With Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies giving you the ability to be your own bank, the old phrase “With great power, comes great responsibility” springs to mind. Storing your cryptocurrency in a secure way is vital, and no, an exchange is not a secure way to store your coins.
If like a lot of people in the industry at the minute you will be doing very well. If you are one of the lucky ones you will need a safe place to store that new found wealth.
We will take you through our recommendations of wallets, but first, we need to define what they are and what are the differences between them.
What is a crypto wallet?
A wallet, in cryptocurrency terms, is a place you can send and receive a specific cryptocurrency from. It is a specific address that is personal to you. If you log in to Binance and you have some Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) they will both have their own individual addresses. So 1 Bitcoin wallet with 1 address and 1 Ethereum wallet with 1 address. Think of the address as your account number and sort code all in one.
This address can be shared with others to receive the same cryptocurrency. So you couldn’t share your BTC wallet address with someone to receive Ethereum, comprende?
So why can’t you just keep it on an exchange? Well, you can at your own risk… Mt. Gox was in 2013/14 the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, handling an estimated 70% of all BTC transactions at the time. So where did it go you ask?
In February 2014, the exchange suspended all trading and announced that around 850,000 BTC had been lost/stolen… This was around $450 million at the time. Although the market and exchanges have matured a lot since then if in one breath you are going to fight for decentralisation and then continue to leave all your coins on a centralised exchange, it kind of defeats the object. But, it is up to you.
Luckily there are plenty of options for all price ranges, technical ability and for every situation.
Best cold wallets 2021 –
Cold wallets are wallets that are disconnected from the internet. This removes any potential phishing scams, hacking opportunities and any room for unauthorised access.
What are the cons? Well if you are a day trader this might be a little inconvenient at the end of every day (if you sleep that is) but what’s the point in all the effort of constantly monitoring the market executing stressful trades and then not securing your goods?
You would need to transfer any crypto you have to a wallet that has withdrawal features if you are looking to do just that.
If by any chance a would-be hacker or thief, were to steal your cold wallet device and manages to access it, send it to an anonymous account, all before you have chance to access it and move the funds yourself. Then you may be screwed. But I think the chances of that happening are much, much smaller than the likelihood of a planned attack on a crypto exchange.
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Binance has released their SafePal wallet today which seems great and it has a token built-in. You can learn more about SafePal here although you may struggle to get your hands on one with all the hype around.
Your private keys are safe on the device as there is no Bluetooth, no wifi and no NFC. This seems like a revolutionary device and will have access via a phone app and QR code. We will be getting one of these if and when they restock.
Trezor Model T – Trezor is one of the global leaders in hardware wallets.
Pros
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Easy to use, USB and touch screen interface.
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Excellent coin compatibility around 1600 coins and growing
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Amazing 5* customer service of peace of mind
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Global leader of hardware wallets
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Comes in a certified seal box on delivery straight from the manufacture
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Easy recovery with seed phrase if lost or stolen
Cons
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Price is a little bit expensive compared to Trezor One
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Does not support safari and requires Chrome browser
Trezor One – Trezor is one of the global leaders in hardware wallets.
Pros
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Easy to use, USB and dual button interface
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Good coin compatibility
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Amazing 5* customer service of peace of mind
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Global leader of hardware wallets
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Comes in a certified seal box on delivery straight from the manufacture
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Easy recovery with seed phrase if lost or stolen
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Price is great!
Cons
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Does not support safari and requires Chrome browser
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Fewer coins supported than Trezor Model T
You can compare coin compatibility between both Trezor wallets here.
Ledger Nano X 2021- Most sold hardware wallet brand
Pros
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Easy to use USB, Bluetooth compatibility to any smartphone.
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Excellent coin compatibility around 1500 + coins and growing
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Amazing 4.5* reviews on amazon
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Global leader of hardware wallets
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Easy recovery with seed phrase if lost or stolen
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Price
Cons
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Recent customer info data breach from “rogue” employee read more HERE
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Customer Service has questionable reviews
Ledger Nano S 2021– Most sold hardware wallet brand
Pros
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Easy to use USB connectivity
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Excellent coin compatibility around 1500 + coins and growing
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Amazing 3000+ 4.5* reviews on amazon
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Global leader of hardware wallets
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Easy recovery with seed phrase if lost or stolen
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Excellent price and ON SALE NOW
Cons
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Recent customer info data breach from “rogue” employee read more HERE
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Customer Service has questionable reviews
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No Bluetooth compared to Model X
Amazon Link – HERE
Best hot wallets 2021 –
Exodus – blocmates rating 4.5*
Website – https://www.exodus.io/
Pros –
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Excellent and easy to use hot storage wallet
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100+ coin compatibility
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Trezor Model T connectivity
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Inbuilt 2-click exchange
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Mobile app for on the go
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Free to use
Cons
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Connected to the internet to use
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Exchange function may not be as desirable as Binance etc.
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Come with the same hot wallet risks as every other hot wallet
MetaMask -blocmates rating 4.5*
Website – https://metamask.io/
Pros –
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Excellent and easy to use hot storage wallet
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Compatible with all ERC20 tokens
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Connectivity to DEX and smart contracts
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Private keys kept on browser
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Mobile app for on the go
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Free to use
Cons
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Connected to the internet to use
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Exchange function may not be as desirable as Binance etc.
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Come with the same hot wallet risks as every other hot wallet
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No Bitcoin sorry… unless it’s wrapped wBTC
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Can add Binance Smart Chain compatibility, but a little difficult
Trust Wallet – blocmates rating 5*
Website – https://trustwallet.com/
Pros –
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Excellent and easy to use hot storage wallet
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Compatible with 160K cryptos!!! Including NFTs
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Connectivity to DEX and smart contracts
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DApp functionality
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Mobile app for on the go
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Free to use
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Inbuilt exchange
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Wallet connect compatible
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On-app staking.
Cons
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Connected to the internet to use
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Exchange function may not be as desirable as Binance etc.
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Come with the same hot wallet risks as every other hot wallet
We would definitely recommend trying all the hot wallets out as they’re free. You MUST write down all your seed-phrases when signing up to external wallets. This will be used as a backup if your device is stolen or lost.
Get in touch with us via the Telegram if you need any further information, we are here to help, no strings attached. As always DYOR before any purchase.
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