SmartMetric, a developer of patented payment card technology and in-card biometric
products, announced that its soon-to-launch SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card, the world’s first biometric, fingerprint secured, off-line storage platform for bitcoins, will enable in-person P2P transfer of bitcoins through its payment card.
“We believe our card will be the world’s first to enable in-person, P2P transfer of bitcoins through a payment card. This is made possible by our patented nano-computing technology that puts the power of PC’s computing capacity onto a payment card. Bitcoins can be stored and transferred, all on the card, and with a level biometric fingerprint security never before possible. We’re very excited about the possibilities for bitcoin use and adoption powered by SmartMetric’s nano-computing and biometric security capabilities,” stated SmartMetric President and CEO Chaya Hendrick.
The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card has taken a quantum leap beyond smartcards. This is an intelligent card that combines patented nano-computing technology, an internal ARM 9 processor, processing power equal that of a PC, and up to 128 gigabytes of memory, matching the maximum memory capacity of current iPads.
The card comes equipped with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, which is the key to enabling the in-person P2P transaction. NFC chips are used in smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity. Cards are able to be connected to a computers USB or following the fingerprint scan and subsequent activation of the NFC (Near Field Communication) chip following the match of the card holders fingerprint, the SmartMetric bitcoin card can communicate directly with NFC smartphones and tablets. In order to protect the card owners privacy their fingerprint is stored inside the card and never leaves the card.
Bitcoins have grown to a global circulation of $11 billion driven by the digital currency’s appeal as a P2P currency without a central bank, financial institution, or central server at its core. SmartMetric takes bitcoin one step further by enabling in-person P2P transfers through a payment card. The SmartMetric Biometric Bitcoin Card is slated for launch during the first quarter of 2014.
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