BitBox02 support for lace wallet

[xezon]

Hello.

There currently appears to be no Wallet UI for Cardano that is compatible with BitBox02 to use for dApps.

There is adalite that allows to transact and stake Ada with the BitBox02, but it cannot be used to interact with dApps.

I would like to kick off a discussion to explore BitBox02 support for lace. It would allow for a new user base to enter the Cardano ecosystem.

BitBox02

The BitBox02 refers to https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/

I was unable to find numbers for amount of sold units. If such a number is needed to evaluate the priority of BitBox02 support, then I can try to inquire with the manufacturer. I do expect that the BitBox02 is less popular than Trezor and Ledger, especially in the big US market, because it is of Swiss origin, so is more likely to be used by European users in the first place.

bitbox-bridge, bitbox-api

The bitbox-bridge allows to interface with the USB device. It is unclear to me if the bridge is capable to serve the whole set of requirements for Cardano dApps. On this page it does say:

With the BitBox02, you can connect to any DeFi Dapp

So perhaps technically it is possible.

BitBox does provide its api for 3 languages:

bitbox-api-rs
bitbox02-api-go
bitbox02-api-js

I expect that the bitbox02-api-js is of relevance in the case of lace.

How Adalite uses bitbox

Adalite does already interface with the bitbox-api in its TypeScript:
shelley-bitbox02-crypto-provider.ts
bitbox02-api.d.ts

This is probably a good reference point, along with the api itself - to get an overview.

Next steps

I do wonder how easy or difficult it will be to add BitBox02 compatibility to lace? Is this something we can explore? How can we get started? I do own the BitBox02, so perhaps I can be of service for this task. And I am a programmer too, albeit not experienced with TypeScript and the like.