Trezor Marks Twelve Years of Self-Custody: Removing the Counterparty Dependency
The first hardware wallet was shipped twelve years ago by Trezor's founders, Marek Palatinus and Pavol Rusnák.
They created a category that did not exist before by taking the private key off the internet-connected computer entirely and moving it onto a small dedicated device. The key is generated on that device and never leaves it. The device never connects to the internet.
The principle has not changed in twelve years, through every product Trezor has built since, because it was never a feature. It is the whole point. What has changed is the threat. In 2014 the barrier to self-custody was difficulty. Today the barrier is persuasion.
Most people who think they hold their own Bitcoin are actually holding a claim on it. Their coins sit with an exchange, a broker or a fund. They have an entry in someone else's ledger and a promise that they can get to it. But what happens when the promise does not hold?