• Who Should Buy a Blockstream Jade?
• Basics of Blockstream Jade
• Price
• How Is Jade Different Than the Nano X?
• Security
• Device Description
• Jade Device Activation
• Sending and Receiving Coins on Blockstream Jade
• Supported Coins on Blockstream Jade
• Operating Systems and Hardware Compatible with Blockstream Jade
• The Importance of the Screen
• Summary
• Rating: 9.2/10
• FAQ

Curious about the Blockstream Jade?

Wondering if its all its cracked up to be?

Does it actually keep your coins safe?

If so, this is the page for you.

In this in-depth review, we are going to tell you everything we know about Blockstream’s newest addition to its family of wallets.

By the time we are done, you should have a pretty good idea if it is worth replacing your current hardware wallet for a Jade.

Read on…

Who Should Buy a Blockstream Jade?

• Crypto investors who only hodl Bitcoin
• Crypto investors who already use Blockstream Green
• Crypto investors who want an easy multisig wallet out of the box

Basics of Blockstream Jade

The Blockstream Jade was first announced in January of 2021 and is a Bitcoin only hardware wallet.

The Blockstream Jade provides cold storage by creating and storing your wallet’s private keys offline.

Info:The Blockstream Jade retails for $150 USD making it one of the most affordable hardware wallets available.

The Ledger Nano X has since been introduced as a successor and holds a higher position in the Ledger product line by offering more features (more on the X below).

Price

Blockstream Jade comes with a very affordable introductory price of $150.

This makes the Jade the best value for the money when it comes to a hardware wallet device.

Similar wallets from Ledger and Trezor will run $149 to $321.

This makes the Jade a great choice for users who don’t want to give up features for a lower price.

This price is sure to rise though, as demand for this hardware wallet has been insane!

How Is Jade Different Than the Nano X?

The Ledger Nano X is similar to the Blockstream Jade except for a few differences.

• Ledger Nano X uses a closed source secure element
• Nano X supports altcoins
• Nano X offers a smaller screen
• Nano X is considerably more expensive

As you can see, the Nano X is really better if you want to store altcoins.

If Bluetooth is important to you (both the Jade and Nano X support it) then you are going to need to pay a lot more money for it if you buy Nano X.

The Nano X also offers a secure element, whereas the Jade does not. This means that extracting the private key off of the device is much more difficult.

The Jade, instead opts for a remote (blind) server authentication. The details of this setup are covered in another section.

The reason Blockstream chose this setup was so the entire device, from hardware to software, could remain totally open-source.

It’s up to you to decide if the added cost of the Nano X is worth the closed-source secure element or not. Its a trade off depending on what you think is the biggest risk - supply chain attacks or server failure.

Security

The security features of the Jade are unique in the industry.

Server Enforced PIN Protection

Instead of utilizing a secure element, Blockstream opted for what they call “Server Enforced PIN Protection” to keep the private key safe from tampering.

Here is how that works:

When the mnemonic is generated, it is immediately encrypted using AES256, using a secret key.

This secret key is computed through an encrypted and authenticated channel with a remote blind oracle server.

This authentication involves an ‘ephemeral elliptic curve Diffie Hellman exchange’ with a known server key.

That’s a lot of jargon, but it basically means ‘a really secure connection’.

The encrypted mnemonic is then stored on the encrypted flash of the Jade and protected by secure boot [v2].

The blind server is not aware of the actual PIN. It also cannot brute force it.

The blind server is also not associated with the user’s account. It is not associated with the per user derivation paths.

Warning: If the PIN is entered incorrectly 3 times, the server and Jade both delete the secret. Recovery then requires a 'from-scratch' mnemonic restore on the Jade.

The companion app for the Jade (Blockstream Green) cannot inspect the data passed between the Jade and the blind server. Neither can any ISP/WiFi AP in the middle.

This also prohibits both from identifying if the PIN is correct or incorrect (other than potential timing attacks).

And you don’t NEED to rely on blockstream to run this blind server (or ‘oracle’, as they call it). The server is available via Tor and fully open-source.

That means that, in the future, users will be able to run their own and point their Jade to it if they prefer.

