Cypherock is rethinking the weakest link in crypto self-custody: the seed phrase. Instead of relying on one paper backup that can be lost, damaged, or stolen, Cypherock splits private keys into five Shamir Secret Sharing shards—four NFC cards and one secure element in the user’s phone—so no single item exposes the wallet and recovery remains possible even if up to three shards are lost.
In this interview, Cypherock explains how its $39 mobile-first X0 and flagship X1 are designed for two very different users: newcomers taking their first step off exchanges, and long-term holders focused on resilience and inheritance. The company also discusses why it rejected expensive upfront influencer deals, how user feedback shaped its product roadmap, and why it believes affordable, decentralized recovery is essential as crypto adoption expands beyond experienced Western holders.
From pricing and security architecture to distribution and trust, the conversation offers a look at how Cypherock is positioning itself in a crowded hardware-wallet market—and why it sees seed-phrase fragility as the industry’s most urgent unsolved problem.
What problem does Cypherock solve, and why does it matter now more than ever?
The biggest risk in self-custody isn’t hackers. It’s the single point of failure associated with seed phrase backups. Most hardware wallets protect your key with one written backup. If that paper or metal plate gets lost, damaged or found by the wrong person, your funds are gone or exposed.
Cypherock fixes that with Shamir’s Secret Sharing. Your crypto private keys are split into 5 shards. They are stored in 4 NFC cards plus your phone’s secure element. No single shard reveals anything on its own, and you only need any 2 cards, or 1 card plus your phone, to recover. Lose up to 3 shards and your crypto is still safe.
It matters more now because the next wave of holders is mobile-first, price-sensitive and new to self-custody. Many come from emerging markets. They need protection that doesn’t depend on guarding one piece of paper perfectly for life. Our mission is simple: no one should lose their funds because of a weak wallet or a badly managed seed phrase. At $39, the X0 makes that protection affordable for regular people.
If users still want to access their seedphrase, they can always choose to reveal it on Cypherock X0 as well as X1
Walk us through Cypherock’s product – what makes it unique in the market?
We make two hardware wallets built on the same idea: your key should never live in one place.
The Cypherock X0 is our new mobile-first wallet. It’s 4 NFC cards plus the X0 app on your phone. You tap a card on your phone to sign, and every signature happens inside the card’s EAL6+ secure element, so your keys never touch the phone in usable form. The key is split into 5 shards, 4 on the cards and 1 in your phone’s secure element. Any 2 cards, or 1 card plus your phone, recovers the wallet. The cards are tamper-evident, the app checks that each card is genuine, and the X0 is audited by independent auditors. It supports 22,900+ tokens across 15 networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Tron and XRP, and it costs $39.
The Cypherock X1 is our flagship for power users. It’s a Vault plus 4 cards, with the same 2-of-5 Shamir design, over 21,000+ supported tokens, open-source firmware, and audits from Keylabs and Wallet Scrutiny. It also includes Cypherock Cover, which as far as we know is the only native, non-custodial inheritance solution built into a hardware wallet.
What makes us unique is that no other mainstream wallet in this price range builds Shamir’s Secret Sharing into the hardware itself. Your seed still exists and is BIP-39 compatible, but recovery no longer depends on one backup.
How has Cypherock evolved since launch based on user feedback?
When we launched the X1, our early users were mostly experienced holders who wanted serious security. As the community grew, three things kept coming up, and each one shaped what we built next.
The first was price and simplicity. Many people liked the Shamir model but found a Vault plus 4 cards too much for their first cold wallet, especially in markets where $99 is a big ask. That feedback led straight to the X0: no Vault, no desktop app, just 4 cards and your phone, for $39.
The second came from Bitcoiners, who wanted a smaller attack surface. So we released Bitcoin-only firmware, and now every X1 tier comes in a BTC-only version.
The third was doing more without leaving the wallet. Users didn’t want to move funds to an exchange just to swap or stake. We added swaps with partners like Changelly, ChangeNOW and SimpleSwap, and staking through Everstake, all inside our app while the keys stay on the device.
We also heard that people want to know their seed phrase still exists. So we made it clear that the seed is BIP-39 compatible and that you can view it on the Vault any time, even though you never need it for recovery.
