For about a decade, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been existing in the market, and in the past few years, they moved from investment to the mainstream. Bitcoin companies like AT&T, PayPal, and AT&T now accept Bitcoin and other digital assets as a form of payment.
If you are interested in investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Ethereum, you will need a wallet where you can keep and secure your private key for accessing all of your digital assets.
Cryptocurrency wallets, online or offline, are used as storage for your private key. These wallets can be categorized into custodial or non-custodial.
Any wallet where you have the sole ownership of the private key of your cryptocurrencies is a non-custodial wallet. This only means that no other person has access to the confidential key other than yourself.
On the other hand, a custodial wallet works like today’s centralized bank accounts. These wallets allow you to store your Bitcoin on their platform, however, you can’t say that you completely own the coins because the company supplying it is the one who knows the private key to those Bitcoins. Although it’s for free, using a custodial wallet accompanies some risks like having the company freeze your funds, platform bankruptcy, and online criminal activities.
The bitcoin community has given a phrase for the service of custodial wallets, saying “Not your keys, not your Bitcoin.” This phrase represents the peril of wallets where crypto owners don’t own the keys to their digital assets. Yet some people prefer someone else to be in charge of their crypto funds and choose custodial wallets.
Best Cryptocurrency Wallet to Use
Among the hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets in the market right now, there are three wallets that stand out among the rest this 2021.
Trezor One
Trezor One is an offline non-custodial wallet that’s probably the oldest hardware wallet in the market. It’s not really surprising for Trezor One to be people’s favorite because of the security it offers like passphrase and PIN codes that makes it nearly “hack-proof.”
This flash drive-like device holds your private key— also known as seed phrase — and also knows how to sign a transaction without having the need to depend on the internet. Trezor gives its users the best of two worlds as it allows flexibility whenever you want to spend your cryptocurrencies but still provides highly secured cold storage. Store your coins to Trezor One, and all you have to do is to connect it to any computer when need, then you’re good to go.
Trezor One supports ERC-20 tokens and more than 1000 coins including well-known cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZCH), and Stellar (XLM).
Monero (XMR), Cardano (ADA), and Ripple (XRP) are not supported at all. There are also coins that require the utilization of an external wallet and can’t correspond with Trezor’s basic wallet.
Trezor One takes pride in its security, and so as long as no one can get a hold of your physical device, there’s no one someone would be able to access your account. However, do not leave your computer unattended once you connect it to your computer, because an attack on your digital assets can be made physically.
Evil Maid is the name given for the attack made physically to a computer that is left unattended for some particular reason. You can try imagining you have a housemaid that was evil, having the ability to access your computer countless times without you noticing their motives.
Your private key is at high risk during an Evil Maid attack. Hence, Trezor solved this by allowing users to add an extra layer of protection by using an additional passphrase. This means you need to remember a certain phrase that you can use in accessing your Bitcoins. This phrase should remain strictly confidential, it should never be written down on a computer or a piece of paper and should be memorized for better protection.
Trezor One is the most affordable hardware wallet all over the market.
Exodus
Exodus is the most beginner-friendly crypto exchange platform that offers a service for mobile, hardware, and desktop crypto wallets. The feature of Exodus includes portfolio data, live charts, a built-in exchange, and applauding 24/7 customer support. Moreover, it has over 100 different cryptocurrency coins.
Exodus’ portfolio would allow you to see an overview of all the digital assets you’re currently holding, as well as price graphs for each asset.
There’s really no need to use multiple wallets to store your cryptocurrencies but you want more security measures for your wallet, you can manage your digital assets on both Trezor and Exodus. Exodus primarily caters to software wallet users, so it may not be suitable for hardware-minded traders unless you intend to use Trezor’s hardware wallet with the app.
The partnership of Trezor and Exodus assists those who want hardware security since you would be able to keep managing your assets securely offline while synchronously using the Exodus platform.
Exodus doesn’t only allow you to store Ethereum, but also Bitcoins, Dogecoin, Dash, and Litecoin. The platform has an intuitive user interface and is designed beautifully. Users are allowed to trade coins within the wallet.
Exodus is compatible with iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, and Mac. Pairing mobile and desktop wallets together is also possible so you can control your funds from both devices
Exodus receives a commission of around 2-5% on every asset exchange, but the firm doesn’t really charge any fees to make use of its software.
Ledger Nano X
Lastly is the one that stands one step ahead compared to other hardware wallets around — the Ledger Nano X
Ledger Nano X provides a higher capacity for coins. Moreover, it was added with Bluetooth connectivity which makes it a powerhouse for managing cryptocurrency assets. The Bluetooth connectivity of Nano X allows users to control cryptocurrencies not just on desktop but via mobile phones.
Just like Trezor One, the interesting thing about Nano X is it never exposes private keys beyond the tiny device they are. So even when you make a transaction, it will only sign the transaction on the very device itself and not on the computer it is connected to.
Ledger Nano X supports more than 1000 tokens and coins that can be received or sent through Ledger Live software. The top supported coins of Ledger Nano X include Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), Stellar (XLM), Zcash (ZEX), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Dash (DASH).
The Ledger Nano X costs around $119 which is twice as much as Ledger Nano S which is only around $59. Perhaps, this is because of the Bluetooth support and enlarged capacity of coins.
