Speaking of wallets

Ledger's Stax hardware wallet is shipping now.

Flashback: We wrote about its cool new e-ink display wallet back in 2022, saying that it should come out in early 2023.

• It did not.

The latest: They aren't available to order yet, but people who pre-ordered them are in the queue for a shipment.

• And Crystal got to see one at Consensus in Austin.

💭 Crystal's thought bubble: The TOUCH and feel of this thing is something else. It's excellent. I cannot describe the subtle difference in the tactile, but I can see it having an iPod-level following.

• Stax will be able to handle hundreds of cryptocurrencies as well as NFTs. Balances can be checked with its mobile app.
• If you have more than one Stax, they stick together with magnets in a cute way — Ledger's Ian Rogers demonstrated this for Axios, tossing one against another to make them snap, with a satisfying click, into a neat stack of mini books.

What they're saying: "We expect to open orders for new customers later this summer, once preorders are fulfilled," Phillip Costigan, a Ledger spokesperson, tells Axios.

Worthy of your time: The company made the 20-minute documentary above to help explain why people had to wait so long.

• Basically, they were pushing the boundaries of technology as Ledger had a lot of bad luck with its supply chain.

The big picture: Ledger promises the Stax is much easier to use than hardware wallets seen so far (they are a bit of a pain). So Coinbase is making software wallets easier and Ledger is coming for simpler hardware, too.

• At $300, the price for the Stax is steep, but for some folks that's a pittance compared to how much crypto they own.