You can't judge how a device feels from a screen — so this week we 3D-printed the first physical case for the prototype and actually held it. First honest verdict: it's too big.
Size is not a cosmetic question for a hardware wallet. It decides where the device ends up living — a pocket, a drawer, a safe, a safe deposit box — and where it lives decides how well it is actually protected.
Why print a case this early
A CAD render can tell you a device looks right. Only your hand can tell you it feels right — the weight, the reach to the buttons, whether it disappears into a pocket or fights it. That's not a step you get to skip, and it's not one you can fake. So before anything is final, we printed a rough case, dropped the board in, and passed it around the team.
First verdict: too big
Holding it settled the question fast — the first mock-up is bigger than it needs to be. A device that's only ever a small screen and two buttons doesn't need this much body around it, and a wallet you might carry should vanish in a pocket, not announce itself. It's not wrong, exactly. It's just not small enough yet.
So we shrink it
Next we tighten the layout, pull the walls in, and reprint — then hold it again. We'll keep doing that until it feels like something you'd want in your hand every day. Mocking up early and cheaply is the whole point: far better to learn "too big" from a printed shell now than from a finished tool later.
Why size is a security decision
A device that is awkward to store gets stored badly. It stays plugged into the laptop because putting it away is a nuisance, or it sits on a desk instead of going into the safe it was bought to justify. The physical shape of a hardware wallet quietly sets the behaviour of the person using it, and behaviour is where most self-custody goes wrong. Small enough to disappear into the place you actually keep valuables is not a styling goal. It is the difference between a device that is protected and one that is merely owned.
This is what building in the open looks like — we'll show you the smaller one too. And if you want to hold a prototype yourself, we'll have it at Bitcoin Thailand Conference 2026.