How you store your cryptocurrency is not something to take lightly. Finding the right wallet for you is an important decision that requires you to consider a number of factors: convenience, ease of use, and most of all, security.
In this guide, we not only want to help you find the Best Bitcoin, Altcoin, or Multi-Currency Wallet, but also to teach you what makes a good wallet. Are widely considered to be the best and most secure way to store cryptocurrency, but they cost money. Free options like mobile, desktop, and online wallets are also covered in this guide. These wallets can be used for storing non-life-changing amounts of cryptocurrency.
We highly recommend educating yourself on the before making your decision. The first category of cryptocurrency wallets we'll be covering are hardware wallets. The options we've chosen are not only our picks for the best hardware wallets, but also our overall picks for the best wallets period. Hardware wallets are by far the most secure way to store cryptocurrency. Using a hardware wallet DRASTICALLY REDUCES the risk of theft or lost funds compared to the other wallet types. You can learn more about why hardware wallets are unanimously considered the best and most secure options and read our incredibly thorough hardware wallet comparison.
Best Bitcoin and Altcoin Wallet. The first Ledger wallet was launched in 2015. Since then, Ledger has been a widely trusted way to store cryptocurrency. Stores your private keys offline on the device, protecting your Bitcoin and altcoins from malware. Offers support for far more cryptocurrencies than competitors, including: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Litecoin, Neo, Dash, Zcash, Ethereum Classic, +31 more cryptocurrencies and 1000s of crypto-tokens (like ERC-20 tokens).
Can connect to any computer through USB cable. Improved user experience with the introduction of 'Ledger Live', though still worse in this regard than the Trezor wallets. However, this is likely due to the increased number of available altcoins and strict security measures put in place by the Ledger team. Solid device, made from stainless steel and plastic.
Creates a backup phrase at initial setup, allowing you to restore your wallet if you lose or damage the physical device. At a price of $99.99, the Ledger Nano S is the most affordable hardware wallet we've reviewed. Longest Trusted and Most User-Friendly Hardware Wallet. The first Bitcoin hardware wallet. Satoshi Labs, the company behind Trezor, has been operating since 2013. Like the Ledger Nano S, the Trezor stores your private keys offline on the device, which protects your Bitcoin from malware. Slightly more expensive than ledger at €89 ($106).
Supports cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, Zcash, Bitcoin Gold, NEM, Vertcoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Gold, and Ethereum Classic. Trezor's code is open source and has been peer reviewed. Connects to your computer using a USB cable. Allows you to back up your wallets by creating a backup phrase at initial set up.
This can be used to restore your wallets if your device is lost or damaged. Doubles as a secure password manager using Trezor's Password Manager Google Chrome App. More user friendly/easy to set up and use than the Ledger Nano S. For this reason, if you're not interested in storing cryptocurrencies that are only available on the Ledger Nano S, then we'd actually recommend the Trezor.
An Improvement on the Original Hardware Wallet. The Model T brings a handful of new features to Trezor, while maintaining everything we loved about the original. Supports all of the same cryptocurrencies as the Trezor One. Offers sleeker design and improved security, with full color touchscreen. This allows users to enter their PIN or passphrase re-entry on the device, rather than on their computer.
Houses microSD card, which will soon allow users to encrypt password storage on the microSD rather than use encrypted cloud storage. At a price tag roughly 60% more expensive than the Trezor One, most users' needs should be covered by the Trezor One or Ledger Nano S. If you're looking for the most secure way to manage your passwords, the Trezor Model T combined with the Trezor Password Manager is a fantastic way to stay secure online. Best Looking Hardware Wallet. Full color touchscreen, allowing you to easily navigate through Ledger Live (Ledger's PC app wallet platform). Offers all the security features of the Nano S. Supports than the Nano S, though far more than the KeepKey or Trezor models.
