Ledger officially implemented the Particl in their own Live application. Now you can create your Cold Staking Node with Nano S devices and use it as cold storage at the same time. This is the very first Proof of Stake coin which is able to stake on a hardware device without any connection to Internet or any other type of intermediary. If you already own a Ledger Nano S device or want to learn more, you can check how to setup your own cold staking node with this tutorial on the Particl wiki page.
Improvement of security
Hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano S are simply a perfect choice to store your cryptocurrencies. They are designed to protect your coins even in the cases when you connect to a compromised machine. Private keys are stock in the device itself in a protected area of a microcontroller. Keep on mind it is impossible to transfer them out of the wallet. Every other type of wallet is connected to the Internet, which makes it vulnerable to hack attacks. This makes the Nano S an ideal place to keep your PART coins and something more – use it as a Cold Staking Node and earn rewards while your coins are safe and secure inside your wallet.
PoS Protocol and staking risk
Staking usually poses a risk because of the way the PoS protocol works. It requires that the user keeps his wallet ‘unlocked for staking’ all the time to be able to stake and earn rewards for his contribution in the network. At this state, the wallet is still locked for performing transactions, but the password is in the device’s memory. This is a huge risk itself and it can lead to loss of coins, if exploited by malicious software. Particl remedied this problem with the introduction of cold staking. It lets the user to stake from a cold staking node where no coins are stored. The rewards are then delegated to another address which can be any type of wallet, even an offline, a paper or a cold one. The user is not putting his coins at any risk by exposing them, for example in a hot wallet with the password stored in the device’s memory. This role is taken by the cold staking node with no actual coins.
Almost perfect protection
Cold staking sounds like the perfect solution for the risky part of the staking process, but still has its vulnerabilities: for example, executing s transaction on an infected machine. Even though cold staking is a very secure process, it still fails to protect the user when it comes to spending your coins or simply rearrange them. Ultimately, your private keys will be exposed in plain text for a brief period of time but that can be more than enough for hacker to get to your funds.
Solution
The integration of Particl on Ledger Nano S marks the first ever released pure PoS hardware cold staking setup. This makes it the ultimate solution for people who want to have the maximum security and flexibility when staking their PART coins. Now users can store their funds safely on a hardware device, delegating the hardware’s wallet staking power to a cold staking node and earn reward. At the same time stakers safely spend their coins without worrying of getting hacked.