Engineering Institutional-Grade Security for the Retail User.
Project Overview
- Role: Product Development & Security Architecture
- Timeline: 2017 - 2019
- Scale: 50,000+ Active Users
- Core Tech: Non-custodial Encryption, Multi-chain Support, Anti-Theft Protocols.
The Challenge
In 2017, the cryptocurrency landscape was volatile and insecure. Users faced a “Security Trilemma”: wallets were either too complex to use, too insecure (custodial), or lacked support for multiple assets. Bitfia Labs set out to solve this by building a “Bank in Your Hand”—a mobile-first solution that offered the security of cold storage with the usability of a banking app.
The Solution
We engineered PINT Wallet, a strictly non-custodial mobile wallet.
- Zero-Knowledge Architecture: We built the architecture so that Bitfia never had access to user private keys. Control remained 100% with the user.
- Interoperability: Unlike competitors at the time, we successfully integrated Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and ERC20 tokens into a unified dashboard.
- Behavioral Security: We developed an “Anti-Theft” feature that analyzed transaction patterns to flag and block suspicious wallet drains before they confirmed on-chain.
Key Results
- Adoption: Scaled to 50,000+ users with zero marketing spend, driven purely by trust and utility.
- Validation: The security protocols developed for PINT became the foundation for our selection into the Singapore Management University (SMU-IIE) incubation program.
- Legacy: The encryption standards built for this wallet now power the treasury management systems of our B2B platform, iPint.
Tech Stack
- Blockchain: Bitcoin Core, Ethereum, ERC20/TRC20 Standards.
- Security: AES-256 Encryption, Client-side Key Generation.
- Integration: Changelly & CoinSwitch APIs for in-app swaps.
The Challenge
In 2017, the cryptocurrency landscape was volatile and insecure. Users faced a “Security Trilemma”: wallets were either too complex to use, too insecure (custodial), or lacked support for multiple assets. Bitfia Labs set out to solve this by building a “Bank in Your Hand”—a mobile-first solution that offered the security of cold storage with the usability of a banking app.
The Solution
We engineered PINT Wallet, a strictly non-custodial mobile wallet.
- Zero-Knowledge Architecture: We built the architecture so that Bitfia never had access to user private keys. Control remained 100% with the user.
- Interoperability: Unlike competitors at the time, we successfully integrated Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and ERC20 tokens into a unified dashboard.
- Behavioral Security: We developed an “Anti-Theft” feature that analyzed transaction patterns to flag and block suspicious wallet drains before they confirmed on-chain.
Key Results
- Adoption: Scaled to 50,000+ users with zero marketing spend, driven purely by trust and utility.
- Validation: The security protocols developed for PINT became the foundation for our selection into the Singapore Management University (SMU-IIE) incubation program.
- Legacy: The encryption standards built for this wallet now power the treasury management systems of our B2B platform, iPint.
Tech Stack
- Blockchain: Bitcoin Core, Ethereum, ERC20/TRC20 Standards.
- Security: AES-256 Encryption, Client-side Key Generation.
- Integration: Changelly & CoinSwitch APIs for in-app swaps.
The Fortress in Your Pocket: How We Solved the “Security Trilemma” for 50,000 Users
Looking back at the engineering behind PINT Wallet, and how it laid the foundation for Bitfia’s enterprise security.
In 2017, the cryptocurrency world was the Wild West. While Bitcoin was capturing headlines, the infrastructure for holding it was dangerously fragile. Users faced a “Security Trilemma”: they could choose a platform that was easy to use but insecure (centralized exchanges), one that was secure but impossible to use (paper wallets/hardware), or one that supported only a single asset.
At Bitfia Labs, we saw a gap in the market for a “Bank in Your Hand”—a mobile-first solution that didn’t ask users to compromise on security or convenience.
The “Not Your Keys” Philosophy Our engineering team started with a non-negotiable principle: Non-Custodial Architecture. We believed that if Bitfia held the keys, we were just recreating the banking system we sought to improve.
The challenge was technical. How do you generate and encrypt private keys locally on a standard smartphone while keeping the app lightweight? We engineered a zero-knowledge architecture where key generation happened entirely on the client side. Bitfia’s servers never saw the user’s seed phrase. This meant that even if our servers were compromised, our users’ funds remained untouchable.
Interoperability Before It Was Standard Today, multi-chain wallets are common. In 2018, they were a rarity. The PINT Wallet was one of the first robust mobile interfaces to successfully bridge Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and the exploding ecosystem of ERC20 tokens into a single dashboard.
We didn’t just stop at storage. We integrated third-party APIs like Changelly and CoinSwitch directly into the interface, allowing users to swap assets without ever leaving the security of the app.
The Legacy The result was pure organic growth. Without a massive marketing budget, PINT Wallet grew to over 50,000 active users. It became a trusted tool for a generation of crypto-early adopters.
But for Bitfia, the real value wasn’t just the user count—it was the security DNA we developed. The encryption protocols, anti-theft logic, and private key management systems we built for PINT now form the bedrock of iPint, our enterprise B2B platform. We proved we could secure the individual; now, we secure the enterprise.