BitBox and the BitBox02: Who Makes It, How It Works and What It Costs

Who makes BitBox

The company behind BitBox is Shift Crypto AG, registered in the canton of Zurich with its office in Adliswil, according to the BitBox imprint. Douglas Bakkum, a co-founder of the BitBox product line, is listed as board member and CEO. The imprint also gives the Swiss VAT number CHE-498.818.196 MWST. The About page describes the firm as privately held and Zurich-based.

The product line began in 2015 with the original Digital BitBox (BitBox01), created by Bakkum and Jonas Schnelli. The BitBox02 followed in 2019. On May 31, 2023 the company moved its customer-facing name from Shift Crypto to BitBox and its website to bitbox.swiss; Shift Crypto AG stayed the legal name, the company explained. Orders, invoices and legal terms therefore still carry the Shift Crypto name.

BitBox02 vs. BitBox02 Nova

BitBox announced the Nova on June 20, 2025, and kept selling the original BitBox02 alongside it. The main differences, per the product page and the Nova launch post:

For iPhone owners, the Nova is the only BitBox that works with a phone. The Bluetooth link uses a protocol BitBox calls Whisper; the device gives USB priority and shuts Bluetooth off once it receives USB data. Owners who prefer no wireless radio can turn it off permanently.

The Bitcoin-only edition runs firmware that cannot handle any other coin. Its purpose is a smaller code base: less code on the device means fewer places for a bug that could affect Bitcoin funds.

How a BitBox wallet works

A BitBox device generates and stores the wallet's private keys; they are not meant to leave the secure hardware. The BitBoxApp, or a compatible third-party wallet, prepares a transaction and sends it to the device. The device shows the recipient and amount on its own screen, and the owner approves it on the device itself. Only the signature returns to the computer or phone.

This model protects against malware on the computer reading the keys. It does not protect against an owner approving a transaction whose details they did not check on the device screen, or against a stolen backup. The Nova's secure chip enforces a device reset after 10 failed access attempts in hardware. OBOL's hardware wallet setup guide walks through first-use checks that apply to any device.

The firmware is open source for both models, and the code is published on the company's GitHub.

Backup and recovery

During setup the BitBox02 writes a wallet backup to the included microSD card. Users can also display and write down the recovery words, which follow the BIP-39 standard. That gives three recovery routes, per BitBox support documentation:

1. Lost or broken device, microSD backup available: restore the backup onto a new BitBox02 or Nova.
2. Written recovery words: restore on a BitBox, or in a compatible wallet such as Sparrow or Electrum.
3. Last resort: if the device is gone and only the microSD card remains, BitBox publishes an offline open-source tool that reads the backup file and displays the words. The emergency recovery guide warns that this exposes the words to a computer, so funds must be moved to a new wallet immediately afterward.

A microSD card is a physical object that can be lost, damaged or found by someone else. Store it as carefully as recovery words; OBOL's guide to seed phrase security covers storage options.

Supported coins and apps

BitBox's supported-coins page lists the following as of October 2026:

The Multi edition is therefore oriented toward Bitcoin and Ethereum-compatible networks. Solana, XRP and many other non-EVM chains are not on the list. Readers who hold those assets should check the current list before buying.

Buying and shipping

BitBox sells through its official shop, which accepts prices in USD, CHF, EUR, GBP and BTC. For US buyers, the shop states that orders ship by UPS Express in two to three working days with taxes and tariffs covered. A limited-warranty policy is linked from the shop footer. Buying from the official shop or an authorized reseller reduces the risk of receiving a tampered device; a device that arrives pre-initialized or with recovery words already printed should not be used.

Support and official channels

The support site at support.bitbox.swiss hosts guides and a contact form; BitBox says it aims to reply within two business days. A paid one-hour video call with a support team member is also sold through the shop. BitBox staff never need your recovery words or microSD backup to help you.

Official channels, as linked from the BitBox shop:

• Website: bitbox.swiss/
• X: twitter.com/BitBoxSwiss
• GitHub: github.com/BitBoxSwiss
• YouTube: youtube.com/@bitboxswiss
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/bitbox-swiss
• Facebook: facebook.com/BitBoxSwiss
• Instagram: instagram.com/bitboxswiss
• Telegram (via redirect): bitbox.swiss/telegram/

OBOL's evaluation of the device is in OBOL's BitBox02 review; other devices are compared in the hardware wallet ratings.