Blockstream Jade Review (2025): Open-Source Security

Highlights

• Open-Source Transparency: Fully open-source hardware and firmware, enabling transparency and independent security audits.
• Innovative Security Model: Features a unique “virtual secure element” using a blind PIN oracle, protecting private keys without proprietary hardware.
• Multi-signature Capable: Seamlessly integrates into multisig setups, enhancing security with collaborative custody.
• Bitcoin & Liquid Focused: Exclusively supports Bitcoin and Liquid sidechain assets, emphasizing security by reducing complexity and potential vulnerabilities.

Overview

Blockstream Jade and Jade Plus are dedicated Bitcoin (and Liquid Network) hardware wallets built to keep your private keys offline and secure. Both models feature a unique security model that protects keys without a proprietary secure chip, flexible connectivity options (USB, Bluetooth, and camera-based air-gap) and a color touchscreen.

Security Model

Jade’s security is grounded in the principle of keeping your private keys completely offline and strongly encrypted on the device. Jade does not use a closed-source secure element chip; instead, it implements a “virtual secure element” via a blind oracle system ¹. When you set up Jade, you choose a PIN that, together with a device secret and an oracle secret, encrypts your seed.

An attacker would need three factors (your PIN, the device’s secret, and the oracle’s secret) to ever decrypt your keys. Jade’s companion app communicates with Blockstream’s blind PIN oracle (or one you self-host) to unlock the device without the oracle ever learning your PIN or seed. If an incorrect PIN is entered three times, both Jade and the oracle will delete their secrets, wiping the wallet (requiring you to restore from your backup phrase). This model prevents offline brute-force attacks and ensures a stolen Jade reveals nothing on its own.

Because Jade’s firmware is fully open source, its security schemes can be audited by the community. Advanced safeguards are also included: for example, Jade implements Anti-Klepto, which uses a cryptographic trick (sign-to-contract) to prevent a compromised device from leaking your private key through the signatures it produces. Additionally, Jade supports optional features like a duress PIN (to open a decoy wallet) and BIP39 passphrase protection (an extra 25th word on your seed) for enhanced security. Overall, Jade’s security foundation is robust – it keeps your keys encrypted and offline, requires multi-factor unlocking, and remains transparent due to its open-source design.

Key Management

On initialization, Jade generates a new Bitcoin private key (BIP32 master key) and derives a standard BIP39 recovery phrase (24 words) for backup.

The device uses a high-quality hardware random number generator with entropy accumulation (mixing in various entropy sources and even user input timing) to ensure the seed is truly random. The resulting 24-word seed phrase is displayed on Jade’s screen for you to write down – this serves as your ultimate backup.

In case your Jade is lost or damaged (or if the PIN/oracle security mechanism cannot be used), you can recover your funds on any BIP39-compatible wallet using this seed phrase.

You can use Jade as one key in a multisig quorum, enhancing security by requiring multiple devices to sign a transaction. Blockstream’s own Green wallet offers a feature called Multisig Shield, where Jade can be one signer alongside another key (for example, Green itself or another Jade).

More generally, Jade can export extended public keys (xpubs) for use in multisig coordinators like Specter or Sparrow, and it will sign multisig transactions when presented with the correct input. By supporting industry standards for key derivation and PSBT (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions), Jade integrates well into complex key management setups (including inheritance planning or collaborative custody schemes).

Transaction Management

Using Jade to send and receive Bitcoin is straightforward and secure. To receive funds, you’ll use a wallet app (like Blockstream Green or Sparrow) connected to Jade to generate a deposit address. Jade’s screen will display the Bitcoin address or QR code for verification, so you can ensure it matches what your app shows (guarding against any malware on the host).

To send funds, you initiate a transaction in the companion app by entering the recipient and amount. The unsigned transaction (often as a PSBT) is then passed to Jade for approval. Jade will show you critical details on its screen – typically the destination address (in full or QR form) and the amount/fee – so you can confirm the transaction details on the device itself before signing.

At no point does your private key leave the device; only the signature is shared back. This process ensures that even if your computer or phone is compromised, they cannot alter the transaction unnoticed or steal your keys.

Jade is compatible with a wide range of Bitcoin wallets, which means you can manage transactions through your preferred interface. Blockstream’s Green wallet is the recommended companion – it provides a seamless experience for Bitcoin and Liquid, including multisig features tailored for Jade. However, Jade also works with popular wallets like Electrum, Sparrow, Specter, Nunchuk, BlueWallet, and even Bitcoin Core.

In all cases, Jade handles the signing: you either connect the device (via USB/Bluetooth) to sign directly or use air-gapped signing with QR codes (described below). This flexibility in transaction management means Jade isn’t tied to a single software ecosystem – you can incorporate it into many workflows, from simple one-click sends in Green to fully offline PSBT signing for Bitcoin Core.

Connectivity

Jade offers multiple connectivity methods, which give you control over how the device communicates.

Jade (both Classic and Plus models) includes a camera and a full-color screen, enabling an air-gapped mode using QR codes. In air-gapped operation, you don’t plug in the device at all – instead, your wallet app will display an unsigned transaction as a QR code for Jade to scan with its camera. Jade will then prompt you to confirm and sign, and subsequently display the signed transaction as a QR code on its screen, which your app can scan to broadcast. This QR workflow means you can use Jade with no physical or wireless connection at all when signing transactions, virtually eliminating remote attack vectors .

Connecting Jade is flexible: you might use USB for firmware updates or desktop use, Bluetooth for mobile convenience, and QR scanning when maximum isolation is needed. Jade Plus (the newer premium model) even adds a microSD card slot for offline data transfer and firmware upgrades, providing another air-gap option beyond QR. Importantly, if you prefer not to have any radios active, Blockstream offers an optional firmware build that disables Bluetooth entirely (turning Jade into a purely wired/QR device) .

