What is the safest crypto wallet?
There's no better way to protect your crypto investments than with the right wallet.
That's because a crypto wallet is "the key to the kingdom," says Brent Campbell, founder and CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based digital asset investment firm NXS Crypto Fund.
[crypto] coins anywhere in the world without a bank."
Technically, not all crypto investors need their own wallet, as most mainstream exchanges allow cryptocurrencies to be stored in their account, much like a 401(k) or IRA in a Fidelity or Vanguard account. But unlike the traditional stock market, there are no robust, government-imposed protections for crypto investors. So as the value of your cryptocurrency grows in importance, you could benefit from the added security that comes with having your own wallet.
Depending on your investment strategy, you might consider a hot or cold wallet, or a wallet offered by your preferred exchange. We asked four crypto experts what long-term investors should know.
on our own research and the experts' input, here are six of the best crypto wallets that long-term investors should consider.
If you're new to the crypto world, experts recommend a basic hot wallet. These are usually free, easier to use, and often connected to an exchange, which means they support a large number of tokens and coins.
Coinbase Wallet, from the popular Coinbase exchange, is probably the best choice for beginners, experts say. It's simple, supports thousands of cryptocurrencies, and is also non-pledged, which means you retain control over your private keys.
"We advise 95% of the people we talk to to just use a Coinbase wallet," says Chris Brooks, founder of Crypto Asset Recovery, a company that specializes in helping crypto investors recover passwords and seed phrases for their wallets.
Most crypto investors already start with an exchange-hosted wallet like Coinbase Wallet, Campbell says, which is like "entering and exiting cryptocurrency."
If you're investing primarily in bitcoin, consider a dedicated wallet designed specifically for bitcoin.
As such, Electrum might be a good fit for you, as it's easy to use and has been around for more than a decade - something very few other wallets can claim. Because of its focus on Bitcoin and only Bitcoin, Electrum is worth a look if you're looking for a Bitcoin wallet.
Electrum has been around for more than a decade now and was specifically designed to work with the Bitcoin blockchain, which gives it some speed and security advantages. For example, users can easily connect to the Bitcoin blockchain through Electrum's Simple Payment Verification. Electrum can basically dance around the Bitcoin blockchain more efficiently than other wallets because it was designed specifically for this purpose.
The downsides are that it's not as beginner-friendly and the biggest drawback is that it only works with BTC, so if you want to store other cryptocurrencies, it's not for you.
"Altcoin" is the collective term for all cryptocurrencies that aren't bitcoins, and there are thousands of altcoins. Therefore, a good crypto wallet for securely storing altcoins is one that supports many of them and allows for easy trading and buying.
Exodus supports more than 180 different types of cryptocurrencies, and you can transact from the wallet without going to an external exchange. Exodus supports fewer coins than other wallets, but you've the advantage of being able to keep all your cryptocurrencies in one place while connecting to several different exchanges. Also, you can connect directly with other users via the wallet's built-in exchange. That said, it's a bit more advanced than Coinbase, but Exodus has an advantage if you'd benefit from the options to navigate more coins and exchanges more freely.
You can also choose between a desktop, mobile or hardware wallet depending on your security preferences hardware option is a Trezor wallet integration, which means a Trezor wallet running an Exodus hot wallet.
If security is your primary concern, experts agree that a cold-storage hardware device is unbeatable. "If you don't want to take a security risk, you should keep your assets on a hardware device," says Campbell, who adds that he's locked some assets on a hardware device and in a bank vault.
Trezor is one of the best cold-wallet options, says Charlie Brooks, Chris' son and CPO and co-founder of Crypto Asset Recovery LLC. "A cold-storage solution is the safest place to keep your money."
A physical hardware wallet from Trezor, like the Trezor Model T, is a solid choice for security-conscious crypto investors, experts say. At $280, it's not cheap. However, the Model T has a number of features that make it a standout, such as a large, color touchscreen display and additional features like Shamir Backup, a Trezor-developed security standard that's only available on the Model T. Shamir Backup lets you create 16 recovery phrases to use as backups. security standard also provides protection if your wallet is stolen or destroyed by allowing you to restore all of its contents with one recovery phrase.
Along with Ledger wallets, Trezor products will be very secure, albeit in a slightly different way, so it'll likely come down to user preference. The Model T is more physically robust and durable, at least in appearance, which some people may like. It's also user-friendly, intuitive, and easy to set up.
As we've reported before, cold wallets are best for keeping cryptocurrencies safe, as they aren't constantly connected to the internet and thus pose a much lower risk to hackers. And hardware devices like the Trezor Model T can go a long way toward keeping your holdings safe. But there are also cold wallets that won't break the budget. In our opinion, the Ledger Nano X is the best cold wallet for investors on a budget.
The Ledger Nano X supports thousands of coins and is more affordable than the Trezor Model. named Ledger wallets along with Trezor as the best for backing up holdings. The Ledger Nano S costs less, but the added features of the Nano X and the fact that it doesn't need to be plugged in because it's Bluetooth make it a superior solution. The Nano X supports a variety of tokens and coins and up to 100 apps. It's a good choice if you're an active investor with interest in a number of different cryptos.
In terms of security, the most notable feature of the Nano X is its Secure Element security chip, which is similar to what's used in credit cards. The crisps have been certified according to the Common Criteria EAL5+ process.