Hardware wallet manufacturer SatoshiLabs says it is “on track” to start shipping the first Trezor ‘Classic’ wallets to customers by the end of July.

Initially, the company will fulfil early pre-orders, it adds, but, as soon as there is sufficient stock, SatoshiLabs will open its e-shop for regular sales.

Hardware wallets are dedicated devices aimed to more securely store bitcoins. Their advantage stems from the fact that, since they don’t connect to the Internet, they offer greatly reduced exposure to potential hackers or malware.

Production delays

SatoshiLabs has faced a number of issues with the plastic Classic version of its wallet.

At the time, the company pinned the blame on a dispute with its original hardware partner, which has since been replaced by a “well known automotive and lighting industry supplier” with an annual revenue of $100m.

The SatoshiLabs team had a bit more luck with the pricier Trezor ‘Metallic’ wallet, and pre-ordered units started shipping a couple of months ago.

The company has not yet revealed what it plans to charge for the wallets once it starts taking orders. Metallics shipped so far will have been pre-ordered units paid for with bitcoin during a previous crowd funding campaign that was closed prematurely, along with the option to pre-order.

Prototype testing

According to the company blog, the first batch of plastic cases for Trezor Classic units (pictured above) was presented during a tour of the production facility earlier this week. The next step will be to integrate the hardware and test complete units.

“In following days, the first testing batch of 100 pieces will be produced and completed. Then we are going to put the devices through environmental chamber testing. They will be tortured with extreme temperatures, humidity and vibrations and, once they prove to sustain standards for high-quality electronics, we’ll give the green light to production,” the company said.

It sounds like the Classics are in for a fair amount of abuse over the coming weeks, but, if they meet the required standards, they could be storing bitcoin around the world within weeks.