Metal frame with plastic casing. Connects to your computer through USB. Backing up your wallet with a recovery seed at set up allows you to restore your wallet if the hardware is lost or stolen. As the most expensive option of the bunch, we view the Ledger Blue as really cool, but unnecessary. Another Great Hardware Option. Launched in 2015. Like the Trezor and Ledger, KeepKey stores your wallet's private keys offline on the device, keeping them safe from malware.
Supported cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Doge, Dash, and a select number of crypto tokens. More expensive than the Ledger Nano S and Trezor One. KeepKey firmware is fully open source. Aluminum case with polycarbonate front, making this device feel sturdier than its competitors.
Connect to any computer through USB. Restore your wallet with generated backup phrase if the hardware is lost or damaged. Outside of perhaps style points, we rank the Trezor and Ledger wallets above KeepKey. When it comes to hardware wallets, there’s three big names in the space: Ledger, Trezor, and KeepKey.
Ledger (Ledger Nano S & Ledger Blue) and Trezor (Trezor One & Trezor Model T) both offer two hardware wallets, while KeepKey produces one - leaving us with five choices to compare. All options are widely used, secure, and trusted. Any of these would be a far more secure choice than using any non-hardware wallet.
With all options being great, we’re left to look for major differentiators that set one apart from the pack. We’ll be focusing on comparing:. Number of Supported Cryptocurrencies. User-Experience/User-Friendliness.
Price and Value Supported Cryptocurrencies If you’re a Bitcoin maximalist, you can skip to the next section. All these choices function as great Bitcoin hardware wallets. For those of you who’ve caught the altcoin bug, supported cryptocurrencies will likely be the deciding factor for you.
Ledger and Trezor devices allow you to secure all ERC-20 tokens, while KeepKey only offers the ability to store select tokens. Below, we’ll just be listing supported cryptocurrencies that have their own blockchains. Bolded coins indicate that a device is the only one of these options to support it. At a glance, it becomes very obvious that the is the best bet for if you're an altcoin enthusiast. The Nano S currently supports 26 cryptocurrencies not supported by Trezor or KeepKey. High only supported by the Nano S (and sometimes also the Blue) include Ripple, Stellar, Tron, NEO, VeChain, and Qtum. If you're interested in securely storing any of the coins that are only supported by the Ledger Nano S, then we'd strongly recommend the Nano S for you.
User-Experience/User-Friendliness For those of you who are Bitcoin maximalists or are only interested in coins supported by Trezor devices, this is where things get interesting. From a user-friendliness standpoint, we favor Trezor's web interface to Ledger's Ledger Live' apps.
Trezor While setting up your device, you'll be prompted to install the 'Trezor Bridge'. This is a simple application for your computer that will allow your hardware wallet to communicate with the Trezor web wallet interface. Aside from installing the program, you should never even notice it again, so long as you're using the same computer. New computers you want to use will also need to install the bridge.
After setting up the bridge, you'll be able to fully interact with the Trezor web wallet interface. The wallet allows you to seamlessly switch between different supported coin wallets. With the exception of Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and NEM, you can view your balances, send transactions, and view your addresses for receiving transfers all from this one page. Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and NEM are unique in the way they operate. For these cryptocurrencies, Trezor has been integrated with third-party wallets. This means you get all of the security benefits of Trezor but can't use these coins' wallets directly from Trezor's web interface.
With that said, we still find the Trezor's approach to these altcoins more user-friendly than Ledger's app system (which we'll get to just below). For example, when you click on 'Ethereum (ETH)' in the drop-down menu, you'll see the following pop up to use MyEtherWallet or GoCrypto's Ethereum wallet. You can also navigate to these sites directly.
Once at MyEtherWallet, you can select to connect your Trezor device. After connecting to MyEtherWallet, you can then use your Ethereum addresses to send and receive transactions. Note that you can also use MyEtherWallet in combination with Trezor to store all ERC-20 tokens. Ledger Ledger devices use 'Ledger Live', Ledger apps, and some third-party wallet integrations. For those who have used the old Ledger app manager, Ledger live is a big step up for changing between wallets. As the name implies, Ledger Live allows you to view your account balances without having your hardware wallet connected, a feature lacking from Trezor. What we find most annoying about the Ledger system is the fact that you have to open apps from your device.
