Cypherock X1 Review: A Crypto Hardware Wallet With a Slick Card-Based Security Model

The Cypherock X1 is one thing of a newcomer within the crypto {hardware} pockets area, with an open beta in 2022 forward of its full launch in 2023.

With an uncommon joystick-based management setup, and guarantees of super-secure self-custody due to its NFC primarily based playing cards and shard-based safety mannequin, the X1 has lots to stay as much as because it tries to muscle in on a market dominated by wallets just like the Ledger Nano X and the Trezor Secure 5. On this evaluate, we’ll discover out whether or not it could do precisely that.

What’s the Cypherock X1?

The Cypherock X1 is a cryptocurrency pockets that’s designed with safety in thoughts, aiming to free the person from the vulnerabilities related to crypto seed phrases.

The issue, in keeping with Cypherock, is that typical {hardware} wallets retailer your non-public keys in a single location, with a paper backup—making a single level of failure.

The X1 goals to deal with this by splitting the non-public key into 5 elements utilizing Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS), and storing them on the X1 Vault gadget and throughout 4 X1 Playing cards kitted out with safe parts and NFC connectivity.

Any two of the playing cards and the Vault can be utilized to revive the non-public key, which could be additional secured with a PIN quantity.

It’s a bit like Voldemort’s Horcruxes—however with out the evil intent.

Cypherock X1: Design and construct

The X1 is a compact and moveable crypto pockets that may not solely slot in a pocket however is designed to connect a loop, permitting you to hook it onto a keychain, your belt, or your wrist.

The gadget itself is ultrasonically welded collectively, making it difficult for any attackers to entry with out leaving seen indicators of tampering. Inside is a dual-chip structure for offline computation and safe verification.

The X1 Vault sports activities a 0.96-inch OLED show, which is ready to show textual content clearly so you possibly can work together with the pockets alone, with out the necessity for the app on a regular basis. It’s a little dim, although—so if you wish to use it in daylight, chances are you’ll wrestle. That mentioned, for indoor use it was loads clear sufficient. Show brightness has, Cypherock instructed Decrypt, been upgraded within the X1’s newest manufacturing run.

The joystick is among the stand-out design options because it’s fairly distinctive, particularly at this small scale. It is just like that featured on the Nintendo Swap, and seems to be of top of the range too, with five-axis sensitivity. All of it makes for an easy and really intuitive approach to management the gadget utilizing your thumb alone.

The X1 comes with a USB cable and an adapter so you should utilize USB-A or USB-C, making it preferrred for each Home windows and Apple machines.

The X1 Playing cards are created from plastic and have NFC know-how. They’re equivalent in dimension and look to a bank card, making for simple storage and safe distribution. They are often saved within the provided laborious case, which additionally acts as a Faraday cage to guard in opposition to distant electromagnetic indicators.

It’s all constructed to final, with the corporate claiming that the setup is nice for a minimum of 500,000 faucets utilizing NFC and that your information is safe for a minimum of 20 years.

You may also purchase alternative X1 playing cards and Vaults ought to the originals be misplaced or destroyed—and if you happen to lose a single card it’s really useful that you just purchase a whole set of recent X1 playing cards, and exchange the originals if you wish to add new wallets to the system.

Cypherock X1: What’s within the field?

The field has a card outer that you just tear to open, inside which is a container case with a zipper that’s been cable tied shut to maintain issues securely sealed.

Unzip the case and also you’re met with directions on getting began, a USB-C- to USB-A shielded cable and that USB-A to USB-C adapter.

There are additionally 4 X1 Playing cards pouched collectively subsequent to the X1 itself. You additionally get a lanyard to connect to the X1, a person handbook and guarantee documentation.

Cypherock X1: Getting began

As soon as you have opened every little thing and plugged the X1 into an influence supply, it instantly activates and the show reveals the web site you might want to go to to obtain and set up the app. As soon as that is in your machine you’re taken by way of the method of organising your pockets.

A lot of the interactions occur on the X1 gadget itself, with minimal app enter. An additional step within the setup course of is validating the 4 X1 playing cards, separately, which entails holding the gadget on them for a number of seconds every.

You’ll be able to arrange a number of wallets on the X1, and implement a pin code if desired, earlier than setting them up within the app. As soon as arrange within the app you may have deeper ranges of management.

You even have the choice to view and export the BIP39 seed phrase, do you have to need to document it as a paper backup (or in case Cypherock goes out of enterprise).



Cypherock X1: Cypherock CySync app

The Cypherock CySync app is on the market to obtain on Mac, Home windows and Linux, with a cellular model for iOS and Android.

Primarily it serves as a degree of contact so that you can entry your pockets from with an enormous display screen view. The app is fairly minimal, making it simple to make use of, with out overcomplicated menus that may delay the newcomer. It additionally allows you to purchase and promote crypto securely, utilizing a fiat on-ramp powered by Binance Join.

This app goes past the X1’s personal pockets, although it’s also possible to import different wallets utilizing their seed phrases to view and monitor them. The app additionally permits you to hook up with dapps through WalletConnect so you possibly can swap over 1,000 cryptos throughout greater than 15 networks.

