Topic: OpenDime or Hardware Wallet? - page 3. (Read 934 times)

I'd never heard of these before, but they look great. Are they fairly new? Really sleek design. A nice, straightforward way to make off chain transactions and to gift bitcoin to friends who don't have their own wallet yet. An open source app and a good security audit. I might pick up a few of these.

Do you own any? How does it deal with change addresses? From the website it sounds like each card only stores a single private key. Does it just return unspent coins to the same address?

For hand-to-hand transactions I would prefer Tangem card. It's cheaper and reusable.

Wow. Never thought that OpenDime would be capable of lasting a very long time. 100 years is more than enough to preserve your crypto balance for future generations to enjoy. While it's not as comparable as a hardware wallet, it makes a great little tool for sending Bitcoin to anyone just as you would with physical cash. And for the price, I'd say that it's worth every penny. The only downside is that the OpenDime works with one cryptocurrency at a time. If the company ever decides to create a new version of the OpenDime that would serve as a "multi-currency" bearer bond stick, it would be a blast. Yet, we're only limited to BTC and LTC versions of the OpenDime stick.

For large amounts of money (crypto), it's best to go for a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger Nano S to protect your investment for the long term. The OpenDime would only serve for quick transfers of crypto in small increments. Putting your entire life savings on it, would not be the wisest thing to do.



Yes. I've figured that it's impossible to back up the private key for safekeeping. Sensitive information is not released from the device unless you "break it". And doing this will expose your private key to the public. The OpenDime is very similar to a paper wallet in this regard, as once you "break the seal" you cannot reuse the device for your own benefit. But it's a great option for those looking for a safe and secure way of transferring (or even storing) Bitcoin or Litecoin offline.

I've decided to have both a hardware wallet and an OpenDime for safekeeping. For storing large amounts of crypto, a hardware wallet will suffice. But I could use an OpenDime to send money to my friends just as I would with ordinary cash. It's looks more suitable as a sort of "Bitcoin gift card" than anything else. For $15, I'd say that it's quite an affordable little device for sending Bitcoin anytime, anywhere in a completely offline manner.

Exactly
Opendimes are not much better than a mobile wallet imo.
Using a good mobile wallet you can make a lot of transactions very fast. You can use QR codes.. don't need to be carrying an extra device (like open dime) ... as neither of them are as safe as a hardware wallet, they should be used for small amounts of money only.

It is not the cheapest option to spend, though. Although you can send bitcoin to your Opendime as much as you want (because it will show you the public address when you plug it in to a computer), if you want to spend the bitcoin on it you have to break it to reveal the private key. Once you've done that, what you've essentially got is no more secure than just storing a private key on a normal USB stick i.e. not secure at all. Given that each one costs $15, you are paying $15 per transaction, and any change from your transaction would need to be sent to a new Opendime.

The physical security of the device is also massively inferior to that of a hardware wallet. A simple pin push is all that is needed to expose the private key. Anyone who steals your Opendime will be able to access the coins inside within a matter of seconds.

And as squatter says, it is impossible to back up without first breaking it to view the private key, in which case you have defeat its very purpose.

Opendimes serve a particular niche - transacting bitcoin in person without broadcasting a transaction. They are absolutely not a hardware wallet and should not be used as such.

OpenDimes and similar devices are most useful as bearer instruments -- literally passed around as cash, without transacting on the blockchain at all. If you want to transact over the blockchain, you need to break the device to sweep the private key.

So, hardware wallets serve a very different purpose. Apples and oranges.

I would also caution against using OpenDimes for large amounts or long term storage, since their design makes it impossible to securely back up the private key.

I agree this is like comparing Bitcoin to Gold or other things.
Both have different use and each of them stands out in their own features.
For OP I don't think you really need an Opendime you could easily use your hardware wallet for your transactions.

OpenDime is not a wallet, so it's a bit wrong to compare it with a hardware wallet, since they are created to solve different tasks. Opendime is more close to a paper wallet, you can store Bitcoin on it, but you can't make transactions with it, you'd need to connect it to a computer and sweep the private key. Basically, Opendime is a sophisticated USB stick. There's no reason to get Opendime if you don't plan to use its main feature - transacting Bitcoin physically by giving someone your Opendime.

Hardware wallet allows you to securely store and transact Bitcoin, which is very useful for newbies who want a quick and simple solution to managing their coins.

It depends on what you need. If you don't need hand-to-hand or offline transactions I guess hardware wallet like Ledger Nano S is fine.

https://opendime.com/faq give a good explanation of what's the product is useful for.

For the record here is OpenDime Ann thread, [ANN] OPENDIME v3 – Now *Genuine Verified* Bitcoin Credit Stick (in stock!).

Personally, I haven't used OpenDime, so I still prefer Electrum or my local exchanges (coins.ph) for day-to-day transactions, I won't use my hardware wallet for that purpose though.

Of course, there's always this sort of  malfunction" at the back of our mind, and as an electronic devices, there is the question of its life expectancy..


https://opendime.com/faq

So that's 25 to 100 years, assuming you do really protect the device and prevent it from accidental loss. i.e. plugging it to a bad USB port.

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Here is a guy who have been carrying OpenDime for over a year:


Source: https://twitter.com/piramida/status/1226068815533891584

There's this thing called the "OpenDime" which claims to be some sort of "Bitcoin Credit Stick". You can carry it around anywhere, pass it along to your friends, without compromising the integrity of the funds contained herein. You'd know that an "OpenDime" wallet's funds have been redeemed if its tamper-evident seal (in this case by unsealing the device with a Push Pin) is broken. They also have a Litecoin version at an affordable price than a regular hardware wallet like the Trezor or the Ledger Nano S.

I'd like to know which is better to use (OpenDime or hardware wallet) for day-to-day transactions? I've been using a hardware wallet for a long time now, but the "OpenDime" seems to be quite an attractive option for storing Bitcoin safely without breaking the bank. Of course, hardware wallets like the CoolWallet S or the Ledger Nano S provide a wide-variety of cryptocurrencies to choose from (unlike the "OpenDime" which is purposed for one coin at a time). But if it proves to be a great alternative to hardware wallets, I'd think most crypto users would go this route since it's the cheapest option to store (and spend) crypto anytime, anywhere.

What are your thoughts? Is this worth it? Or am I better off using a hardware wallet?