PSBT (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction)

Jade uses wally which has PSBT support. At the moment, Jade supports Blockstream Green multisig which doesn’t take advantage of PSBT yet.

However, Blockstream is planning to add to Jade single sig and PSBT support in the coming months.

QR Codes

With the Blockstream Jade, you can use the on-board camera to complete all incoming and outgoing transactions entirely through QR codes.

This ensures that you don’t even need a cable or Bluetooth connection to complete transactions.

HWI (Hwardware Wallet Interface)

Hardware Wallet Interface (HWI) wallet support gives the Jade compatibility with Bitcoin Core.

PIN Code

When you first initialize your Jade, you’ll be prompted to set up PIN code.

This PIN is what lets you open the device and use it; similar to your bank account PIN. It is very important, but also be aware that it is not needed to restore a wallet from the seed words.

It’s just a simple password to make sure that if you lose your device, your coins can’t be easily stolen.

Info: If someone attempts to enter a PIN more than 3 times, the Blockstream Jade erases itself and the thief is left with nothing.

This prevents attackers from trying to brute force your PIN and gain access to your coins.

Backup via BIP39 Recovery Seeds

The Blockstream Jade allows you to backup your hardware wallet using a standard known as BIP39, in short, your private key is converted into an easily readable series of 24 words.

If you ever lose your wallet or it gets destroyed or stolen (or you forget your PIN), you will input this series of words into another wallet (hardware or software) and get your coins back.

However, backing up your Jade in this way is not very safe. If the location of this piece of paper ever got flooded or caught on fire, you’d be out of luck.

This is why many people choose to use a device called a Billfodl to store this series of words on pieces of stainless steel, impervious to fire and flood.

One Billfodl customer had over $1,000,000 of Bitcoin backed up on a notebook in a fireproof safe, but when his garage flooded with 6 feet of rain, the safe became water-logged, and he lost everything.

Don’t let this happen to you! Keep your backup safe with something sturdier than paper.

Passphrase Support

Blockstream Jade now supports passphrase (aka 25th word protection).

Info:This security measure allows the user to add an additional word to their 24 word recovery phrase.

Why would you do this? There are a couple of reasons:

1. You want to add extra security to your recovery phrase in case someone finds your 24 words.

Warning: Remember - anyone with your 24 words can recover your coins and take them. Adding another word of your choosing means they will need to know the word you chose as well as the 24 words.

2. You want to create a “dummy account” in your device that holds a small amount of coins. This protects you from what is called a “$5 Wrench Attack”.

How a $5 wrench attack works

If you are ever the victim of such an attack and you have a passphrase set up, you have plausible deniability about your larger account of coins.

You only tell the muggers about your small account and hope they leave with very few of your coins.

We have created a video about how to set up passphrase on a Ledger Nano, posted below:

Multi-signature Support

Some advanced crypto investors use more than one wallet to sign transactions.

This protects the investor because it means that even if someone gains access to one of your wallets (or finds a vulneribility in its software), they still need an additional wallet to access your coins.

Blockstream Jade can be used as one of these devices, which makes it more appealing than hardware wallets that can’t be used in a multi-signature style cold storage.

One easy way to set up multisig using a Blockstream Jade is to pair it with Blockstream Green.

Device Description

The Jade uses a custom model of the M5 stack, manufactured in China.

The chassis is a textured black plastic finish that feels very sturdy.

The Blockstream Jade features one confirm button and a hardware scroll wheel to traverse option on the screen.

Jade Screen

The screen on the Blockstream jade is:

• full-color
• 1.14-inch IPS LCD
• 240x135 RGB 16-bit

This allows you to render pixel-perfect QR codes for sending and receiving coins with no wire needed.

Other Specs

The entire unit is 60mm x 24mm x 17mm.

It features a 240 mAh batter, a click-wheel application button and USB Type C connector with optional Bluetooth LE firmware (can turn on or off).

Compatibility

As of now, the Blockstream Green is only compatible with Blockstream Green for Android.

However, other operationg systems such as Blockstream Green for iOS and Desktop are coming soon.

Other wallet support such as Electrum are also in the works.

