In the words of Lieutenant Colonel Hannibal Smith from the A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together.” We at Public Node have been working on this plan since our inception and today is the day we finally get to share it with everyone. We’ve found the perfect way to thank our members for supporting us and the open and inclusive Stellar network.

In our search for the perfect thank you gift, we considered all the typical forms of swag. We talked to silk screeners, hat makers, and even sock makers. Yet nothing really sang to us until we reflected back on our time at Meridian. All the swag we received in Mexico City at the beautiful Proyecto Publico Prim was fantastic, but one particular item really stood out. A plastic card, similar to a narrow credit card, with a Near-field Communication (NFC) icon on it and the printed words “XLM loadable card.” It was a physical Stellar wallet manufactured by Tangem with the secret key embedded in the card itself.

If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself. – George Orwell, 1984

It was unquestionably exciting, indisputably Stellar, and we needed to find a way to share it with our members. So how were we going to get our hands on some of those cards?

Enter Lobstr

We obviously contacted Tangem first, but determined that the 1,000 minimum order was a bit too aggressive for a budding nonprofit organization with a handful of members. Being an extraordinarily tenacious group, we were not ready to give up, so we started making calls to other Stellar projects to see if we could find someone to partner with and split the order. It wasn’t long until our call for partnership was answered by Lobstr. They were already in the final stages of designing their Vault Stellar Signer Card and agreed to send 80 our way!

So what can it do?

It can be used as a convenient physical Stellar wallet and can also be used to provide added security to your existing Stellar wallet accounts.

Combined with Tangem’s Apple and Android apps, it’s a Stellar wallet on a smartphone with NFC. Open the app, hold the card against the back of your phone and voilà, send and receive Stellar lumens (XLM) the same as any wallet but without anyone, not even you, knowing the secret key.

Combined with Lobstr Vault’s Apple and Android apps, it provides added security to your existing Stellar wallets as a main signer, an additional signer, or as a backup signer.

Who’s eligible?

Eligible Public Node members are those with an annual membership or those with 12 months of membership.

Shipping is limited to the 190 countries serviced by the USPS. Due to COVID-19, shipping to several of the countries may not be available at this time. If this impacts your country, let us know and we will set your card aside and send it once deliveries to your country resume.

Being that these cards are a thank you and not purchased, we cannot guarantee that you will receive a card – like if it gets lost in the mail or if we run out of supply. We will, however, work hard to get them to all our members. We may even order more if this token of our appreciation is enjoyed as much as we believe it will be.

Four cards have already been sent and we look forward to seeing a tweet or two when the cards are received. That leaves 76 cards itching to get into our members’ hands. If you’re a member and want your Public Node thank you gift, don’t hesitate to contact us!