This means using the hardware every time you want to switch between which wallet apps you're using. While this might sound like a minor inconvenience, it may become super frustrating over time. It's especially cumbersome if you're used to Trezor's seamless switching between wallets. This shortcoming mostly affects users of the Nano S, as the Blue's touchscreen makes switching between wallets less of a hassle. All hardware wallets in this guide require users to enter a PIN code to access their device. In a similar vein to the above annoyance, Ledger hardware wallets can be a pain to access. Whereas Trezors have you enter a PIN code on your computer (from an array of numbers shown on the devices), Ledger devices require you to enter your PIN on the hardware itself.
Pin Entry on Ledger Nano S vs Trezor Again, this is less of an issue for the Ledger Blue, as it's easier to interact with the Blue's touchscreen, compared to the Nano's two button set up. It's important to note that Ledger's lackluster system is at least partially due to the large number of currencies it supports and its team's dedication to security. KeepKey KeepKey uses a simple chrome app for accessing your wallets. While KeepKey boasts even fewer supported cryptocurrencies than Trezor, it offers a pretty great overall user experience for the coins it does support.
Unlike the Nano S, we did not have any major frustrations with the KeepKey. Price, Value, and Final Thoughts Ledger Nano S Despite the having some annoyances, it's hard to argue this is not the best hardware wallet available. At $99.99, the Nano S is the cheapest hardware wallet while simultaneously offering the most supported cryptocurrencies.
For many, the Nano S is a no brainer just based off of these facts. It's essentially a necessity for altcoin holders, even including popular altcoins like Ripple, Stellar, and Tron. Even for those who are new to crypto and haven't yet entered into the altcoin waters, you may want to prepare for your seemingly inevitable entry into these markets by opting for the Nano S. Trezor One & Trezor Model T The (€89 ($106) is a tried and true hardware wallet, with a user experience we find better than the Ledger. If you don't need the coin support of Ledgers, then we personally would recommend the Trezor One for this reason.
If the roughly $6 difference in price is a deal breaker for you, then you might want to hold off on even purchasing a hardware wallet until you have a larger investment to protect. Now if you're determined to own a touchscreen hardware wallet, the Model T offers one for about $100 cheaper than the Ledger Blue ($170 vs $269.99), though it's significantly less pleasing on the eyes. Despite this, it does still offer the touchscreen convenience and slight security benefits while still being able to fit on your keychain. Ledger Blue Two words come to mind when looking at the Ledger Blue: 'cool' and 'unnecessary'. For those crypto ballers out there who don't mind shilling out $269.99 for a hardware wallet with less coin support than it's $99.99 counterpart, we see no reason not to. That being said, the Blue does function as a very easy-to-use choice that offers more coins than non-ledger competitors. When it comes to Bitcoin and multi-cryptocurrency wallets, many would consider mobile wallets to be the most convenient type of wallet to use.
While we don't recommend storing large amounts of crypto on mobile wallet apps, they can be a great way to get started with cryptocurrencies and are excellent for smaller, everyday transactions. We'd recommend treating your mobile wallet the way you would a debit card. Only keep an amount on it you need for regular purchases and payments. Use for any significant crypto savings. You can learn more about the different types of cryptocurrency wallets and read our in-depth mobile wallet comparison.
Best Android and iOS Mobile Cryptocurrency Wallet. The Edge wallet is a re-branding of the Airbitz wallet. Edge/Airbitz has been developing cryptocurrency wallets since 2014. Available on iOS and Android. Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple XRP, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Augur, Zcoin, Wings, Digibyte, Vertcoin, Indorse, Feathercoin, and Bitcoin Gold. Also supports all Ethereum ERC-20 tokens (unlike many competitors). Private keys are encrypted on your mobile device, unlike some competitors.
