LEDGER on WingRiders via Direct interface!

Hello Riders! For those of you that aren’t aware, WingRiders has integrated DIRECT hardware wallet (HW) support — we are the first DEX on Cardano to do so!

Security topics are not as hot as features or new projects and airdrops but we as a community should be more and more aware of the topic and demanding the highest standard possible.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news recently, you’ll have noticed a number of DeFi platforms and providers have been hacked. You can read about it here, here, or here. A number of these hacks and exploits have taken advantage of poor security processes, or in some cases they have taken advantage of code errors in the smart contracts but also vulnerabilities in software.

In the case of the exchange that you are trading on, this is a risk that you (we hope) are aware of, and have made an informed choice as a consumer. Very important to note is that this counts for wallets as well.

Why are Hardware Wallets (HW) safer than Software Wallets (SW)?

At the basic level, HW are safer than SW because SW are stored on your computer and are connected to the internet when your computer is, therefore they are vulnerable to any malware or virus, such as KPOT and others. They could potentially be impacted by hardware failure on your computer. If you wish to know more, you can read this blog by Ledger themselves here.

For those of you who have been with us since the beginning, it’s worth remembering that VacuumLabs did the initial integration work to bring Ledger and Trezor to Cardano and maintain the integrations since 2018 — we’ve leveraged that expertise via their Devs and turned it into the safest way to trade on ANY DEX on Cardano — direct HW to DEX integration, without the need for a software layer in-between.

The older and more mature a platform or device, the (again, we hope) the less likely it is to have potentially catastrophic errors within it. Ledger is an example of this — they have been in the space a long time, and have a strong security pedigree. Their hardware and software is some of the best in the market. To learn more about Ledger, please check out their website.

So, if you trust your HW wallet provider, and you trust your DEX, what’s the issue? Well, in the case of many DEXes, the only way they can use them with HW wallets is through the use of third party software in between (for example a SW wallet like Typhon, or Eternel). Additionally, direct integration with a Hardware Wallet is convenient, it lets users interact with the WingRiders platform without the need for software. With WingRiders, our developer mindset made us want to provide DIRECT HW integration. It’s not that we know of any issues with third party software, but we understand that adding complexity or additional layer adds risk, hence, direct integration was one way of reducing risk.

What does this mean for users? Well, put simply, by using our direct integration method, it allows users to even access the WingRiders platform straight from any Android device, using their Ledger. (Don’t worry — Trezor support is coming too). We believe we are the first DEX on Cardano to provide direct integration and use of Android to its users.

We are working hard to improve functionality hand in hand with security for our users to provide the most secure environment to trade on for our Riders. Ledger (and Trezor!) direct integration is just one of the functional improvements that the WingRiders isl bringing to market in Q2. Here’s a list of other fixes and updates we’ve added in the past 6 weeks.

• Improved compatibility with Eternl when transactions are pending (balance & collateral)
• Improved compatibility with Nami (potential fix for txs failing after signing)
• Changed how available balance is acquired from the wallet (should now be more in sync with the wallet)
• Improved transaction confirmation user flows
• Listed total fees no longer include the deposit Oil ADA
• Fixed an issue that could prevent removing liquidity
• Fixed an issue that could cause imprecise calculation of deposited lp tokens preventing users from depositing tokens
• Improved stakepools search (now fuzzy search, improvements still planned)
• Lowered default slippage values on mainnet (1.0% -> 0.5%)
• Improved messaging and communication around slippage, farm management and oil (deposit) ADA
• Token select now sorts more relevant tokens, instead of alphabetically
• Improved farming UI with current epoch calculations, countdown and additional information like total rewards
• Calculate and show all rewards
• Fix bug not showing some transactions when connecting with ledger
• Improved loading for ledger (further improvements pending)
• A lot of infrastructure improvements to increase stability, speed and security (further improvements in the pipeline)

Stay tuned, and stay safe!

Peace.

The WingRiders Team