It is value retaining in thoughts that if you wish to purchase and swap utilizing the CySync app, you may be topic to its transaction charges, which might differ. That mentioned, you possibly can at all times purchase and swap elsewhere, utilizing CySync and the X1 as a base level to extract. Cypherock notes that it doesn’t cost any charges itself for sending and receiving transactions on the X1, and that “minimal” charges are “related to optionally available, built-in third-party companies for getting and swapping cryptocurrencies inside the CySync app.”

Cypherock X1: Options and belongings

The X1’s standout characteristic needs to be the 4 X1 Playing cards used to safe your pockets.

Using Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS) non-public key storage provides an additional layer of safety. The X1 Playing cards can be utilized to distribute shards of the non-public key throughout a spread of areas, making bodily entry tougher. Any two of the 5 shards are wanted, decreasing the chance of single level failure and which means that if anybody part is compromised, it ought to nonetheless not be doable to get entry to the whole non-public key.

The truth that it solely requires the vault and one card to entry the non-public key’s a limiting issue, although—many SSS schemes go for a three-of-five threshold for added safety. With $5 wrench assaults on the rise, it’s one thing to think about as many customers will doubtless hold the X1 vault and a single card shut at hand for ease of use. In a press release shared with Decrypt, Cypherock claimed that its default two-of-five threshold is “designed to steadiness sturdy safety with person comfort” and “inherently ensures no single level of failure.”

One useful extra characteristic is the power to make use of the X1 as a seed phrase vault, which means you possibly can again up seed phrases from any BIP39-supported pockets, with as much as 4 out there slots.

Because of a partnership with blockchain platform Close to Protocol, customers can handle present wallets and create a registered account, and securely retailer account information on their gadgets, all through the CySync app. Meaning builders can create decentralized apps, or dapps, to be used inside the CySync app.

At time of publishing the Cypherock X1 and accompanying app affords assist for over 9,000 digital belongings starting from huge names like Bitcoin and Etherium to much less identified choices together with Starknet, Frax and extra. A full checklist of supported belongings could be discovered right here.

Cypherock X1: Safety

Cypherock is constructing its model on safety, so it’s value taking a while to go over the {hardware}.

The X1 Vault makes use of an EAL6+ licensed safe factor with bank-grade {hardware} elements, putting it on par with rivals like Ledger and Trezor. The X1 Playing cards likewise use EAL6+ licensed safe parts.

The X1 makes use of open-source firmware, whereas audits have been carried out by corporations together with WalletScrutiny and Keylabs. The corporate additionally runs an ongoing bug bounty program as a approach to spot potential weaknesses and tackle them earlier than they turn out to be a difficulty.

It’s value noting that the Cypherock employs the older ATECC608A safe reminiscence circuit, which Ledger Donjon claims to have penetrated on the Coldcard Mk3 {hardware} pockets utilizing a A number of Laser Fault Injection assault. The Coldcard Mk4 subsequently upgraded to the newer ATECC608B circuit, as really useful by Ledger Donjon.

In a response to Keylabs’ audit, which flags the X1’s use of an older circuit, Cypherock famous that, “ATECC608B is totally appropriate with ATECC608A interfacing however wasn’t out there after we procured it. We plan on utilizing the most recent variations primarily based on the half’s availability.”

In a press release shared with Decrypt, Cypherock famous that the ATECC608A circuit was restricted to earlier fashions, and it has “already upgraded to the newer ATECC608C safe factor in our present manufacturing batches.”

There’s a good contact with the PIN the place lockout occasions are progressively elevated after every incorrect try—a characteristic the corporate calls CyLock. This could assist to stop any brute power assaults.

On the subject of restoration choices there may be that SSS algorithm, with the non-public key break up throughout 5 factors, the place any two can be utilized to get better the belongings. It’s value noting that {hardware} wallets from rivals resembling Ledger and Trezor present the choice to create Shamir backups, albeit in seed phrase type reasonably than leveraging the X1’s extra user-friendly card-based interface.

Cypherock X1: Verdict

The Cypherock X1 is a relative newcomer to the digital pockets market, however the agency has aimed to spin that right into a constructive, by constructing its system from the bottom as much as tackle the shortcomings of conventional {hardware} pockets safety.

And whereas its answer does introduce some extra parts of belief—within the manufacture and auditing of the safe bank-grade elements in its X1 Playing cards—that’s mitigated in opposition to by means of Shamir’s Secret Sharing to decentralize the pockets’s non-public key. In concept, even when one part within the system was compromised, the person might collect two of the others, reassemble the pockets, and extract their funds.

It’s a slickly-designed system, and one which does away with one of many extra archaic options of the crypto person expertise, particularly recording your vitally necessary seed phrase on a little bit of paper.

That, coupled with its suite of options resembling CySync, make the CypherRock X1 a worthy contender within the {hardware} pockets area.

This evaluate was revealed June 1, 2025 and up to date on June 12 to mirror extra feedback from Cypherock.