If you are day trading crypto or leveraging some of your digital assets, you might want to keep your tokens on an exchange or a hot wallet, but if you are accumulating to HODL or store your cryptocurrency in a safe place then you might seriously consider investing in hardware wallets.
If you’re not familiar with it, a hardware wallet is a tamper-proof device that is specifically designed to store your private keys offline. It cannot be stressed enough that private keys must be kept in a safe, secure area and never shared with anyone or you risk losing your assets. But like your crypto assets, hardware wallets have seed word phrases for wallet recovery options too. They are best written down or on a flashdrive that is offline in order to prevent any hacking attempts.
Another great thing about hardware wallets is the ability to recover your assets even if the wallet is destroyed. All you need is that recovery phrase and your information can be saved to a new wallet. It’s all in the cryptographic principles of digital currency.
Below are the top five cryptocurrency hardware wallets
Ledger Nano X
When it comes to hardware wallets, our first two selections include Ledger Nano X, Ledger’s flagship hardware wallet, and Ledger Nano S. Ledger Nano X boasts the ability to manage up to 100 applications including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple. It has CC EAL5+ state-of-the-art security, and it is designed for simplicity. Don’t be fooled by it’s slim, elegant design. This hardware wallet gets top marks because it is functional, safe, and Ledger customer support is quick to respond. It is compatible with most 64-bit desktop computers and iOS 9+ or Android 7+ smartphones.
Ledger Nano S
The Ledger products take first and second spot in our top five because they’ve got a history of creating Bitcoin security since 2014. The biggest difference between the Nano X and Nano S is price and that might be explained away by the difference in security function. While Nano X uses CC EAL5+ security, the Nano S hardware wallet is protected within a secure chip locked by a PIN code. This is not to say that your crypto is less secure. It is still fully certified by the French cybersecurity agency, ANSSI. It is compatible with 64-bit desktop computers and Android 7+ smartphones. This is a great starter wallet for the price.
Trezor
Trezor is the biggest competition that we’ve found in the crypto hardware wallet space. Created by SatoshiLabs, it was the world’s first Bitcoin hardware wallet. If you visit their site, they boast that they’ve “invented your digital freedom.”
Trezor stores your private keys and has the ability sign transactions offline. As long as you keep your recovery seed phrase in a safe place, you can be assured that your digital assets will remain secure.
The Trezor wallet is compatible with Android and cross-compatible with many wallet apps like Mycelium and Multibit HD. Trezor devices are also open-sourced so they can be fully audited.
KeepKey
KeepKey is another hardware device that offers secure offline measures for your cryptocurrency. It currently can receive, send or store 40 of the top digital tokens. In addition to the “main three” Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, it also supports ERC-20 tokens like Binance, Golem and 0x (ZRX).
The design of KeepKey is very solid and sleek looking, however it’s at least twice the size of Ledger Nano. I’d like to point out that they appear to be developing a web-based UI on a new ShapeShift beta Platform
Archos Safe-T Mini and Safe-T Touch
Like crypto hardware wallets are intended, the Archos Safe-T products are similar in that they generate and keep your private keys in a secure, offline environment. The Mini has a 6-digit pin code and is further secured by a dedicated Encrypted Crypto Mem (Secured EEprom). Transactions must be validated by the hardware buttons so it is practically hack-proof.
The Safe-T Touch has an eye-friendly 4” IPS touch screen and has a full range of services which include initiating and receiving transactions, exchanging crypto-assets, and the ability to check balances on screen.
Final thoughts
If you are seriously investing in building your crypto portfolio, consider securing your assets in the most secure way: offline with a hardware wallet. With all five options, you have the ability to recover your funds with a recovery seed phrase and your funds are hack resistant, unlike the risk you take by keeping your digital currency on an exchange. As always, do your due diligence before you invest but have a security plan in place.
