeShift v2 users now have a myriad of new features to improve KeepKey usability on the platform. The new KeepKey interface will allow users to:

  • Wipe their KeepKey
  • Have more flexible options with device timeout
  • Update their PIN and manage PIN caching settings
  • Create custom labels for their wallets
  • Enable and disable passphrase security

These new features continue to reinforce KeepKey as the go-to hardware wallet to use on ShapeShift’s open-source web platform to provide users with the highest level of usability and security. ShapeShift and KeepKey have long been partners, offering users security, convenience, and access to the expansive world of DeFi; and we are working to make the partnership even better for our loyal users.

ShapeShift and KeepKey: A Legacy for Self-Sovereign Finance

The industry is building a new model for today’s finance: borderless, decentralized, and built on open-source protocols. With KeepKey, your private keys are secured on hardware, and you have everything you need to experience this new crypto platform. It’s our way of pushing the state of the art in crypto UX forward while staying true to the self-sovereign, non-custodial model we have always pursued.

Thank you for pioneering the new world of crypto finance with us.

Learn More:

https://shapeshift.com/

https://app.shapeshift.com

‍https://medium.com/@ShapeShift.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/shapeshiftio/

https://forum.shapeshift.com/

https://discord.gg/shapeshift