Jade Device Activation

• Use the provided USB cable to charge the Blockstream Jade for at least 2 hours.

• Download Blockstream Green on your desktop or smartphone.

• Connect your smartphone to your Blockstream Jade with a USB cable and switch on the Blockstream Jade.

• Your smart phone will automatically open Blockstream Green when it detects the Blockstream Jade connection.

Advice: If on Android, check the option to always open Blockstream Green when the Blockstream Jade is connected.

• On the Blockstream Jade screen, select ‘New’ to create a new wallet.

• Record the 24-word recovery phrase offline on a Billfodl.

• Go through the verification process to confirm that you have written down all the recovery phrase words correctly. Then, store the recovery phrase in a safe place that you will remember.

Warning: Your recovery phrase is the only way to restore your wallet if you lose access to your funds (for example you forget your PIN or lose your device). Blockstream never knows your recovery phrase and cannot help you restore your wallet.

• Set your six-digit PIN. This is used to unlock your Jade each time you log in to your wallet.

And now you are set-up!

You should see your new wallet open on Blockstream Green. Blockstream Jade will also show that it is Ready! You can now start to use your wallet to send and receive Bitcoin transactions.

Sending and Receiving Coins on Blockstream Jade

Sending and receiving on Blockstream Jade is pretty simple. Much like other hardware wallets, you can send Bitcoin or receive Bitcoins by inputting addresses (when sending) or generating them (when receiving).

The nice thing about the Jade is the large screen, which like the Trezor Model T, allows for QR codes to make the process more seamless and secure.

Supported Coins on Blockstream Jade

Blockstream Jade is a little bit unique when it comes to coin support. The only main coin Blockstream Jade supports is Bitcoin.

However, it also supports any issued assets on Blockstream’s Bitcoin sidechain ‘Liquid’, such as L-BTC, USDt, L-CAD, and JPYS.

Operating Systems and Hardware Compatible with Blockstream Jade

As of January of 2021, the Blockstream Jade is only compatible with Android.

However, other platforms are in the works, including

• iOS
• OS X
• Windows
• Linux

The Importance of the Screen

Any hardware wallet that does not have its own dedicated screen is a pretty worthless piece of hardware.

Why?

The whole purpose of a hardware wallet is to air-gap your wallet. That means you able to confirm transactions and verify addresses on a device that is not connected to the internet.

If your hardware wallet did not have a screen, it would need to show you the addresses and transaction data on a screen connected to an internet accessible device.

Warning: This would defeat the whole purpose of the device in the first place, since the data on your screen could be easily manipulated (for instance, telling you that you are sending funds to one address when you are actually sending them to another).

Similarly, another reason all hardware wallets should have a dedicated screen is because you want to be able to view your recovery seed on a device that is not connected to the internet.

Summary

The Blockstream Jade is a worthy cold storage device, especially for seasoned Bitcoin-only hodlers. A lot of the security philosophy behind the Jade is new, so we will have to see what security researchers think once they get their hands on the device.

For us, give then $40 price point, this is the best value you can find on the market for a hardware wallet.

The lack of release support for PSBT and non-android platforms make it less appealing, but Blockstream is fast when it comes to adding support for other products.

We are huge fans of Blockstream Green here at Privacy Pros and this is the last piece missing to make that truly secure software for hodlers.

Rating: 9.2/10

The Blockstream Jade is a truly worthy addition to the hardware wallet market.

We are really excited to see what sort of great features Blockstream rolls out next!

We give Blockstream Jade a score of 9.2 out of 10!

FAQ

Does Blockstream Jade feature a secure element?

No. Because there are no open-source secure elements on the market yet (though Trezor is working on one), Blocksteam opted for a blind server authentication over a secure element. This allows both the hardware and software to be completely open-source.

Why should you use Blockstream Green and Ledger Nano S together?

Using Blockstream Green and a Ledger Nano S to store your Liquid assets combines the best of both offline storage and multisig two-factor authentication.

What is Blockstream Green?

Blockstream Green is an easy way to get started on sending and receiving Bitcoin an Liquid-based assets.

What is Blockstream Liquid?

Liquid is a network made for traders and exchanges which enables fast and confidential Bitcoin transactions.