Block’s new crypto wallet can only be purchased with real cash

Block, the Jack Dorsey-led payment company, has released its long-in-the-works Bitcoin hardware wallet — but you can’t use cryptocurrency to buy it. You can only purchase the $150 Bitkey wallet with your credit or debit card, a sign that crypto might not be as prevalent as its designers had anticipated.

Block first introduced a prototype of the wallet in 2022 before opening preorders last December. The self-custody Bitcoin wallet, which Dorsey nicknamed “rockey,” lets users store cryptocurrency outside of an exchange to protect the funds from a potential collapse.

Bitkey is paired with a mobile app and recovery tools in case users lose the wallet or their phone. There’s a fingerprint sensor on top of the device, a USB-C charging port, and an NFC chip to transfer funds between the app and the wallet (or vice versa). Bitkey also integrates with Coinbase and the Block-owned Cash app to transfer and buy Bitcoin through the wallet’s accompanying mobile apps.

Block says it will add “additional payment options” that people can use to purchase the device in the “very near future.”