Skycoin Ledger Integration

Use a Ledger or Skywallet to Securely Store Your Skycoin

Skycoin is a complete blockchain ecosystem that has been in development for years. Skycoin is not an ERC20 token or fork, and each part of the Skycoin platform has been carefully built from the ground up. As the Skywire Mainnet and our suite of hardware devices come to fruition, we’ve aligned the release of our Ledger integration with our drive to increase the adoption and usage of Skycoin. Ledger integration allows Ledger users to add Skycoin to their portfolios, and gives existing Skycoin holders an additional option to secure their Skycoin.

Ledger or Skywallet? Why not both?

We have developed our own custom hardware wallet, Skywallet from the ground up, and it is designed to be sleek, secure, and easy to use. You can learn more about how we designed it from start to finish here: https://medium.com/skycoin/designing-skywallet-the-30-trezor-killer-b00ca2254dce

Skywallet is the ideal cold storage for Skycoins, however, as there are already hundreds of thousands of Ledger wallet users, we’ve developed the Ledger integration in order to give Skycoin holders the opportunity to secure their crypto on their existing device. Skycoin users who are experienced with the Ledger’s user interface will be able to store their crypto, check their wallets, and sign transactions in the same way they’re accustomed to with the Ledger and its corresponding desktop app.

Hardware Wallets Are Essential

We recommend that you never keep your cryptocurrency stored on an online exchange. Exchanges are very lucrative targets for hackers and many large, well-established exchanges have been hacked in the past. The safest way to store your cryptocurrency is on a hardware wallet, which is a dedicated device made specifically for storing the private keys to your digital assets securely. When your crypto is stored on a hardware wallet, you use the device to sign outgoing transactions by entering a PIN. Owning a hardware wallet is the only way to guarantee that you control your private keys without exposing them to the internet. If an online exchange gets hacked, which happens all too often, you’ll have nearly no recourse for recovering your cryptocurrency. For more information on how to secure your cryptocurrency, read our Skywallet article.

Ledger Progress

Our Ledger integration is underway, and we have already started working with transaction signing and have made strong progress. The hardest and most important thing that we’ve done is signature mechanisms for compatibility with the Ledger API. We’re implementing the generation of key pairs and addresses on the device. We currently have a signing mechanism and have already implemented a request for getting signed public keys which will enable companion apps. The user interface for Skycoin is complete, and we’ve tested the storage and transfer of Skycoin on several devices with no technical hurdles or delays.

The Icon

Ledger requires a 16X16 pixel icon with a recommended centered safe area of 10X10 pixels in which the icon should fit. It proved difficult to come up with a satisfactory design that was centered on all sides and accurately depicted the Skycoin cloud. After going through five graphic designers (yes, we took this very seriously) we decided on this design.

Winning Design

Honorable mentions:

A few other designs caught our attention and were considered. We thought they were good cloud drawings but ultimately we went with a design that most closely depicted our logo.

It’s not the first time we have struggled with pixelated logo designs. We always take our time getting the small details just right, which means trying out new styles and iterating through many designs. Take a look at these.

Our first notable example uses a more abstract shape for the cloud with coins embedded.

Similar to the previous design, but with a flatter visual hierarchy.

This one takes a more organic cloud shape and inserts a Sky “coin” at its center

This one gives us a retro console look reminiscent of vintage video games

Whether we’re building a product in house, like Skyminer or Skywallet, integrating with a third party service like Ledger, or showing off our artwork, we always pay close attention to all of the subtle and seemingly minor details in order to provide one of the best cryptocurrency experiences possible. Stay tuned for more updates.