This week I received my OpenDime credit stick in the mail!
Unfortunately, it took about a month and a half from the time I purchased them to the time it came to my house in Seattle, Washington, but it was well worth the wait. That being said, they were back ordered when I purchased and I did expect a bit of a wait. Additionally, I am glad to hear that Opendime has had a lot of interest lately and I am looking forward to seeing them ramp up production on these powerful pieces of bitcoin hardware.
These bitcoin credit sticks are awesome and at their price point, I can't help but think that they are truly a game changing device among the various bitcoin hardware wallets out there. These are great item for anyone from a seasoned HODLer to someone who is brand new to the technology
The cheapest option is 3 for $37.50 ($12.50 per unit). As the company continues to mass produce these I hope to see that price per unit decrease.
Setting up the wallet was extremely easy and can even be done offline to increase security. The credit sticks came with very easy to follow instructions. Simply plug the credit stick into your computers USB port and drag over a few files from your computer to the device to generate randomness when creating the private key. From there the set up is complete and you are all set! The credit stick blinks to verify that it has been set up correctly and reveals the public address which you can then send Bitcoin to.
From this point, you can treat the device like a crypto "piggy bank", continuing to send bitcoin to the public address. In order to spend the bitcoin, you have to physically break the credit stick similar to the way you would break a piggy bank to get the coins inside.
To spend the funds secured by the private key, using a safety pin, one must poke through the device (in the area indicated by the arrow in the picture above) popping out a resistor on the back. This alters the device to release the private key which can then be loaded onto bitcoin wallet software to spend the funds.
Overall, I'd say the value, privacy and simplicity combine to make a game changing product and I applaud Opendime for that. This has even more value in countries in which bitcoin use is discouraged and bitcoin exchanges are illegal. This device can easily be traded from person to person in exchange for goods and services.
Looking forward to gifting these to family and friends and purchasing more of these awesome devices!
Thanks for reading!
-Kory
