In the past decade, hardware wallets have been considered an important consensus for the security of crypto assets. However, as on-chain transactions become more frequent and attack methods more complex, the limitations of this solution are beginning to emerge. Security issues are no longer just about whether private keys are saved offline, but also include transaction signing, online interactions, supply chain trust, and the long-term risks posed by future quantum computing. Next-generation crypto security is shifting from "relying on a more secure device" to "relying on a more reliable system architecture."

1. Hardware Wallets: Once the Most Trusted Security Solution

In the realm of self-custody of crypto assets, hardware wallets have long been regarded as the safest option. The cold storage concept represented by brands like Ledger and Trezor has almost become a consensus among many crypto users: private keys are stored in offline devices, transactions need to be confirmed through physical devices, making it difficult for hackers to directly access user assets from the network.

For a long time, this logic held true. A device not connected to the internet can indeed fend off most remote attacks. For early crypto users, hardware wallets provided a simple, clear, and perceptible sense of security.

However, as the scale of crypto assets grows and on-chain transactions increase in frequency, and attack methods become more complex, one question is becoming increasingly important: Are hardware wallets still secure enough? Are they merely the mainstream solution at the current stage and not the ultimate form of crypto security?

It is against this backdrop that more and more security researchers are focusing on a new direction: Isolated crypto wallets, which protect private keys and transaction signatures through clearer system isolation.

2. Reassessing Hardware Wallets: Trust Costs Still Exist Behind Security

Hardware wallets may appear very secure, but their security actually relies on many premises.

Firstly, users need to trust the device manufacturer. For example, is the device firmware secure enough? Has the supply chain been tampered with? Has the security chip undergone reliable auditing? For the average user, it is nearly impossible to independently verify these issues.

Secondly, firmware updates can also pose risks. Hardware wallets need to continuously update systems to fix vulnerabilities and support new features, but users find it difficult to assess whether an update is completely trustworthy. Many times, users have no choice but to trust the manufacturer.

Additionally, the physical device itself also carries risks. The device can be lost, stolen, seized, or even subjected to targeted physical attacks. Even if the device itself has not been compromised, the mnemonic phrases used by users when restoring wallets can also become new points of risk.

Therefore, the issue with hardware wallets does not lie in their "insecurity," but rather in the fact that their security still depends on devices, manufacturers, and the supply chain. For an industry that emphasizes decentralization and reduced trust, this reliance is being reexamined.

3. The Practical Challenges of Hardware Wallets: Transactions Always Require Interaction with Online Devices

The core security promise of hardware wallets is that private keys will not leave the device. However, in real usage, transactions ultimately have to be broadcasted to the blockchain network.

This means that when signing transactions, hardware wallets typically need to interact with smartphones, computers, or other connected devices. Whether via USB, Bluetooth, or QR codes, this interaction process creates a potential point of risk.

Many attacks do not need to directly steal private keys. Attackers may alter transaction information, leading users to believe they are signing a normal transaction, when in fact they are authorizing malicious actions; they may also carry out dangerous operations unbeknownst to the user through malicious contracts, fake websites, or clipboard hijacking.

This is also a practical limitation of hardware wallets: the device itself can be offline, but users' transaction processes are difficult to keep completely offline.

If users want to further enhance security, they can use stricter air-gapped devices, which are completely offline and only transmit data through QR codes or similar methods. However, this approach is more complex, making it challenging for the average user to sustain over the long term. Ultimately, most people still make trade-offs between security and convenience.

Consequently, the industry is beginning to explore another possibility: rather than relying on users to always operate the device correctly, it may be better to design the system in a way that clearly separates private keys, signatures, and online interactions.

4. Isolated Crypto Wallets: Isolating Risks within System Design

The core idea of isolated crypto wallets is not complicated: to manage private keys, sign transactions, and broadcast them online in separate environments.

In simple terms, the environments for private keys and signatures should be maintained offline, keeping them separate from the internet; the online portion is only responsible for sending already signed transactions to the blockchain and cannot access the private keys.

The benefit of this design is that even if the online part is attacked, the attacker can only access signed transaction data and cannot directly obtain the private keys. For users, this is akin to placing the most important keys to their assets in a more enclosed and harder-to-reach environment.

In contrast to traditional hardware wallets, which rely more on a specific device to achieve isolation, isolated crypto wallets emphasize the overall structural design of the system. Security does not depend solely on a particular hardware device but on whether keys, signatures, and networks are genuinely separated.

