NGRAVE ZERO: What the Belgian Air-Gapped Hardware Wallet Is and How It Works

Ruben Merre founded NGRAVE in Belgium in 2018. Belgian cryptographer Jean-Jacques Quisquater, whose work is cited in the Bitcoin white paper, serves as an advisor ⁴⁷. The company sold its first devices through a 2020 crowdfunding campaign that raised about $450,000 from 1,225 backers. It closed a $6 million seed round in January 2022 ⁷.

In January 2026 NGRAVE announced a restructuring. A group of long-term investors, including the Lydian Group, acquired its core assets. Merre returned as CEO and Quentin Grutman became Chairman ⁸. That announcement was a sponsored press release, so these details are the company's account. NGRAVE's current Terms and Conditions name Hestara SRL as the company that owns and operates NGRAVE. It is registered in Belgium under number 1031.812.457 ³.

The ZERO has no USB data link, Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi or cellular radio. Its USB-C port is used only for charging and firmware updates ¹. A transfer works like this ¹²:

1. Prepare the transaction in NGRAVE LIQUID on your phone. LIQUID shows it as a QR code.
2. Scan the code with the ZERO's camera and check the address and amount on its 4-inch touchscreen.
3. Approve with your fingerprint and 8-digit PIN.
4. Return the signature. The ZERO displays the signed transaction as a QR code. LIQUID scans it and broadcasts it.

Firmware 1.8 added support for the Universal QR protocol. NGRAVE says this lets the ZERO sign for EVM networks through MetaMask and Rabby, as well as through LIQUID ². For background, see what is a hardware wallet and hot vs cold wallets.

NGRAVE's own pages give different counts. The ZERO page says it supports "15 coins and all Ethereum and MultiversX tokens," and elsewhere cites "3,500+ coins and tokens" ¹. The home-page FAQ lists 16 networks: BTC, BCH, ETH, DASH, ZEC, LTC, BNB, XRP, DOGE, XTZ, EGLD, GRS, SOL, XLM, MATIC and AVAX ². The larger token figure comes from ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum and ESDT tokens on MultiversX. That is narrower native coverage than wallets advertising thousands of assets, so check NGRAVE's current list for any coin you hold.

The ZERO generates its private key (NGRAVE calls it the "Perfect Key") on the device, offline. It draws on the fingerprint sensor and other sources of randomness ⁹. You then back up the recovery data. You can write it down, or punch it into a GRAPHENE plate. GRAPHENE is a stainless-steel backup that NGRAVE says is encrypted and recoverable ¹².

Recovery is your responsibility. NGRAVE's terms state that it holds no backup copy of your credentials. If you lose the credentials, you may lose access to your crypto permanently. Anyone who obtains them can take the funds ³.

NGRAVE staff will never need your recovery data. Use only ngrave.io and shop.ngrave.io, because fake wallet sites and support accounts are a common theft route (crypto phishing). General steps: how to set up a hardware wallet.

On October 23, 2026, NGRAVE's shop listed these prices in euros, taxes included ⁵:

The shop's currency and taxes may differ by region. NGRAVE says US orders under $800 currently carry no import fees, while the UK, Canada and Switzerland do ². The LIQUID app is free, and there is no subscription. Network fees are paid on-chain as usual. NGRAVE's app does not offer native staking; staking happens through third-party apps ⁹.

NGRAVE's case for the ZERO rests on these features ¹²:

• No data connection: the device has no wired or wireless data link.
• Biometrics plus PIN: a fingerprint sensor and an 8-digit PIN.
• Physical protection: a metal case that NGRAVE describes as "4-layer tamper resistance."
• Certification claims: a Common Criteria EAL7 certification, which NGRAVE says no other crypto hardware wallet holds. The site also shows a FIPS 140-3 badge.

Media coverage links the EAL7 claim to the ZERO's custom operating system and firmware ⁹. This profile did not retrieve the certificate itself. Treat EAL7 as an assurance rating for the evaluated design, not a guarantee that funds cannot be lost. NGRAVE runs a bug bounty covering hardware, firmware and web services ⁶.

The air gap does not protect you from:

• a leaked recovery backup;
• approving a malicious contract you did not read;
• a counterfeit device bought outside official channels.

For other approaches, see Ledger and Trezor, which connect by cable or Bluetooth, and SafePal, which also signs by QR code. For a scored comparison, see the hardware wallet ratings.