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name: bitcoin-hardware-jade description: | Blockstream Jade: open-source HW wallet. Optional offline mode via QR, or SD / USB on Jade Plus. Liquid + Bitcoin support, "Pinserver" online mode for blind signing. USE WHEN: integrating with Jade, supporting Liquid + Bitcoin signing. allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob

Blockstream Jade

Open-source hardware wallet by Blockstream. Designed for flexible operation: offline (airgapped) or online (with Pinserver).

Models

Four device generations exist. The firmware repo builds one target per model (README.md on Blockstream/Jade master, as of September 2026):

Model	Build target	MCU	Input	Camera	Battery
Jade 1.0	jade	ESP32	Selection wheel	Yes	No
Jade 1.1	jade_v1_1	ESP32	Rocker / jog-wheel	Yes	No
Jade Plus	jade_v2	ESP32-S3	Left/right buttons	Yes	Yes
Jade Core	jade_v2c	ESP32-S3	Left/right buttons	No	No

The README describes jade_v2c as "Jade Plus without camera and battery"; both v2 targets build against the ESP32-S3 toolchain.

As of September 2026 blockstream.com/jade lists only Jade Plus ($169.99) and Jade Core ($99.00) for sale — the first-generation Jade is no longer listed there.

Jade Plus (launched 3 January 2025)

• ESP32-S3; display 66% larger and 25% brighter than the original Jade (1.9" IPS LCD, 320x170, per blockstream.com/jade as of Sep 2026).
• Camera GC0308 640x480. Built-in battery. 65x30x12mm, 30g.
• Connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth, SD card / USB drive.
• Genuine Check — device authenticity verification when pairing with Blockstream Green.
• Air-gapped firmware upgrades (via SD / USB drive, or the optional JadeLink accessory).
• Secure Boot + Anti-Exfil.
• Launch pricing: $149 (plastic) / $169 (metal, Lunar Silver or Genesis Grey); original Jade continued at $79 at that time.

Jade Core (announced 28 April 2026)

• Jade Plus board without camera and battery; 20g. Connectivity listed on blockstream.com/jade (September 2026) is USB-C and Bluetooth only — no SD card / USB drive row, unlike Jade Plus.
• Comparison table there (as of September 2026) marks Genuine Device Check "Yes" for Jade Core, but both Air-Gapped Transactions and Air-Gapped Firmware Upgrades "No" — it has neither a camera nor an SD card / USB drive transport to carry them.
• No camera means no BCUR QR airgap on this model.

Hardware (original Jade)

• Color display.
• USB-C.
• Camera (for QR scanning).
• ESP32 microcontroller.
• No SD card slot.

SD / USB storage is gated to ESP32-S3 silicon in firmware, not to a product name: CHANGELOG.md on Blockstream/Jade master lists "fw upgrade and psbt signing using connected usb-storage (eg. sd card reader) for esp32s3 devices" under 1.0.32 (11 October 2024). The same split shows in the docs — help.blockstream.com "Jade overview" (updated 12 August 2026) marks the SD card / USB drive air-gap "Jade Plus only" and names three connection types (USB, Bluetooth, QR), and the store technical specifications give USB Type-C as the original's only connector (store.blockstream.com, as of September 2026).

Secure Element

None of the models ship a certified Secure Element. Blockstream markets the blind-oracle Pinserver scheme as a "Virtual Secure Element" (blockstream.com/jade wording, as of September 2026) — key material stays encrypted in flash and the remote oracle supplies half of the unlock secret under rate limiting. See pinserver-flow for the protocol.

Modes

Offline (BCUR)

• QR-based airgap via "Animated QR" (BCUR encoding).
• Device camera reads, display shows signed result.
• Compatible with Sparrow, Specter, BlueWallet (offline mode).

Online (Pinserver)

• Device communicates with Pinserver (Blockstream-hosted) for PIN protection.
• "Blind oracle" — Pinserver doesn't see seed but provides rate-limiting on PIN attempts.

Coins

• Bitcoin (BTC).
• Liquid (LBTC + Issued Assets).

Backup

• Standard 24-word BIP39.
• CompactSeedQR — recovery phrase hand-transcribed onto paper or metal as a QR code, re-loaded through the camera.
• No SD-card backup on the original Jade (see Hardware above).

CompactSeedQR is firmware, not a Jade Plus feature: CHANGELOG.md 0.1.38 (21 September 2022) adds "Support scan and import/recovery of SeedSigner 'CompactSeedQR' codes" and "screens to facilitate export (ie manual copy) of CompactSeedQR code", over two years before Jade Plus shipped. The help-centre walkthrough "Create a SeedQR from your recovery phrase" (updated 6 August 2026) is framed around Jade Plus.

API

jade-py Python wrapper:

from jadepy.jade import JadeAPI
with JadeAPI.create_serial(device='/dev/ttyUSB0') as jade:
    xpub = jade.get_xpub('mainnet', "m/84h/0h/0h")

Third-party: HWI, Sparrow, Specter (with QR airgap), Wasabi.

HWI 3.2.0 (10 February 2026) is the first release with Jade Plus support and Jade native PSBT signing — earlier HWI releases do not enumerate Jade Plus.

Compared

Aspect	Jade	Coldcard	Trezor
Open-source	Fully	Partial	Fully
Liquid support	Yes (native)	Limited	Yes
QR airgap	Yes (not Jade Core)	Q only	Limited
Secure Element	No (blind oracle)	Yes	Yes (Safe series)
Price	Mid	High	Low-mid

Common issues

• No SE: in theory more vulnerable to physical attack; rely on secure boot + BCUR airgap mode for high-value. Blockstream's "Virtual Secure Element" (as of September 2026) is the blind-oracle scheme, not certified silicon.
• Wrong model assumed: Jade Core has no camera, so any QR/BCUR walkthrough fails on it. Confirm the model before scripting an airgap flow.
• BCUR animation speed: too fast loses frames; use slower framerate.
• Pinserver dependency in online mode: if Pinserver down, can't unlock without offline-only mode.

See also

• coldcard/SKILL.md
• seedsigner/SKILL.md
• psbt-flows/SKILL.md
• ../l2/liquid/SKILL.md