Wallets can be restored using private keys on other wallets in the unlikely event Edge goes out of business. Edge does not require storing personal information such as email, name, phone, etc on their servers.
Software is open source and has undergone 3rd party audits. Allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies straight from the device. Exchange one crypto for another all from your mobile Edge wallet. Best Designed Mobile Wallet. While it lacks some of the power of Edge's wallet, the BRD wallet offers a very sleek, simple, and clean user interface.
Android and iOS apps. Supports: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and 100 of the top ERC-20 tokens. Wallet technology is open source under MIT license.
At wallet creation, you'll be given a 12-word paper key. This can be used to recover your wallets. The wallet does not use any user ID or personal information. Encrypts private key on device. Allows you to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies and assets right from your mobile wallet.
Online and Mobile Wallet from the Coinbase Exchange. While Coinbase is primarily used as an exchange, some users use it to store cryptocurrency. Coinbase does NOT give you access to your private keys, meaning you are not in full control of your funds!. In this way, Coinbase essentially acts as a 'Cryptocurrency Bank' which largely defeats the purposes of cryptocurrency. While we always recommend opting instead for a wallet that gives you control of your private keys, Coinbase does offer some security features other exchanges lack as a part of the. Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic storage, purchases, and sell orders.
Very easy to use and convenient if also using the service to buy cryptocurrency. Popular Desktop and Mobile Wallet. Founded in 2014 by Anthony Di lorio (Ethereum Co-Founder). Available on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone, Tablet, iPad, and Google Chrome Extension. Stores private keys on your computer, phone, or tablet. Can pair wallet across multiple devices. Supports: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, Zcash, Ethereum Classic, Dogecoin, and 60+ more cryptocurrencies.
Does NOT support all ERC-20 tokens. Integrated with ShapeShift to allow you to exchange cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies right from your wallet. Is not open source, but most code can be viewed on their website. Allows you to restore your wallet using a backup phrase. Of all the different wallet types, the mobile wallet space seems to be the most competitive. For this reason, we've chosen to only go in-depth with our comparison for three wallets in this category: Edge, BRD (Bread Wallet), and Coinbase.
These three offer a variety of different features. For nearly all readers, one of these wallets should be a great fit for you.
In this mobile wallet comparison, we'll be focusing on:. Supported Cryptocurrencies.
Design and User Experience. Security Supported Cryptocurrencies In a world where 1000s of different cryptocurrencies exist and are in demand, we know a high number of supported cryptocurrencies is a crucial feature to multi-cryptocurrency wallet users. This was a large factor for us choosing Edge as the best mobile wallet. Edge supports far more cryptocurrencies than the other wallets we're comparing and is the only one to support all Ethereum ERC-20 tokens. In the table below, bolded coins indicate that they are only supported by one specific wallet in our comparison. These lists do NOT include specific ERC-20 tokens, though BRD supports 100 of the most popular ERC-20 tokens and Edge supports all of them. Supported Coins as of August 18th, 2018.
In terms of supported altcoins, Edge is the clear winner. It's comparable to the Ledger Nano S in our hardware wallet. Edge is the only wallet of the three to support major coins with their own blockchains like Monero, Ripple, and Dash.
It also opens the possibility of using 1000s of tokens, by supporting all ERC-20s. Design and User Experience BRD (Bread Wallet) What BRD lacks in supported coins, it makes up with its beautiful design and intuitive user experience. Users of BRD can easily send and receive cryptocurrencies. You can easily add wallets for any cryptocurrencies supported by edge. All Ethereum ERC-20 tokens can be added to your Ethereum wallet. You can view a guide to do this made by Edge themselves,.
Like BRD, Edge gives you the ability to trade cryptocurrencies from within the wallet. Coinbase It's important to remember that Coinbase's primary function is to help users easily buy and sell cryptocurrencies. It does however offer basic wallet functionality - allowing you to store, send, and receive its five supported cryptocurrencies.
Security Before comparing these mobile wallets' security, we first want to remind you that we never recommend storing large amounts of cryptocurrency on mobile wallets. There's no substitute for a 's security when storing large investments. Coinbase Unlike Edge or BRD, Coinbase does not give you access to your private keys. This means Coinbase's wallet is effectively a cryptocurrency bank. They could seize or freeze your funds at any time if they felt they had reason to do so. This is why it's always recommended to choose a wallet.
So why did we bother including Coinbase on this list in the first place?. Despite our warnings and the warnings of most of the cryptocurrency community, some percentage of cryptocurrency investors will still hold funds on an exchange for the sake of simplicity. If you're determined to keep funds at a 'crypto bank', Coinbase is probably the exchange that exists. They also offer security features such as 2FA, multi-sig wallets, and the. If you follow our recommendations, you would never keep any significant amount of savings on ANY mobile, desktop, or online wallet.
While it's up to you to decide this for yourself, we personally are less concerned with the security of funds we store on mobile wallets because we only store insignificant amounts on these wallets. Thus, we're more focused on functionality and ease of use for our mobile wallets.
With that said, we still prefer Edge and BRD overall. BRD When setting up the BRD wallet, you'll be given a 12 word 'paper key'. This is used in place of user IDs, passwords, etc. In other words, BRD does not need to store personal information or account information on servers. Your BRD paper key puts you in control of your cryptocurrencies and allows you to recover your funds even if your Android or iOS device is lost, damaged, or stolen. Edge Edge views 12 or 24 word paper keys as a.
They believe this opens the door to keyloggers and screen capture malware. Thus, they have a different approach to security. Private keys are created locally on your device, then stored with a hash of your username and password. Usernames and passwords are never shared or stored on Edge servers. Once your wallet is created, it is then backed up by Edge and synchronized if using multiple devices. Edge then offers and encourages use of 2-Factor Authentication. With all of this combined, Edge, '.a key logger or screen grabber that may have snagged the username/password won’t be able to use it on another device.
Users get the ease and familiarity of standard authentication with the security of client-side encryption and automated backup.' Best Desktop Multi-Cryptocurrency Wallet. Founded in 2014 by Anthony Di lorio (Ethereum Co-Founder). Available on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone, Tablet, iPad, and Google Chrome Extension.
Stores private keys on your computer, phone, or tablet. Can pair wallet across multiple devices.
Supports: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, Zcash, Ethereum Classic, Dogecoin, and 60+ more cryptocurrencies. Does NOT support all ERC-20 tokens. Integrated with ShapeShift to allow you to exchange cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies right from your wallet. Is not open source, but most code can be viewed on their website. Allows you to restore your wallet using a backup phrase. Best Bitcoin and Altcoin Specific Desktop Wallet. Development began for Exodus in 2015.
Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Stores private keys on your computer. Supported Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, EOS, Ethereum Classic, OmiseGo, SALT, Aragon, Augur, BAT, Civic, Decred, District0x, FunFair, and Golem. Has ShapeShift integrated inro the wallet, allowing you to trade cryptocurrencies from within the software. Exodus is not fully open source, although you can see certain individual components on their Github. Allows you to restore your wallet using email and password. Online and Mobile Wallet from the Coinbase Exchange.
While Coinbase is primarily used as an exchange, some users use it to store cryptocurrency. Coinbase does NOT give you access to your private keys, meaning you are not in full control of your funds!. In this way, Coinbase essentially acts as a 'Cryptocurrency Bank' which largely defeats the purposes of cryptocurrency. While we always recommend opting instead for a wallet that gives you control of your private keys, Coinbase does offer some security features other exchanges lack as a part of the.
Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic storage, purchases, and sell orders. Very easy to use and convenient if also using the service to buy cryptocurrency. What Makes a Good Cryptocurrency Wallet?
