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Crypto Hardware Wallets
Crypto hardware wallets allow you to sign your every transaction with your private key, thus confirming that you are, indeed, the owner of the transaction that you signed and no one else can do it on your behalf. This makes these cold storage options an apt choice. These are protected by chips that are driven by secure technologies, thus saving your assets
Introduction
Keeping your hard-earned money on crypto exchanges isn’t a wise idea. Seeing the number of incidents that have taken place in 2022 and previous years, the importance of crypto hardware wallets has increased manifold.
A hardware wallet is a type of cold storage that helps a user protect his assets from getting stolen. As is commonly believed, it does not store your crypto assets, they remain on the blockchain, and only the private key associated is stored in it. And as your private key is known only to you, it becomes almost impossible to steal your funds.
These days, such storage spaces offer high-security standards, support a huge number of tokens, and are easy to install and use. In the sections to come, you will read about some of the best storage spaces that you can choose from.
The private keys of a hardware crypto wallet come with a PIN and a seed phrase that can be stored offline (never store a seed phrase anywhere online or in a cloud storage app). This seed phrase is like the double security. Unless someone has it, only you are the controller of your seeds. If your device gets lost or stolen, you can recover it on another device via your seed phrase (also called recovery phrase). The private keys are stored in a micro-controller.
Best Crypto Hardware Wallets to Buy in 2024
1. Ledger
All Ledgers are in the form of a USB device with metallic bodies and an OLED screen. All the devices are well synchronized with the Ledger Live app which is a desktop-based app to add different blockchain apps and helps in buying and selling crypto assets. Ledger Live app supports Ethereum and Polygon blockchain-based NFTs.
Ledger Nano S
It is, by far, the most popular choice of users when it comes to selecting the best hardware wallet. And the reasons are many. It comes with a sophisticated design and is easy to use, especially for beginners. To operate a Ledger device, you need to install a Ledger Live app on your system.
Most Prominent Features
- A 100% offline storage that remains isolated from the internet when you enter your pin or when you are not using it. You need to connect to the internet only when you need to perform a transaction.
- Secured by a CC EAL5+ chip for protecting assets from attacks.
Note: CC EAL stands for Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level. It is a security evaluation granted to a product or system after that product or system completes the common criteria evaluation.
The EALs are numerically graded from 1 to 7 with 7 being the highest confidence that the product/system is secured and that the product is formally verified designed and tested, and can be relied upon. As per Wikipedia, the common criterion is “an international standard for computer security certification”. A security device needs to pass the common criteria tests set to earn the EAL grade.
- Supports a number of tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, ERC tokens, BNB, and many more.
- OLED screen to view accounts and change settings, view and sign the transactions.
- All the operations can be carried with two buttons on the top of the device.
- Comes with a micro USB Cable
Ledger Nano S Plus
Most Prominent Features
- It incorporates all features of Ledger Nano S with the difference that its OLED screen is bigger, and therefore, navigation is relatively easier.
- Memory size that aids in installing 100+ apps simultaneously. It supports 5000+tokens.
- Ledger Live provides options to buy, sell and swap crypto assets; it also provides access to the Defi apps.
Ledger Nano X
Most Prominent Features
- It has a bigger OLED screen than Ledger Nano Plus.
- The most prominent feature is its ability to allow you to connect the device to your smartphone by Bluetooth.
- Having bigger memory, it supports more blockchain apps.
- Slightly heavier than its counterparts.
- Comes with a C-type USB cable.
Ledger Stax
Most Prominent Features
- Though not available in the market at present, it can be pre-ordered and is one of the most advanced Ledger devices so far. It is also customizable where you can customize your screen with the NFTs of your choice.
- This crypto hardware wallet supports Bluetooth and wireless charging (Qi type).
- Has a curve E type touchscreen.
- Comes with a C-type USB cable.
- Compatibility with macOS, Windows, iOS, Ubuntu, and Android.
Note: All Ledger devices are secured by Secure Element Chip and come with a proprietary operating system that aids in the security of the assets.
2. Trezor
Trezor crypto hardware wallet needs to be connected to the Trezor suite app for functioning fully. It is secured by EAL5.
Trezor Model T
Most Prominent Features
- It comes with a touchscreen that is 1.5” color LCD screen.
- Supports more than 1450 coins and tokens.
- Supports C-type USB cable.
- This crypto hardware wallet verifiable device architecture.
- Currently supported by macOS, Windows, and Linux. Support for Android is yet to come.
- Supports seed phrase backup.
- Supports FIDO2 and U2F authentication methods. FIDO stands for Fast Identity Online and helps users log into web services without the need to enter a password. It is an open standard for passwordless authentication. “2” in FIDO stands for the version that came after the standard U2F (Universal Second Factor) and UAF (Universal Authentication Framework).
- Supports entering PIN and seed phrase directly on the touchscreen.
- Comes with advanced SHAMIR backup. Trezor fully supports the SLIP-0039 security standard which is called SHAMIR backup with the help of which a predetermined number of recovery shares, each that comes with 20 words are determined. The user then determines the threshold, i.e. the number of shares required to recover the wallet in case it is stolen or gets destroyed.
Trezor Model One
Most Prominent Features
- It supports U2F standards for authentication.
- Like its counterpart, this crypto hardware wallet verifiable device architecture.
- Has an OLED screen.
- Lighter and smaller than Trezor T and comes with twin buttons.
3. Ellipal Titan
Ellipal Titan Cold Wallet
Most Prominent Features
- Ellipan Titan is known to have anti-disassembly features.
- It is an OCCW device, i.e. open cross-chain type.
- It also supports multiple currencies and blockchains.
