{"id":13324,"date":"2023-09-21T11:52:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T11:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=13324"},"modified":"2023-09-21T11:52:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T11:52:49","slug":"you-can-build-your-own-trezor-but-heres-the-price-diy-wallet-engineer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=13324","title":{"rendered":"You can build your own Trezor, but here\u2019s the price \u2014 DIY wallet engineer"},"content":{"rendered":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"crypto\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script>\n<p>The open-source nature of many hardware cryptocurrency wallets allows anyone to build a do-it-yourself (DIY) wallet like a Trezor from scratch, but it requires certain skills.<\/p>\n<p>Florin Cocos, an electronics design manager from Romania, built his own DIY Trezor with the wallet\u2019s open-source code in 2018 without having access to a \u201creal\u201d Trezor device.<\/p>\n<p>On his YouTube channel, <em>Voltlog, <\/em>Cocos demonstrated the process of creating the DIY Trezor Model One, using electronics components purchased from distributors like Farnell. The engineer specifically used a Farnell microcontroller and a printed circuit board (PCB) ordered from a production house in China, extracted from a Gerber file available on Trezor\u2019s GitHub.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe parts can be purchased from any reputable distributor like Farnell, DigiKey, RS, Newark, TME. It really depends on your location; get them from your local distributor. You can get the OLED screen from AliExpress or eBay,\u201d Cocos wrote on his <em>Voltlog<\/em> blog.<\/p>\n<p><em>PCBs used by Voltlog for building a DIY Trezor wallet. Source: YouTube<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Five years after releasing his DIY Trezor video, Cocos is still enthusiastic about his DIY crypto device. \u201cI have used the device, and I would always trust my DIY device over a marketplace-bought one,\u201d the engineer told Cointelegraph in an interview on Sept. 19.<\/p>\n<h2>It took roughly 10 hours for Voltlog to set up the DIY Trezor<\/h2>\n<p>Trezor\u2019s market availability wasn\u2019t the main reason for Cocos to build the DIY wallet, though: the engineer was instead focused on spreading the word about open-source projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOpen-source designs are gaining more and more popularity, and in my opinion, this is the future,\u201d Cocos said, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have full control over the security aspects, and it\u2019s always fun to build something yourself. For me personally, the idea of making something useful, myself, contributes more than anything else to the decision to start such a project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The entire process of building and installing firmware on the DIY Trezor wallet took roughly 10 hours for Cocos, minus time spent on receiving the PCBs and other ordered components.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took me maybe two or three hours to evaluate the project and generate the necessary Gerber files for uploading to a PCB manufacturing service and ordering all of the required parts from known distributors like Mouser or Digikey,\u201d the design manager said. After receiving the PCBs, it took him roughly five hours to assemble the PCB, flash it with firmware and get it running, Cocos added.<\/p>\n<p>Building hardware for the DIY Trezor was the easiest part, the engineer told Cointelegraph, adding that flashing the firmware and getting it to work with the application was \u201cslightly more challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>How difficult is it to build a DIY Trezor for an average user?<\/h2>\n<p>As the whole building process didn\u2019t take too much time, one may think that creating a DIY Trezor might not be that difficult for an average user, but that\u2019s not the case, according to Cocos.<\/p>\n<p>According to the engineer, it\u2019s \u201cnearly impossible\u201d for the average user to build such a device without any knowledge of electronics. \u201cIf 10 is the most difficult, then I would rate this a 10,\u201d Cocos said while trying to estimate the difficulty of building a DIY Trezor for an average user.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the process could be simplified, but only at the cost of significant security risks related to supply chain and manufacturing vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings could be improved by creating a \u2018makers pack\u2019 for the project, with all of the required manufacturing files in their specific format and just uploading that to one of the PCB and PCBA prototyping services available online. However, while at that stage, it would be a difficulty level of roughly 3 on a scale of 1\u201310, you lose control over the supply chain and manufacturing step, so there is an added security risk,\u201d the engineer stated.<\/p>\n<p>Cocos suggested that efforts to build a DIY Trezor without proper knowledge could result in significant security risks, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would not recommend building such a hardware wallet if you are not experienced with electronics and specifically with soldering small surface mount components. If that\u2019s the case, the result is likely just the magic smoke escaping or, at best, a brick that does nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cocos \u2014 who described himself as an occasional cryptocurrency user \u2014 holds a bachelor\u2019s in electrical engineering and has been designing and building electronics professionally for 10 years and as a hobby for more than 15 years. He believes someone doesn\u2019t need to be an expert like him to build a DIY Trezor, but it still requires some expertise.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Ledger announces U.S. PayPal integration, lets users buy crypto from within app<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust one or two years of tinkering with electronics at a moderately fast pace from a moderately technically skilled person should be enough to greatly increase the chances of success,\u201d Cocos stated.<\/p>\n<p>As previously reported, some cryptocurrency users have fallen victim to fake hardware wallets by buying the devices from sources other than the direct manufacturer or the official vendor. As such, hardware wallet makers like Ledger and Trezor have always urged their customers to buy only hardware wallets from official vendors.<\/p>\n<p>As there are some regions where hardware wallets cannot be shipped due to issues like sanctions, companies like Trezor suggested that the devices\u2019 open-source nature could be a solution. \u201cTrezor is fully open-source; anyone can build their own using the schematics and bill of materials on GitHub,\u201d Trezor\u2019s Bitcoin analyst Josef Tetek told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Magazine: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Big Questions: What\u2019s with all the crypto deaths?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"bitcoin\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/trezor-home-made-wallet-builder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The open-source nature of many hardware cryptocurrency wallets allows anyone to build a do-it-yourself (DIY) wallet like a Trezor from scratch, but it requires certain skills. Florin Cocos, an electronics design manager from Romania, built his own DIY Trezor with the wallet\u2019s open-source code in 2018 without having access to a \u201creal\u201d Trezor device. On [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bitcoin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13326,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13324\/revisions\/13326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}