The Best Bitcoin Hardware Wallets

Introduction

If you hold Bitcoin, it’s essential you have a hardware wallet to keep your Bitcoin safe.

Hardware wallets are superior to software wallets and cryptocurrency exchanges because they allow your private key to remain completely private. Your private keys are not generated on the web, nor are they ever exposed to the web, therefore, the safety profile is much greater.

There are many good hardware wallets on the market today, and as the industry evolves, more and more are being produced as innovation in the space grows.

In this article, we’ll break down what we think are the best hardware wallets available right now, what the pros and cons are, and where you can get them!

The Best Bitcoin Hardware Wallets – Reviews

1. The Ledger Nano X

The Ledger Nano X is the latest offering from European crypto wallet manufacturer Ledger. It is the upgrade from their flagship model, the Ledger Nano S.

While we were huge fans of the Ledger Nano S, there were some serious flaws with it, such as the inability to store more than a few types of wallets, and the screen brightness sometimes fading over time.

The Ledger Nano X fixes these issues and more. It now has enough memory to fit as many currencies as you like, meaning there’s no more deleting and reinstalling apps on the device. Ledger is also constantly adding more currencies to its ecosystem, meaning the number of currencies you can hodl safely is growing all the time.

The device itself is also much improved. It’s sturdier, has an LED display, has Bluetooth capability. It also comes with an improved operating system, which is still operational with Linux, Mac and Windows.

The Ledger Live software that the device interacts with is also improving. Now you can even stake currencies directly from your ledger, as well as purchase new currencies right from within Ledger Live.

We love the improved user interface and the device overall. All credit to Ledger – they took the complaints about the Nano S seriously, and have addressed pretty much all of them in this new generation device.

2. Trezor One

The Trezor One is the original hardware wallet built by SatoshiLabs. It is arguably the most loved crypto wallet that’s been created due to it being one of the first and also being completely open source.

The Trezor One can feel a little bit rickety when you first open it. It’s made of plastic and is extremely light, almost like a child’s toy from McDonald’s. This is probably our main gripe with it – if we’re storing our Bitcoin life savings on this thing, we’d prefer it felt a little more sturdy. However, the Trezor One we’ve reviewed has been incredibly resilient over time and we haven’t had to replace it since we first bought it in 2017.

The Trezor One comes with a unique two-button system and an LED display which allows you to do everything you need on the device. As usual, you use a PIN to access the device and can store up to 500 different currencies (including ERC20 tokens). The wallet operates on a USB connection, and interacts with Trezor’s own software known as Trezor Suite.

Probably one of the best things about the Trezor One is the price. It’s not prohibitively expensive and for a reliable device to secure your crypto holdings, it’s well worth it.

3. Ledger Nano S

The Ledger Nano S is the original crypto wallet from Ledger. While it has its flaws, we still think it’s one of the best value offerings on the market.

First, let’s start with what is good about the Nano S. It’s extremely easy to use. The interface is nice, and it fits in your hand like a little USB drive with an LED screen on it. The two button system is very intuitive, and the UX is great. It connects easily via USB, and interacts seamlessly with the Ledger software – Ledger Live.

However, the biggest issue is the memory space. To interact with different currencies, you need to install an app. For example, if you’re managing your Litecoin holding, you need to install the Litecoin Ledger app. To manage your XRP holding, you need to install the XRP app, and so on. The problem is, the Nano S can only hold around 3 to 4 apps at a time. This means you are constantly installing and uninstalling apps depending on which currencies you’re trying to send/receive.

Obviously, this is annoying. Most people hold more than just 3 or 4 currencies, so to be continually changing apps makes things much more complicated and time consuming than they should be.

Secondly, many people have written complaints about the screen brightness. While it works fine to start with, over a few years the brightness seems to fade, with no way to fix it. The only choice is to replace the device or upgrade to a new version.

So, while the device works fine, and should be sufficient for any casual crypto investor, it still leaves much to be improved. Thankfully, the Ledger Nano X addresses most of these problems, but if you’re looking at something in a lower price range, the Nano S might be your best bet.

4. Trezor Model T

Trezor’s Model T is the upgrade to the Trezor One, however, we actually prefer the Trezor One in most cases.

Why?

First of all – it’s not that much of an upgrade. Sure, the device looks prettier and has a colour touch screen. That’s a nice improvement. However, the device is buttonless otherwise, and as we all know, touch screens don’t always hold up over time.

Also worth noting is the Model T is around 3x more expensive than the Model One.

The other thing we don’t like is the Trezor T only offers 12 word seed generation. We far prefer the Trezor T which gives you the option to choose between 12 and 24 words. In fact, we found ourselves actually generating a new wallet on a Trezor One with 24 words, then “restoring” that wallet on the Trezor T, which seems to be the only way to get a 24 seed word on the Model T.

The Trezor T offers all the same coins as the Trezor One, and connects the same way – via USB (no Bluetooth).

Overall it’s a nice upgrade for the device itself, but in terms of actual function/security, we like the Model One better.

4. Safepal S1 Wallet

The Safepal wallet is a newer entrant on the scene and think it’s pretty cool.

The first thing is it’s the size of a credit card, so fits unassumingly in your wallet. It also a 100% offline solution – no Bluetooth, no USB and no internet. Instead, it generates your seed words completely offline, and uses a QR code to connect with your phone whenever you need it.

Another feather in their cap is they are the first and only hardware wallet to be backed and recommended by Binance. This not only gives you assurance of the quality, but also opens the door for interactions with the Binance platform in the future, and means they will surely have funding for any upgrades/improvements they plan to make.

We also love the price point – affordable for all users.

More Bitcoin resources:

1. Earn interest on your Bitcoin at Blockfi.
2. Earn free Bitcoin to learn about crypto at Coinbase.
3. Buy Bitcoin in Australia purchasing guide.
4. Buy Bitcoin in USA purchasing guide.
5. Buy Bitcoin in New Zealand purchasing guide.