Many cryptocurrency crises connected to exchanges and DeFi happened frequently in 2022 and 2023. The lack of trust in third-party security made self-custody an ever more popular trend. Self-custody is a term we use to describe the act of taking responsibility for our cryptocurrency assets by securing them in a wallet.
In 2023, the best way to store your crypto assets and carry out self-custody securely is through a cold wallet, also known as a hardware wallet. Cold wallets are devices that are made especially to secure cryptocurrency. They mostly do this by keeping your private keys offline to prevent any attempts of hacking. There are many brands of cold wallets that you can choose from in the market and they are all special in their own ways.
In this article, we gathered and reviewed four of the best cold wallets in the market for you to choose from.
ELLIPAL Titan Mini
The ELLIPAL Titan Mini is the upgraded version of the very popular ELLIPAL Titan Cold wallet. It is made from high-quality metal which gives it a nice secure feel and it has a large touch screen for easy usage. The size is small and portable compared to the previous ELLIPAL Titan but it is still very easy to use thanks to the touch screen. The device itself has no input ports whatsoever to make sure that it is as secure as possible. Charging is done through a contact magnet charging port. There is a camera on the back for QR-code scanning.
Security
The ELLIPAL Titan Mini is well known for being very secure thanks to its many features. The wallet is designed to be as air-gapped as possible, meaning it is always offline and cannot be connected to any network, even if you try. It can effectively prevent any type of online hack. Another important feature is its anti-tampering feature. The ELLIPAL can detect any sort of physical hack and will be quick to auto-delete any data you have on the wallet. This is to prevent hackers from trying to physically get their way into your wallet. Lastly, the metal build on the ELLIPAL itself is already strong enough to withstand a car running over it, making the ELLIPAL a very impressive cold wallet.
Ease of Use
The ELLIPAL Titan Mini is very simple and user-friendly. Users can sync it up to the ELLIPAL Mobile App, and most of the interactions are done through QR codes and touch screens. It is a perfect cold wallet choice for new and old investors alike.
Ledger Nano S
The Ledger Nano S is one of the most popular cold wallets ever. It was first released in 2016 and it has paved the way for other cold wallets ever since. The body is made from plastic and it has the shape and size of a regular USB. It comes with a metal cover that can be slid on the top to provide a little more protection to the small screen and two buttons below. There is one small USB port at the end for hooking up to the computer. Although the Ledger Nano S has had a fair share of security concerns over the years the user-friendly design, affordable price, and popularity, it is still one of the best-selling cold wallets today.
Security
Although there has been news about hacking the Ledger online, Ledger has fixed the problems, and it is still a very secure cold wallet solution. The Ledger is offline and secures whenever it is not in use. To use it, the user must connect it to the PC through a USB cable. This in turn risks the device being hacked. However, Ledger uses a secure element chip to prevent any threats when it is plugged in, keeping it very secure.
Ease of Use
The Ledger Nano S is very easy to use thanks to its PC Ledger Live APP. The APP is well-designed and lets you process your transactions smoothly on the PC. The only downside is that the Ledger Nano S device itself only has two small buttons and a small screen which might make it difficult for some users to navigate.
Trezor Model One
Trezor is one of the earliest cold wallet manufacturers in the world. The Trezor Model One is also one of the oldest models, given that it was launched back in 2013. The device is small, made out of plastic, and has a small screen, and two buttons. There is a port at the bottom to allow it to be hooked up to a computer. It is a robust, versatile, and secure cold wallet. Despite having news about being hacked in the past, it remains one of the most popular cold wallets around.
Security
The Trezor works similarly to the Ledger in which that it must be connected to the PC to process transactions. While connected, it is protected by the secure element chip that prevents penetration attacks. Despite the similarities, Trezor has one unique feature is that its codes are all opensource. This means users can freely look up their codes and make sure that there are no malicious codes behind the scenes. By being open source, Trezor can prove that the Trezor Model One is made only to serve its purpose of being secure crypto storage. Moreover, if any bugs or errors in the code threaten the security of the wallet, the public would be able to help identify them.
Ease of Use
Much like the Ledger, Trezor has robust PC software that helps users navigate and make transactions. Nevertheless, the Trezor is much more suited for those who are more experienced in crypto. The Trezor APP can work on Android, OSX, Linux, and Windows. It also allows many 3rd party wallet integration support which is useful for many experienced traders. If you are looking for more customizability rather than simplicity, Trezor is a perfect choice.
SafePal S1
SafePal is one of the new players in the cryptocurrency cold wallet space. It has a thin and portable shape, like a thick credit card, and is made of plastic. It has a small screen and a D-pad to help navigate. There is a USB port on one side for charging. Lastly, there is a camera at the back for scanning QR codes. The wallet itself is backed by Binance Labs which makes it a popular wallet right from release.
Security
Much like ELLIPAL, SafePal makes use of QR codes to help with transactions. This allows the whole system to be air-gapped, and hence, stays secure. The SafePal also added the secure element chip to prevent offline hacks as well.
Ease of Use
SafePal is meant to be used together with its mobile APP. Through QR-code scanning, it is both secure and easy to use SafePal.