Biometric technology firm G-Knot has launched a limited presale for what it describes as the first commercially available crypto hardware wallet secured by finger vein biometrics. The device uses near-infrared illumination in the 630 to 1,000 nanometer range and a dedicated CCD sensor to capture subdermal vein patterns in the finger, generating a biometric template that is stored only inside an EAL 6+ secure element. The company previously named Wes Kaplan as CEO to lead the development of the wallet amid rising cryptocurrency security concerns.
According to the company, the wallet analyzes deoxygenated hemoglobin absorption patterns to build a vascular map that is invisible to the naked eye and difficult to replicate. A patented “P2N2 AI” engine processes the captured images, performing noise reduction, edge detection, vein extraction, binarization, and thinning to create a compact template used to derive private keys. Liveness detection is built into the pipeline, with dynamic modulation of the near-infrared light used to confirm real-time blood flow, which is intended to block spoofing attempts with prosthetics or static images. The approach reflects broader industry trends toward biometric privacy in Web3, with other providers like Trust Stamp launching biometric wallets and D’CENT integrating fingerprint security.
The presale opens at an early-bird price of 299 US dollars for the first 10,000 units, each bundled with 50 dollars worth of GKNT tokens, which power authentication events, staking, and governance in the G-Knot ecosystem. The company says the wallet will initially support Ethereum, Solana, BNB, and XRP networks, with additional chains to be added over time. Shipping is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.
G-Knot positions the product as the culmination of more than a decade of biometric research conducted with eTunnel Inc., including deployments of finger vein technology in national ID programs and a contract with the International Telecommunication Union. The company emphasizes that biometric templates never leave the device and that it does not store private keys or recovery data on centralized infrastructure. For now, the device is targeted at retail crypto users, although G-Knot suggests that similar technology could later support institutional and government digital identity use cases that require strong binding between people and cryptographic keys.
Sources: Business Wire; G-Knot
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
