Casa-Branded Case Brings Military Tech to Bitcoin Wallet Protection

Bitcoin management startup Casa now offers a full suite of cypherpunk devices.

Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Casa just rolled out “Faraday bags” for hardware cryptocurrency wallets – protective cases made to block electronic signals often associated with remote wiping or alteration of the data stored on hardware devices.

“We didn’t see anyone else providing a good enough case. So we went to the extreme and found a pro in the market and designed this together,” Casa CEO Jeremy Welch told CoinDesk via email.

He added:

“We wanted something that would protect the device from a wide variety of potential risks, water, dust, etc., and also anything electronic, wireless signal, GPS, bluetooth, any kind of radio signal all the way up to and including any potential EMP [electromagnetic pulse] blasts.”

Welch says hundreds of Platinum and Diamond Casa members, paying upwards of $1,800 a year, have already received the cases as exclusive perks. Meanwhile up to 1,000 Lightning node buyers are eligible to get water-proof Faraday bags too if they claim the Gold membership associated with each node.

The startup offers branded hardware wallets in addition to the Faraday bags, key management mobile apps, the above-mentioned nodes and other services related to self-custodied bitcoin storage.

The protective case, manufactured in partnership with bug-blocking bag-makers Silent Pocket, can fit up to two devices along with cords.

Up until this point, most Faraday bag manufacturing has been for military and law enforcement clients. However, eDEC Digital Forensics software developer Matthew Huber, whose company sells up to 10,000 units a year to such clientele, told CoinDesk he’s seen a recent uptick in demand from privacy-conscious survivalists who want to shield their devices from geolocation tracking and hackers.

Huber said the bags are the best defensive technology on the market with regards to dangerous power surges and explosions. Even so, he added there is still a great deal of research needed to better understand electronics in war zones.

“Some people are concerned about EMPs,” he said:

“It would cause electromagnetic interference that could damage the product. The bag would help protect against that, although we don’t have any guarantee. There’s not really a whole lot of information about [EMPs].”

As such, Casa’s Welch said his team of roughly 20 employees will continue researching and improving the tools they provide clients interested in self-sovereign bitcoin management.

Plus, Casa collaborates with several device manufacturers across its offerings, including hardware wallet-makers Trezor and Ledger, to protect clients from supply-chain attacks specific to any device.

“This is about a full experience,” Welch said. “We’re looking to improve on that every year so that people will want to keep re-subscribing, and continue being a part of Casa.”

Speaking to Casa’s broader mission, Welch said the startup wants to make “key management and a node” in every home accessible to all. He added: