Security is an important thing to consider before buying and storing cryptocurrencies. Hackers can steal your funds from exchanges or online wallets. With so many options available to choose from when shopping for a crypto wallet, it’s important to know the advantages and disadvantages they all offer.
With a growing number of options available for cryptocurrency storage, it is fundamental to find the right combination of performance, security, and convenience for your specific needs. In this article, you will find the best hardware wallets (also called cold storage), with a brief summary of how they function and where to find more information.
What Are The Types Of Cryptocurrency Wallets?
Before jumping into describing each wallet, it’s important that you know the different types of cryptocurrency wallets available to storage Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Litecoin (LTC) and other altcoins. There are five types of storage available:
- Online
- Mobile: downloadable and adapted apps for smartphones
- Desktop or software: they are installed on your desktop
- Paper: is an offline mechanism for storing cryptos and the process involves printing the private keys and addresses onto paper
- Cold or Hardware: it is often described as a USB drive which allows for secure storage of cryptos, offline.
What Is A Hardware (Cold) Wallet?
While some people are happy storing their cryptos in software or desktop wallets, others want to use safer wallets. If you want to store cryptocurrencies for the long term, it is recommendable to use hardware wallets given to the great security they offer, even when it comes to daily transactions.
Hardware wallets, also known as cold wallets or USB wallets, store users’ private keys on a device, usually a USB drive. Private keys are random words generated to access crypto wallets in case you fail your password multiple times, forget it or if your crypto wallet gets stolen or lost. With this type of wallet, users can receive and send cryptocurrencies in a more secure way. One of the biggest advantages this wallet can offer is the fact that most of the time is offline, providing a higher level of security available for your digital assets. Integration with third-party apps and web interfaces are also available in some cases, providing users with a higher range of possibilities.
Even though hardware wallets are usually more expensive, the investment pays off by providing users with the safest option to store cryptos. Even if you lose your hardware wallet, you can always restore all of your stored cryptocurrencies in a new wallet with your private security keys. This type of wallet is usually recommended for people who have high amounts of cryptos saved.
Top 10 Best Hardware Wallets for Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies
Below you will find the 10 best hardware wallets available in the market in 2019, which are being developed by companies with high levels of security and a friend interface.
1. Trezor
Relevant Features:
- Price:
- Trezor One: $76 (approx.)
- Trezor Model T: $165 (approx.)
Cryptocurrencies: full list of cryptocurrencies supported by Trezor
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Website: trezor.io
Review:
Created by SatoshiLabs, Trezor was the first secure Bitcoin hardware wallet in the world with OLED interfaces, and as of today they offer two models. The nine-digit randomly generated pins and a 24-word recovery start key ensures security in case the device is lost, damaged or stolen. Its purpose is to store private keys and sign transactions offline.
Trezor has a reputation for providing first-class security, protecting your assets against virtual and physical theft. What Trezor lacks in style makes up for it in security. Even if your PC or laptop is compromised with malware, your private keys will still be secured with Trezor.
2. Ledger
Relevant Features:
- Prices:
- Ledger Nano X: $135 (approx.)
- Ledger Nano S: $65 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: full list of cryptocurrencies supported by Ledger
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Website: ledger.com
Review:
Ledger SAS is headquartered in Paris and San Francisco. The design of its products has a European, elegant and attractive touch. Some of its main features offer a seed key (recovery seed) for the retrieval of cryptocurrencies, a user-friendly OLED interface and a flash unit with two buttons on the side to navigate the interface.
3. KeepKey
Relevant Features:
- Price: $79 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: full list of cryptocurrencies supported by Keepkey..
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Website: keepkey.com
Review:
Developed by shapeshift.io, a relatively new company in the cryptocurrency market which is dedicated to both the development of hardware wallets and the integration of cryptocurrency exchanges inside crypto-wallets.
It doesn’t offer any advantages when compared to Ledger or Trezor. It offers support for fewer cryptocurrencies and the USB drive is at least twice as big and heavy as its competitors. It offers the possibility to access the wallet with a pin code and generally works the same way as any of the other wallets but with a simpler user interface.
