“The growing need for advanced security is certainly being recognized by other players in the cryptocurrency industry, as well.”

British Columbia-based Hilltop Cybersecurity has developed a new cryptocurrency wallet, and it isn’t just a piece of software — it’s an actual device.

Details are scant at this point. In a press release, Hilltop explained that the solution has been developed as a “prototype device”, but didn’t offer any clues as to its design or form. Hilltop did specify that the device needs to be unlocked by a fingerprint scan, which serves as a “private key to asymmetrical keys”, presumably held on the device.

Elaborating a little further on the offering, Hilltop CEO Corby Marshall pointed to the rising need for such biometric security in the world of cryptocurrency, asserting, “As cryptocurrency continues to grow, so does the intensity of criminal activity, as the recent $534M hack of NEM (XEM) shows.”

The growing need for advanced security is certainly being recognized by other players in the cryptocurrency industry, as well. For example, Bitstamp, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, recently embraced Onfido’s biometric authentication solution to verify new users; and in January Embedded Downloads announced its new Embedded Vault BitCoin wallet, which also uses biometric security for end user authentication. As for Hilltop, the firm hasn’t yet announced a release date for its cryptocurrency wallet; but it could find significant interest if the risk of cryptocurrency theft continues to mount.