Israeli cybersecurity startup GK8 has raised $4 million from investors for the world’s first cold-storage crypto wallet with on-network transfer capabilities, Israeli business publication Globes reported on 18 September.
According to the report, the $4 million funding round was led by the Co-Founder of cybersecurity company Checkpoint, Marius Nacht, and Discount Capital, the venture arm of one of Israel’s largest banks, Discount Bank. The funding round also saw participation from blockchain VC firm EdenBlock, iAngels, IDEAL-HLS, StratX and the Israel Innovation Authority.
The new GK8 cold wallet will allow for instant blockchain transactions of cryptocurrencies, without the need for an internet connection. The wallet uses “unidirectional connection” to link it to a blockchain, where it will have “hot wallet functionalities”. This one-way signaling does not itself operate on the internet, which is why GK8 is using it to remove many of the dangers a normal crypto wallet faces, such as hacks, attacks, and unexplained losses.
Among the GK8 board members are several cryptography experts, including one of the founding scientists behind the security token Zcash, Prof. Eran Tromer. Tromer explained in a video how the use of “unidirectional connection” helped GK8 to minimize “the attack surface and prevents attacks”.
GK8 was also able to secure five patents for its innovative technology. Lior Lamesh, GK8’s Co-Founder, described the technology in a patent abstract:
“A digital wallet device for storing and securing cryptocurrency, the digital wallet device is electronically disconnected from other digital devices and comprising: a cryptocurrency integrated circuit (IC) that is isolated from any computer interface; (…); and a unidirectional communication hardware for sending said transaction to a communication device for broadcasting said transaction via a network.”
In an interview with Fortune, Lamesh also described the GK8 technology as “ledger agnostic”, which means it can not only be used for Bitcoin, but for other cryptocurrencies too. Fortune also revealed that the company’s product is already being used by digital asset trading platform eToro.