4. BitBox
Relevant Features:
- Price: $69 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ether, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and ERC-20 tokens
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Website: shiftcrypto.ch/shop
Review:
BitBox is a hardware wallet with a design similar to a USB stick, built by the Swiss company Shift Cryptosecurity in 2017. This wallet uses a microsd memory to store sensitive user information and a microprocessor to increase security.
BitBox users can activate a second authentication step with the phone to perform transactions using FIDO, an open authentication protocol that can help reduce the risk of malicious attacks. In addition, the software has compatibility with the Tor and Tails operating systems, and claims to be built under the Swiss ideals of “quality, privacy and without backdoors”.
5. OpenDime
Relevant Features:
- Price: $37 (approx.) (3 units)
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin
- Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, Chrome OS
- Website: opendime.com
Review:
Developed by Coinkite, OpenDime is a wallet focused on functioning as a secure device for daily transactions as if it were cash. This wallet is not recommended for crypto-holders or people who tend to keep large amounts of crypto-assets. To receive or send cryptocurrencies with this wallet, you have to download a plugin to Chrome browser.
6. CoolWallet S
Relevant Features:
- Price: $99 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and ERC-20 tokens
- Platforms: Android y iOS
- Sitio web: coolwallet.io
Review:
Developed by CoolBitX, CoolWallet S is a cool wallet designed to resemble a credit card with the goal of being used to make daily payments. This wallet works with a mobile application that connects via Bluetooth. The second released version of this hardware is waterproof.
7. BitLox
Relevant Features:
- Price:
- Bitlox Advance $98 (approx.)
- Bitlox Ultimate $148 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
- Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, Chrome OS
- Website: bitlox.com
Review:
The BitLox wallet, designed to resemble a credit card, is one of the few wallets that has a physical keyboard on the device, instead of a digital one. This wallet establishes connection with computers through Bluetooth. For greater security, it allows to establish multiple PIN codes for different types of operations, such as unlocking the device, entering a wallet and even processing a transaction.
In addition, the device allows to create hidden wallets, without distinction in the data. Users can choose whether to use 12, 18 or 24 verification words to access each individual wallet. Currently, BitLox works with the Copay client.
8. Coldcard
Relevant Features:
- Price: $100 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin
- Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac
- Website: coldcardwallet.com
Review:
Also developed by Coinkite, Coldcard MK2 is one of the first cryptocurrency wallets developed to implement partially signed transactions (PSBT), proposed in the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 174 (BIP 174). This is why this wallet does not require additional software to perform transactions or use a client.
Cryptocurrencies and data are stored on a microsd card, but the secret keys are stored on a secure chip. It works with 24 security words. Coldcard has physical buttons and a small screen. The device is similar in size to a credit card. Users can modify some features of the wallet, since the software is open source.
9. Safe-t mini
Relevant Features:
- Price: $62 (approx.)
- Cryptocurrencies: full list of cryptocurrencies supported by Safe-T mini
- Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac
- Website: shop.archos.com
Review:
Safe-t mini, developed by the French electronics company Archos, has a circular design, two physical buttons and a screen to view the information. This hardware uses 24 keywords and allows you to configure a PIN code for unlocking.
The device is compatible with Electrum, MyCrypto, GreenAddress and Mycelium, and requires using a web software designed by Archos.
10. Icy Wallet
Relevant Features:
- Wallet under development
- Website: icywallet.com
- Github: neatnik/icywallet
Review
This cold crypto-wallet is still in development, but it will be the first to include a braille and audio system to cover the needs of blind bitcoiners. Its price is unknown.
The IcyWallet project, open source, proposes to use a Rasperry Pi chip without connection to support the storage and transfer of bitcoins. According to their website, a keyboard and headphones are necessary to set up the device, and users will also need to download a web software for the wallet to work.
The launch of the IcyWallet is planned for the end of 2019.
Need more technical information?
If you need specialized technical information about any of the wallets described above, check the FAQ of each product by entering their website. A lot of the companies offer Youtube videos with reviews to also help you decide. You can also take a look at hardware-wallets.net for great detailed reviews of each product.
Source: cryptocoin.news