- It is based on air-gapped technology which makes it more secure. This means it has been designed to be isolated from getting connected to any external networks physically or via Wi-Fi. As no external connection to a network is made, device security is assured. Information stored on the Ellipal Titan cannot be thus stolen or controlled by an external network or device.
- Comes with metal encapsulation.
- It works seamlessly with its companion app which supports iOS and Android. With this app, you can keep yourself connected to exchanges via your smartphone.
- Supports 2-step verification for every transaction.
- Supports offline firmware updates.
- Eliipan Titan is one of those hardware crypto wallets that get auto-wiped out if any device attack is noticed. Then you can restore your data on a separate device with a 12-word mnemonic.
- Comes in two versions: Ellipal Titan Mini Cold and the one with a larger screen: Ellipal Titan Cold. The Mini version has an LCD screen of about 2.4” and comes with a 600 mAh battery.
- Carries a memory of 1 GB.
- To recharge the device, connect the adapter to the bottom of the device and then attach a charging cable to the adapter.
- Connects to the app via a QR code.
- This hardware crypto wallet supports multiple languages.
- Provides support for more than 40 coins and 1000 + tokens.
- An aluminum case called Ellipal Menmonic Metal can be purchased to store the mnemonic phrase. The case is compatible with all kinds of BIP-39 storage. The BIP stands for Bitcoin Improvement Proposal and BIP39 is an implementation that decides how the storage would create mnemonic codes.
4. CoolWallet Pro
CoolWallet Pro
Most Prominent Features
- Like others, Coolwallet Pro is a portable device with a lightweight at 6 grams.
- It is tamper-proof and water-resistant.
- Works in unison with the CoolBitX app which supports multiple marketplace features including staking; this way, you get rewards while holding your assets via the CoolWallet Pro device. The app supports POS mining for Cosmos, Polkadot, and Tron. Allows buying crypto, and NFT collectibles and receiving airdrops.
- Has a screen to confirm transactions (just like Ledger).
- Has Encrypted Bluetooth technology for both iOS and Android smartphones.
- Support for NFT and Metaverse. It is known to be the first one to support in-app NFT trading on OpenSea and Rarible. How cool is that!!
- You can connect it to the MetaMask to enhance security and provide support for NFTs and Dapps.
- It comes with an upgraded chipset that supports Secure Element features. The device comes with a higher CC EAL6 rating, which is better than others that support EAL5.
- Has biometric authentication as well as physical 2FA confirmation.
- Support all ERC-20, TRC-20, and BEP-20 tokens.
- With 2 transactions/day, its fully charged battery lasts for 2 weeks.
- It also comes with a variant called CoolWallet S, which supports fewer cryptocurrencies and secure element CC EAL5.
5. SecuX
SecuX comes in three variants: V20, W20, and W10. Let’s have a look over a few features of SecuX V20.
SecuX V20
Most Prominent Features
- Like CoolPro, SecuX V20 is one of those storages that are also tamper-resistant. The resistance to tampering is known to be of military grade. (Vault-grade security is provided with Infineon Secure Element). An attempt to remove the label removal will result in markings on the seal.
- Supports Secure Element CC EAL5 for securing assets.
- Can be connected to a Mac or Windows or Linux via USB and Bluetooth. Also supports iOS and Android-based smartphones.
- Works seamlessly with SecuX Web app that can be used as a portal without the need to install it.
- A 2.8” touchscreen on a circular-shaped body makes it easy to tap the tokens with your fingers.
- Supports hidden wallet protection.
- To secure the device from breaches, the device resets after 5 unsuccessful PIN attempts.
- Provides access to NFTs and Defi apps on OpenSea. Enables trading of NFTs.
- Support for multichain; supports 1000 cryptocurrencies and 500 accounts.
6. BitBox02
Like Ledger, BitBox02 is apt for beginners.
BitBox02
Most Prominent Features
- An easy-to-use hardware crypto wallet that comes with free BitBoxApp.
- It provides easy backup.
- Comes with open-source firmware, allowing third-party auditors to review and report code bugs.
- Secure as all the security operations can be carried out on the device itself, this keeps your workstation and mobile away from having any sort of contact with private keys.
- Confirmation of transactions on screen.
- Has dual-chip architecture for enhanced security.
- Uses noise protocol to enable the encrypted USB connection between it and the host computer.
- No data tracking (including your IP address or any transaction). No data is stored on the company’s servers while you perform a transaction using the wallet and the app.
- To make sure that the chipset is free from vulnerabilities, the company runs bounty programs where independent auditors are welcome to report any firmware bugs.
- Additional security via restricting the attempts to 10. This eliminates brute-force attacks. If that limit is crossed, a counter in the chip prohibits another attempt.
- Another measure that comes as a security step comes in the form of pasting a solvent-resistant epoxy to the micro-controller. This encapsulates the chip completely. On getting dried, this epoxy pastes the chip to the casing and if someone tries to access the chip, the chip will get ripped off the PCB and this will destroy the BitBox02 device.
For beginners, Ledger, Trezor, and BitBox02 are good choices. For more advanced users, Ellipal Titan, Coolwallet Pro, and SecuX are the best owing to their enhanced security features. Depending on the requirements, one can select the best crypto hardware wallet in 2024.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and is NOT a financial advice. We do not promote, in any form, any wallets, cryptocurrencies or tokens mentioned herein. The content of this article is based on the information available up to the knowledge. You should be aware that investing in any wallet or cryptocurrency is subject to market risk and you MUST do your own due diligence (DYOR) before you put any money in any of these wallets, coins, or tokens.
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Anuradha
A blockchain writer and a cryptocurrency enthusiast. First-hand experience of working in web3 domain in which I create blockchain content for both developers and end-users. A blogger by choice and passion. My interest in blockchain is only growing up with the passage of time.