What does Cypherock’s ideal customer look like, and how do you reach them?
We have two ideal customers, one for each product.
The X0 customer is someone holding their first meaningful amount of crypto, usually on an exchange or a hot wallet, who knows they should move to self-custody but has been put off by price or complexity. They live on their phone, and some of them are from emerging markets. For them, a $39 wallet that works by tapping a card on their phone removes both barriers.
The X1 customer is a long-term holder with a larger portfolio who cares about inheritance, recovery and removing every single point of failure. Many are Bitcoiners, which is why we offer Bitcoin-only firmware.
We reach both mostly through trust, not ads. Crypto buyers listen to people they already follow, so creators and educators on YouTube, X and TikTok are a big part of our work. Partnerships matter too. We run co-marketing campaigns with swap partners like Changelly and ChangeNOW, whose users are often the same people who need a cold wallet. Independent validation does the rest: being listed on bitcoin.org, being rated by Coin Bureau among the top cold wallets, and getting fair coverage in comparison guides. When someone researches their first cold wallet, we want Cypherock to show up wherever they look.
Akhil, what’s the hardest decision you’ve had to make as a leader at Cypherock?
The hardest decision I’ve made was how we built our affiliate program, and specifically saying no to influencers who charge large upfront fees.
In Web3, many brands spend heavily on KOLs, often paying thousands of dollars upfront for a single post or video. When you’re launching a product, there’s a lot of pressure to do the same, because it feels like the fastest way to get attention. Turning those deals down was uncomfortable, especially when some of those creators have big followings.
But most of our budget goes into R&D and product development, and we wanted our marketing spend to be just as disciplined. So we took a more systematic approach. We work with most creators on a purely affiliate basis, so they earn when their audience actually buys a Cypherock wallet. That keeps both sides aligned. Creators only promote us if they genuinely believe in the product, because that’s the only way it pays off for them.
It was a tough call, but it has worked out well. Affiliate partners tend to bring real, engaged audiences rather than inflated reach. In a space full of paid hype, we’ve found that genuine recommendations are what earn trust, and trust is what sells a security product.
How does Cypherock think about pricing, and how has it changed over time?
Our pricing starts from one principle: security shouldn’t be a premium feature. Every Cypherock customer gets the same core protection, whatever they pay.
With the X1, we price around packaging and support, not features. The X1 Basic at $99 includes the Vault and 4 cards. Standard at $179 adds card sleeves, a hardcase and an extended warranty. Pro at $249 adds a longer warranty, priority support and a year of our Gold Plan recovery service. The security model, the supported assets and the Shamir design are identical across all three. You pay for convenience and peace of mind, never for better protection.
The biggest shift came with the X0. We kept hearing that even $99 was a barrier for people buying their first cold wallet, especially in emerging markets where most users are mobile-first. So we rethought the hardware. By removing the Vault and using your phone’s secure element as one of the five shards, we brought the price down to $39 without giving up Shamir’s Secret Sharing or the EAL6+ secure element.
That makes the X0 the most affordable hardware wallet built on Shamir’s Secret Sharing. For us, that’s the real goal of pricing: removing the reason people stay on exchanges.
How does Cypherock differentiate from competitors, and what’s your moat?
Most hardware wallets compete on the device itself: a better screen, a stronger chip, a nicer app. We compete on something more basic, which is where your key lives.
With almost every other wallet, your security comes down to one seed phrase backup. Cypherock splits the key into 5 shards using Shamir’s Secret Sharing, and that’s built into the hardware from day one. Lose up to 3 shards and you can still recover your wallet. Find one shard and you learn nothing about the key. That removes the single point of failure that causes most self-custody losses.
Our moat comes from three things that are hard to copy quickly. The first is architecture. Shamir is the foundation our whole product is built on, not a feature added later. The second is native inheritance. Cypherock Cover lets you plan for what happens to your crypto without handing your keys to anyone. The third is trust. We’ve kept a record where user funds were never lost for more than 3.5 years, our firmware is open source, and our security has been audited by Keylabs and Wallet Scrutiny.
The X0 now brings that same model to a $39 mobile-first wallet. That makes it a strong alternative to card wallets like Tangem for people who want Shamir-level recovery at an entry price.
Director of Business Development at Cypherock