What makes a cryptocurrency wallet good is dependent on your needs. In general, security is the biggest priority for most coin holders. If you own an amount of Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Altcoins that are significant to you, we highly recommend making security your main focus. We’ll also be covering wallets geared towards making frequent transactions, including mobile and online wallets. A Brief Look at How Cryptocurrency Wallets Work While it's often said that a wallet stores your cryptocurrency, this is not technically the case. Instead wallets store ECDSA keypairs, including a private key.
A Private Key is a long string of characters stored in your wallet that’s used to sign the transactions you send. It may be helpful to think of a private key as a password needed to send transactions. Example Bitcoin Private Key: E9873D79C6D87DC0FB6A5778213303DA61F20BD67FC233AA33262 As the name suggests, your private key should stay a secret. Anyone who knows your private key can access your cryptocurrency. When determining which wallet to choose, you should be looking for a wallet that does the best job storing and securing your private keys. The same way you’d want to store a large sum of cash in a safe rather than under your mattress, you want to choose the most secure cryptocurrency wallet. Cryptocurrency Addresses are generated by your private key and are mathematically related.
Your Bitcoin address is what you give to others to send you Bitcoin. Think of your Bitcoin address like an email address. Example Bitcoin Address: 1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2 While your Bitcoin address is mathematically related to your private key, there’s no way to find your private key just by looking at your Bitcoin address.
In other words, it’s completely safe to tell others your Bitcoin address (and necessary for someone to send you Bitcoin). The Different Types of Cryptocurrency Wallets There are 5 main wallet types we’ll be covering: Hardware, Paper, Desktop/Software, Online/Web, and Mobile. Hardware wallets are physical devices that store your private keys offline in “cold storage”. By keeping the keys offline, they are immune to computer viruses. Most hardware devices also allow you to set up a PIN code that will be required to access the device.
These hardware devices are widely considered to be the most secure type of cryptocurrency wallet, while still being fairly convenient for everyday use. So, what’s the catch? Since these are physical devices, they cost money - usually around $50-250.
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While it might not make sense to invest $100 on a wallet meant to hold $200 worth of cryptocurrency, there’s certainly a point where the added security is WELL worth the cost. Think back to the analogy we made about storing cash in a safe vs under your mattress. At a certain point, the amount of cash you have will make you want to fork over some of it to buy a safe. It’s also important to note that it’s possible to recover your funds if you lose your physical device.
When setting up the device, you will be provided with a “recovery seed” that you should write down. This recovery seed will be a string of random words, that can be used to access your private key. Be sure to keep this recovery seed stored in a secure place. Not only does this seed allow you to restore wallet, but it also could be used by a malicious actor to steal your funds. Paper Wallets are an alternative offline cold storage method to hardware devices. These are physical pieces of paper with your private and public keys written on them. There are a number of trusted generators that you can use to create a paper wallet.
There are however a number of downsides to paper wallets compared to hardware wallets:. If your computer is infected with malicious software when you create your paper wallet, then your key pair could be compromised.
It’s ideal to use a brand-new computer when creating a paper wallet. Paper wallets are considered safe to use to transfer Bitcoin or Altcoins ONLY one time. This is because you’ll need to import your key pair to a software or online wallet to interact with the blockchain. After doing this, your coins are only as safe as the software or online wallet you used. For this reason, paper wallets are best for investors wanting to hold onto Bitcoin or Altcoins for a prolonged period of time. Paper wallets leave more room for human error when setting up and storing. If you're interested in creating a Bitcoin or Ethereum paper wallet, we recommend.
Desktop Software Wallets are computer programs that store your key pairs on your computer. The obvious downside to these wallets is that they’re susceptible to viruses if your computer becomes infected. If your wallet is not backed up elsewhere, there’s additional risk of losing your keys if your hard drive breaks. Like with creating a paper wallet, it’s ideal to use a new computer and then dedicate its use to storing your wallet. We do not recommend “storing” significant amounts of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on your computer.
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