This is the first entry in the PHYLAX journal, so let's start at the beginning — the idea itself. We set out to build the most boring, most honest Bitcoin hardware wallet we could, and we're going to show the first working prototype at Bitcoin Thailand Conference 2026. Here's the thinking behind it.
An iPod and a Pikachu
Two things shaped how the device looks and feels. The first is the iPod — a device that did one thing, did it beautifully, and that you understood the second you picked it up. No manual, no menus to get lost in, and it still works twenty years later. The second is Pikachu — friendly, unintimidating, instantly recognisable. Look at the prototype and you'll see it: two round buttons sitting where the cheeks would be. We wanted self-custody to feel approachable, not like a piece of lab equipment.
No black box inside
Inside, the most important decision is what's not there: a secure element. A secure element is a sealed, proprietary chip you have to trust blindly — a black box at the heart of a device whose entire job is to be trustworthy. PHYLAX has none. Every chip on the board is a general-purpose part you can look up, and every line of firmware is open for you to read.
No fancy features
No Bluetooth. No Wi-Fi. No app store, no altcoins, no touchscreen gimmicks. Just the one job — hold your Bitcoin keys offline and sign when you decide to. Two buttons, a screen, and a USB-C cable. Everything we leave out is one less thing that can break, leak, or be attacked.
Through space and time
That bareness is the point. A device with no radios works the same in a flat in Bangkok or a cabin off-grid — that's the space. A device with no battery to swell and firmware you can rebuild forever will boot identically in 2026 and 2046 — that's the time. Your Bitcoin should outlive the company that sold you the wallet, and the wallet should outlive its warranty.
See it at Bitcoin Thailand 2026
We'll bring the first prototype to Bitcoin Thailand Conference 2026 — the first time anyone outside the team gets to hold it. Come find us, press the two buttons, and tell us what you think. Can't make it? Subscribe below and we'll post everything here first.