Burner

Burner is an NFC-based hardware wallet card from Arx Research, designed to manage crypto without installing a dedicated app. Each card contains a secure element chip with a private key generated on-device, and users interact with it by tapping the card against an NFC-enabled phone, which opens the Burner web wallet in any browser. The card supports pin-code protection, automatic locking after failed attempts, and connection to decentralized applications via WalletConnect, making it compatible with a wide range of dapps across multiple chains.

The product is positioned as crypto hardware for non-technical users, with a focus on gifting and everyday use cases. Burner cards can hold tokens, NFTs, and stablecoins, and are compatible with multisig wallet setups for users who want shared custody. Arx Research also offers a Gift Card application built around USD II, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, which lets users send digital cash to friends or family without requiring the recipient to set up a traditional wallet or pay transaction fees during onboarding.

A distinctive Card Duplicator feature lets users create multiple physical copies of a Burner card without exposing the private key or seed phrase, providing a backup mechanism that does not depend on writing down a recovery phrase. The hardware is open source, and the underlying chip technology is the same family of secure NFC elements used in payment cards and identity documents. Burner is web-only at present, with no Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, or Chrome-extension client, since interaction happens entirely through the tap-to-phone web interface.

Quick facts: Launched 2025 by Arx Research, Inc. (co-founders Cameron Robertson and David Myers); headquarters not publicly disclosed. Self-custody NFC hardware card; web-based interface works on any NFC-enabled phone via browser, no native app required. Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Base, and Solana (via Flexa integration), with stablecoin focus (USD II, USDC, USDT).