Bitcoin wallet video: Watch biohacker Patric Lanhed make the world’s first bio-payment of Bitcoin using a chip in his hand
If you’re always losing your wallet, you may want to read on: Biohacker Patric Lanhed has just developed a payment method you’ll struggle to lose.
Lanhed can send bitcoin payments using his hand, after implanting a chip containing the key to his bitcoin wallet under his skin. This enables him to send and receive money using data stored inside his body.
A video of the milestone transaction shows Lanhed holding a NFC chip reader against his hand, then waiting with collaborator Juanjo Tara, watching a bitcoin wallet on screen to see if balance goes up. When it does, the first-ever bio-payment using bitcoin has been made.
The authentication that allows money transfers between bitcoin wallets is embedded in a chip – this is what Lanhed has implanted in his hand.
The technology will be released as open source, Lanhed and Tara write on Medium. The pair suggest that in time, it could be used to store more than just your bitcoin wallet:
The new way of structuring data allows use of multiple applications, instead of just storing one record type at the time.
They hope to see it used to store medical records, identification documents, and data authentication.