This is also the meaning of "architecture as security": security is not merely about purchasing a secure device, but from the beginning, separating dangerous paths.

5. Post-Quantum Security: Future Risks are Already Entering Real Discussions

In addition to current attack risks, another issue gaining attention in the industry is quantum computing.

Many cryptographic algorithms currently relied on by crypto systems, such as elliptic curve encryption and RSA, are still considered secure in traditional computing environments. However, if future quantum computers achieve sufficiently strong capabilities, these algorithms could face the risk of being compromised.

This may sound like a distant future issue, but the global cryptography community has already begun preparations in advance. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the first batch of post-quantum cryptography standards in 2024, indicating that post-quantum security has moved from theoretical discussions to practical application preparations.

For crypto assets, this issue is especially critical. Once blockchain assets are exposed to risk, the impact can be long-term. More importantly, there is a type of attack strategy called "collect now, decrypt later," meaning attackers can collect today’s data and attempt to decrypt it once quantum computing capabilities mature.

Therefore, post-quantum security is not just an issue to consider once quantum computers truly mature. For long-term asset holders and projects, planning ahead is itself a part of the security strategy.

6. Hardware-Agnostic Security Models: Reducing Dependence on a Single Device

The isolation architecture represents a new security thought process.

Traditional hardware wallets attempt to reduce risk through a physical device. They store private keys in the device, making it harder for attackers to access them over the network. This approach has proven effective and has been validated by the market.

However, hardware-agnostic security models aim to further decrease reliance on specific devices. The central question is: Can system design itself make certain attack paths difficult to establish?

This thought process brings several changes.

First, users no longer need to rely entirely on a single hardware manufacturer. Second, security is no longer fully tied to a specific chip or device. Third, if the system can be open-sourced and subject to community audits, security assessments can become more transparent.

This is not to say that hardware wallets lack value. Hardware devices may still be important tools within the security framework. However, in next-generation crypto security infrastructure, they may no longer be the sole core component but rather a part of the entire security architecture.

7. Lock.com: An Early Explorer in This Direction

In this field, Lock.com is currently one of the earliest projects to explicitly explore isolated signing architecture and post-quantum security.

Lock.com is still in the early access phase and has not been fully publicly released. It attempts to integrate private key management, offline signing, and post-quantum cryptography concepts into the same hardware-agnostic architecture, aiming to reduce reliance on traditional hardware wallets with respect to physical devices and manufacturer trust.

As the project is still in its early stages, many technical details and product features require further refinement. However, directionally, it represents a new idea emerging in the industry: the future of wallet security may not only depend on whether the devices are secure enough but also on whether the system architecture is sufficiently clear and whether isolation is thorough enough.

8. Crypto Infrastructure is Evolving from Single-Point Tools to Complete Systems

The emergence of hardware-agnostic wallets is not an isolated phenomenon. It reflects the overall trend of upgrading crypto infrastructure.

In the past, wallets, communication, storage, and transaction execution often scattered across different products. Users needed to combine various tools themselves and also bear many operational risks. In the future, these functionalities may be integrated into a more complete infrastructure.

At the same time, users' judgments about security are changing. In the past, many relied on brand reputation and device reliability. Now, more and more users and developers are beginning to pay attention to whether the code is open source, whether the system is auditable, and whether the architecture is transparent.

This means that the sense of security is shifting from "I trust this brand" to "I can understand and verify this system."

In this trend, the direction represented by Lock.com is a vision for next-generation security infrastructure: security does not depend on a single device or manufacturer but is embedded in the system architecture itself.

9. The Industry is Changing the Question

A significant change is happening in the field of crypto security.

In the past, the most common question users would ask was: Which hardware wallet should I buy?

Now, more and more people are starting to ask: Which security architecture should I trust?

This change in question indicates that the industry’s understanding of security is deepening. Hardware wallets have indeed protected a substantial amount of user assets over the past decade, and their historical value should not be denied. However, with the evolution of attack methods, the entry of quantum computing risks into discussions, and the emergence of new isolated architectures, it is no longer certain whether hardware devices remain the ultimate answer.

Next-generation crypto security infrastructure may reduce reliance on a single physical device, instead depending more on system design, key isolation, and more forward-looking cryptographic solutions.

This transformation has already begun.

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