Coin Support

Blockstream Jade is a Bitcoin-focused device. This Bitcoin-only approach is intentional – by not supporting a long list of altcoins or smart contract chains, Jade reduces its code complexity and potential attack surface. The wallet is tailored for Bitcoin users and thus supports all common Bitcoin standards for sending and receiving BTC. In addition to mainnet Bitcoin, Jade uniquely supports Blockstream’s Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain.

That means Jade can secure Liquid BTC (L-BTC) and any issued assets on Liquid (like tokens USDt, L-CAD, JPYS, etc.). This makes Jade especially appealing for users who participate in Liquid for fast or confidential transactions, as very few hardware wallets offer Liquid support. With Jade and the Green wallet, you can manage Liquid assets alongside regular Bitcoin.

Display and Interface

Jade features a color display and an intuitive navigation interface, which together make it user-friendly for both verifying transactions and daily use. The original Jade (now “Jade Classic”) has a 1.14-inch IPS LCD screen (240×135 resolution) , and the new Jade Plus upgrades this to a larger 1.9-inch display (320×170 resolution) for improved clarity.

Despite the small size, the screen is bright and sharp enough to display full QR codes and clear text. This is crucial for an air-gapped device – Jade’s screen can show a detailed QR code representing a transaction, or the full Bitcoin address for you to compare, ensuring you can verify addresses and amounts at a glance.

The color interface also allows for a bit of personalization (Jade supports custom themes) and helps highlight information (for example, using color to differentiate parts of an address or warning messages). Users have noted that while the screen is smaller than some competitors like the Trezor Model T, it is crisp and gets the job done for confirmation purposes. The inclusion of a screen on Jade means you never have to trust what’s on your computer/phone screen – all critical details are shown on the secure device itself.

The user interface on Jade is designed to be simple. Jade Classic devices have a two-button navigation system coupled with a scrolling wheel. In practice, there is one main confirm/select button and a physical wheel that you turn or click to scroll through menus and input characters. This setup makes it easy to move through options (like selecting digits for a PIN or choosing menu items) and then confirm with a click.

Jade Plus introduced an improved form factor by removing the wheel and using two responsive buttons for navigation. Both models are considered straightforward to use after a brief learning curve.

Physical Attributes

The Blockstream Jade is a compact and lightweight device, designed with portability in mind. The Classic Jade measures about 60mm × 24mm × 17mm and weighs only ~25 grams , while the Jade Plus is slightly larger at 65mm × 30mm × 12mm and 30g.

Despite the light weight, Jade’s build quality is solid. The original Jade’s case is made of a textured plastic that feels sturdy and durable to the touch. Users report that it doesn’t feel “cheap” – the plastic has a bit of grip and can likely handle typical drops or bumps without issue. Jade Plus takes the build up a notch by using premium materials – a metal body chassis for enhanced durability and a sleek look. The Plus model comes in several finishes (e.g. Lunar Silver, Genesis Grey, Classic Black), giving it a more premium, polished appearance compared to the colored plastics of the original. The metal casing not only improves the tactile feel but could also offer better protection for the electronics inside.

Both versions have a built-in rechargeable battery (Classic ~240 mAh, Plus ~280 mAh ) which allows Jade to operate unplugged – crucial for using the camera in air-gapped mode. The battery life is sufficient for signing sessions and standby (you charge via USB as needed).

In terms of buttons/controls, Jade has its wheel or buttons on the side, which are firm and responsive. There’s a USB-C port for charging and wired connectivity. Jade Plus also includes a slot for microSD or an accessory port as mentioned, covered by the metal frame.

Software Ecosystem

Jade is designed to work within Blockstream’s Bitcoin software ecosystem and with popular third-party wallets, giving users a lot of flexibility. The recommended companion application is Blockstream Green, a feature-rich Bitcoin (and Liquid) wallet available on mobile and desktop. Green provides a guided setup for Jade, including the device’s initial configuration, and supports all of Jade’s capabilities (like Liquid asset management, Multisig Shield, and PIN oracle integration).

Using Jade with Green is seamless – for instance, when you connect Jade, the Green app can automatically detect it and walk you through sending or receiving. Green also leverages Jade for its 2-of-2 multisig security (if you opt in): one key on Jade and one key held on Blockstream’s server (the server co-signs only with your authorization). This way, even if someone got your seed words, they couldn’t spend without that second signature – a unique security layer made user-friendly.

Jade fits naturally into this scheme as the personal signing device. Additionally, Jade can manage Liquid Network accounts via Green, allowing you to trade or transact Liquid assets with hardware security. Advanced Liquid functions like coin swaps are supported too.

Final Thoughts

Blockstream Jade and Jade Plus are compelling hardware wallets, offering a combination of open-source transparency, strong security, and user-friendly design. Jade is backed by one of Bitcoin’s most respected companies. The device is relatively affordable – especially the Classic model – and punches above its weight by including a camera and battery, features often found only in pricier wallets.

Jade’s open-source nature adressses the “black box” concerns that some closed-source wallets have. For users who value sovereignty and verification, Jade’s openness and the option to self-host the PIN oracle or even build the device yourself are huge advantages. With Jade Plus, Blockstream addressed some early feedback by improving the screen and controls and using a sturdier case, making the user experience even smoother.

Some beginners might find the oracle-based PIN system a bit complex to grasp (though in practice it’s mostly invisible – it just works in the background via the Green app). Relying on an online service for PIN unlock could concern those who want absolute independence; however, one can run their own oracle server or fall back to using the seed directly in an emergency, so it’s not a deal-breaker .