Satslink – A Peer To Peer Secure Communication Hardware Device Programmable For Nostr
Satslink is a multi purpose programmable and peer to peer hardware device designed by Coinkite, that can be used to design applications for Nostr, Bitcoin, Lighting or anything anything else.
The focus is on secure communication, so it will be optimal for daily use, which is perfect for Nostr. It can be theoretically used to create a Nostr signing device, or even host a Nostr Client (?) and / or relay (?) on the device so it will never touch the web.
It is important to understand that this device is especially designed for developers, so there is no out of the box software available to use it for Nostr just yet. The idea is that devs can go and create things.
This means that as of now only programmers who want to develop new stuff should buy the Satslink. Normal users have to wait until software is developed and available for the public to load onto the device. Of course we will let you know!
Don’t Order if You Are Not A Developer!
What Is A Satslink Device
Satslink is a hardware device based on the frame of the Coldcard Q1. However, this device is not designed for ultra secure Bitcoin cold storage like the Q1, but more day to day use cases based on freedom tech like Bitcoin mini script, Lighting and Nostr. The idea is that developers can start building things and that the future will learn what all the possibilities for this device are. Once stuff is being build, every day users can import the software to the device to enable a certain use case. This means that the expectation is that the Satslink will become a device with many different use cases for Bitcoin, Lighting, Nostr and maybe more.
The device contains a secure chip, which makes it suitable to securely create and hold private keys (?) offline, enabling functionality as a signing device. The multiple available communication technologies trade off deep security, but give the device more utility and make it more customisable, especially for daily and regular use cases.
The Specifications
Here we present the specifics of the Satslink device:
- The device is programmed in Micropython, with all source code fully available. There are no locked ROM areas, making it completely field upgradable.
- Power options include 3 x AAA cells or a USB-C port.
- ESP-Now protocol enables device-to-device radio while internet access is provided via a 2.4Ghz Wifi access point.
- The device features a MicroSD slot for efficient data transfer.
- The display is a 320×240 colour LCD (IPS with wide viewing angle).
- The device supports NFC tag emulation through the NFC-V radio protocol.
- At its core lies an ESP32-S3 CPU, clocking at 240Mhz and equipped with 512k RAM and 8M flash memory.
- The device is housed in a robust plastic enclosure for protection.
- An RGB light at the top left corner indicates any pending messages.
- It features a comprehensive QWERTY keyboard for user input.
- Integrated is a QR scanner module with a dedicated co-processor for image processing and an accompanying light.
- For debug/hacking purposes, expansion GPIO and a serial port are available.
- A dedicated keyboard scanning chip is integrated to reduce the load on CPU.
- Secure storage for private keys is provided through an Infineon Trust-M element.
- The device offers Wifi (2.4Ghz) and Bluetooth capabilities.
Satslink And Nostr
The expectation is that the Satslink device will be perfect for Nostr. It will probably be possible to host a Nostr signing device, a Nostr client, a Nostr relay or a combination of those. This could bring Nostr signing devices to a whole different level, by not just keeping the signing process securely offline, but the entire application. This would enable the user to utilise alternative communication networks or only send a selection of messages to the world. It is hard to predict what will be build exactly, but we know already that it will get interesting!