<p>There's not a lot from a electrical engineering perspective inside a hardware like the Trezor. It's a small microcontroller, a very cheap OLED screen, some miscellaneous buttons and connectors. The entire bill of materials is likely under $10 USD for per unit. </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/fDHyy.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/fDHyy.jpg" alt="trezor wallet PCB"></a></p>

<p>The difficulty comes from the software and integrity perspective. You've got to ensure that the software doesn't lose other people's money, that it protects in the ways it intends to, and resists tampering. The hardware should be able to be produced with some confidence that the software written to the devices is secure, that nobody can replace them in transit with identical, but malicious devices. You've got to be sure nobody engineering the devices has their own backdoors to steal money from the device, that there's not <a href="http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/05/01/8375455/index.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ghost runs</a> being made by a producer.</p>

<p>If there's a large theft relating to hardware you've produced, you'll be the one immediately blamed as responsible for backdooring them, so this is an existential threat for the producer if they get it wrong. Are you willing to take this personal risk? Most people would not agree the benefits outweigh the costs, if producing secure hardware seems like a easy idea you've probably not considered all the modes of failure. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-28T11:00:19.473Z
2017-11-28T11:00:19.473Z
Claris
<p>Okay so basically I have a good idea for a bitcoin hardware wallet, i'm just looking for information on how to go about creating it? </p>

<p>Do I need to create my own programs/programming for literally everything? Are there open source type things I can use? Would it be illegal to use another wallets programming or whatever? I'm just really confused as to how all of this works out. I'm not the engineer involved with the product, I'm on the finance and business side of things. So forgive me if I sound dumb! Basically, what all can I use that currently exists to make this process as simple as possible without getting any law suits lol. Thanks so much! </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-28T05:50:28.307Z
If you have an engineer on the project, it might be better to ask them because they'll know the specifics of what you are trying to do :) as it stands, you're asking too many questions here, please try to limit posts to on more specific question each
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-28T05:54:37.300Z
Well he's an amateur and not experienced with this type of thing at all. I'm just trying to figure out what exactly goes into creating a hardware wallet, like the ledger nano. Sorry my bad im on somewhat of a rampage right now because I had a great idea randomly come to me.
Ty JOUMASEPOES
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-28T09:37:32.640Z
The way you go about creating hardware is by hiring competent engineers, not by asking it on an online forum.
Pieter Wuille
<development><hardware-wallet>
How to develop and then sell my own Bitcoin Hardware Wallet?
Ty JOUMASEPOES
# How to develop and then sell my own Bitcoin Hardware Wallet?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-28)

Okay so basically I have a good idea for a bitcoin hardware wallet, i'm just looking for information on how to go about creating it?

Do I need to create my own programs/programming for literally everything? Are there open source type things I can use? Would it be illegal to use another wallets programming or whatever? I'm just really confused as to how all of this works out. I'm not the engineer involved with the product, I'm on the finance and business side of things. So forgive me if I sound dumb! Basically, what all can I use that currently exists to make this process as simple as possible without getting any law suits lol. Thanks so much!

**Tags:** development, hardware-wallet

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you have an engineer on the project, it might be better to ask them because they'll know the specifics of what you are trying to do :) as it stands, you're asking too many questions here, please try to limit posts to on more specific question each  
> **username_0**: Well he's an amateur and not experienced with this type of thing at all. I'm just trying to figure out what exactly goes into creating a hardware wallet, like the ledger nano. Sorry my bad im on somewhat of a rampage right now because I had a great idea randomly come to me.  
> **username_2**: The way you go about creating hardware is by hiring competent engineers, not by asking it on an online forum.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-11-28. Score: 0

There's not a lot from a electrical engineering perspective inside a hardware like the Trezor. It's a small microcontroller, a very cheap OLED screen, some miscellaneous buttons and connectors. The entire bill of materials is likely under $10 USD for per unit.

[![trezor wallet PCB](https://i.sstatic.net/fDHyy.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/fDHyy.jpg)

The difficulty comes from the software and integrity perspective. You've got to ensure that the software doesn't lose other people's money, that it protects in the ways it intends to, and resists tampering. The hardware should be able to be produced with some confidence that the software written to the devices is secure, that nobody can replace them in transit with identical, but malicious devices. You've got to be sure nobody engineering the devices has their own backdoors to steal money from the device, that there's not [ghost runs](http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/05/01/8375455/index.htm) being made by a producer.

If there's a large theft relating to hardware you've produced, you'll be the one immediately blamed as responsible for backdooring them, so this is an existential threat for the producer if they get it wrong. Are you willing to take this personal risk? Most people would not agree the benefits outweigh the costs, if producing secure hardware seems like a easy idea you've probably not considered all the modes of failure.


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