One drawback of Ledger for development is that communication with the official team can be inefficient, so we researched another brand: imKey.
Signing
Yes, the hardware is the only place where signing happens.
More specifically:
- The private key is generated and stored inside the imKey secure chip from the factory, and it never leaves the device.
- The signing operation, ECDSA over secp256k1, is also completed inside the chip.
- @imkey/web3-provider never touches the private key from beginning to end. It only: a. Encodes the transaction/message into APDU commands understood by the device. b. Sends the commands through WebUSB. c. Reassembles the signature bytes returned by the device (r, s, v) into the standard format and passes them to the dApp.
Internal Logic of a Hardware Wallet
Is the Firmware Open Source?
It does not appear to be open source at the moment. If firmware upgrades are needed, for example to support a specific chain network or signing algorithm, you need to contact the official team and check whether firmware support can be added.
MetaMask Support?
Yes. Add a hardware wallet and choose QR-based.
