The Cardano Lace Wallet has now upgraded its paper wallet with Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption to enhance security. To prove confidence in this advancement, Cardano Founder and Input Output (IO) CEO Charles Hoskinson has announced a $1 million reward for anyone who can breach the Lace paper wallet.
Crypto wallets are essential for managing digital assets and come in various forms, each with different benefits and risks. Paper wallets are simple but vulnerable to damage and theft, while hardware wallets offer added security through PIN codes or biometrics.
 
Hack The Paper Wallet for $1M
At the Rare Evo blockchain event in Las Vegas between August 15th to 17th, 2024, Hoskinson introduced the aforementioned new PGP encrypted paper wallet. This upgrade aims to resolve the issues of compromised private keys found in traditional paper wallets.
Public keys are openly shared for transactions, while private keys are usually secured by a seed phrase. The updated paper wallet features both keys as QR codes, with added PGP encryption for the private key.
Despite being shareable, unauthorized access is blocked by the encryption. The wallet includes an NFT, which will be exchanged for $1 million in USDM stablecoin if successfully hacked. This bounty is available until the end of 2024 or until the wallet is breached.
 
A Strong Security Record
Since its launch in 2017, Cardano has maintained a strong reputation for reliability and security, with no network breaches. Its decentralized, open-source platform uses scientifically validated technology to ensure reliable transactions and smart contract audits. This design helps reduce potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors.
In June, Cardano faced a spam attack that caused some network slowdowns but was otherwise managed effectively with minimal disruption. Regardless, PGP encryption is considered nearly unbreakable, and integrating it with blockchain technology shows the evolving security practices in crypto.
The expansion of Lace to support multiple assets and chains highlights an overall push by Cardano for greater interoperability. The $1 million bug bounty is impressive, but the real significance lies in the development of Lace as a secure and versatile alternative to MetaMask.