Best Crypto Wallets: Top Hardware, Cold, and App Wallets for Cryptocurrency and DeFi

Today’s cryptocurrency wallet variety is mesmerizing. People unfamiliar with the industry have difficulty finding a suitable option since marketers push plenty of mediocre software. Moreover, some offerings are blatant scams. Therefore, we’ve prepared a selection of reputable and proven options that can serve as a starting point for the journey in the blockchain space.

Exodus - the best hot wallet for crypto

Wallets requiring a Web connection to work are usually called “hot.” They are inherently more vulnerable than “cold” alternatives that can operate without direct Internet connection. In exchange for vulnerability, they offer a much more user-friendly experience and convenience — signing a transaction requires only a few clicks. No wonder that they are significantly more popular than more secure alternatives. Exodus is the best wallet for crypto if your goal is to balance functionality with practical usability.

First, the user has private keys in their hands. Regarding security, the so-called non-custodial approach is worth a lot in “hot” solutions.

Second, Exodus grants access to many digital assets - over 260 of them. Granted, it lacks some esoteric and niche assets, but all the popular ones are supported.

Third, Exodus is truly multiplatform. A suitable version exists whether you use Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, or macOS.

Finally, there is an integrated exchange with fiat support, and Exodus is fully integrated with Trezor hardware. So, the ecosystem is also good.

However, you should always keep in mind the inherent dangers of such blockchain software. It simply can’t be made secure and reliable enough to safely keep large sums for a prolonged time.

Coinbase - the best crypto wallet for newcomers

A major cryptocurrency exchange with huge influence and well-known for innovations - Coinbase - unsurprisingly has a wallet under its brand to offer.

The target audience is defined very clearly — newcomers to the industry. It may lack some features offered by other solutions, but even a complete newbie will figure it out quickly.

To Coinbase’s credit, they made exchange integration unobtrusive. You do not even need an exchange account to use the wallet — it is a standalone product. Its addition to the ecosystem also benefits the exchange - traders can store funds securely and move assets between storage and exchange without issues. The most important aspect is that the private keys fully belong to the user.

The Coinbase development team focused on devices powered by iOS and Android, so there is no PC version. The Chrome plugin offered lacks the functionality of mobile versions.

TrustWallet - one of the best crypto wallets for mobile

Selecting the optimal mobile option is difficult - the sheer amount of them and differences in capabilities and target audiences present quite a challenge. For our list, we picked TrustWallet - an offering from another major exchange - Binance for a few important reasons:

• First, no other offering can match its 10 million coins and tokens.
• Second, the user has full custody over private keys.
• Third, a Web3 browser is built in, making accessing dApps easy.
• Fourth, it has NFT support.
• Finally, it has great UI and performance, earning TrustWallet a high AppStore and Google Play rating.

With the company’s good reputation regarding software quality and integration with the Binance ecosystem, including the decentralized exchange, TrustWallet is worth considering.

Ledger Nano X - best crypto hardware wallet

Nano X is the latest flagship model from Ledger, one of the two leading companies in hardware wallet development and Trezor's main competitor. Nano X has an extended array of security and quality-of-life features compared to the previous generation.

Externally the device looks like a typical USB stick with a small screen, but it has powerful capabilities behind its modest exterior. Ledger Nano X supports over 5,000 cryptocurrencies, enables offline transaction signing, and protects stored assets with powerful encryption. The software, however, is closed-source, so independent verification of code security is difficult.

A USB port or Bluetooth can connect Nano X to a PC or mobile device. However, not everybody is happy with the Bluetooth connection feature, which can theoretically be exploited as an additional vector of attack.

Ledger’s track record is imperfect - there was a major security breach in 2020. Some user data was stolen, but no digital assets were lost. Therefore, it wasn’t a complete failure by any means, but such events stain the company’s reputation for many years.

Trezor - best cold wallet for crypto

Trezor is Ledger's main competitor. Both companies try to outdo each other in every way, so it's no wonder that they develop pretty similar products. Ledger arguably created slightly better hardware, but Trezor currently has a better ecosystem and didn’t have data leaks in its track record. So, it can be considered the best cold wallet for crypto overall.

Model T, the latest development, has almost the same capabilities as the Ledger’s flagship mentioned above. A microSD card slot serves for adding encrypted storage, while a USB port is needed for connecting to other devices. The main UI element is a small touchscreen. The only major feature lacking is the Bluetooth connection.

To control the device, there is a dedicated desktop application — Trezor Suite — and a web app on the Trezor website. The former option is obviously more secure. Importantly, the company uses only open-source software. Thus, anyone can verify it for vulnerabilities. The proven reliability makes Trezor the best crypto cold wallet out there.

MetaMask - the best crypto wallet app for DeFi

While some other offerings are better tailored to the needs of DeFi enthusiasts and have some features MetaMask doesn’t have, MetaMask is the industry standard. Using the DeFi ecosystem without it is virtually impossible — many DeFi protocols require its usage.

MetaMask's “speciality” is tokens deployed in the Ethereum blockchain and ETH. However, it also supports EVM-compatible Web3 networks: BNB, Polygon, or Avalanche. Ethereum is still the leading blockchain for dApps, and the other EVM-compatible blockchains leave virtually nothing uncovered.

Thus, MetaMask is a portal to the DeFi market that provides access to thousands of dApps, from games to financial tools. Therefore, it is the best crypto wallet app for people making money in DeFi.

An important note is that MetaMask doesn’t allow direct storage of BTC. Only so-called “wrapped Bitcoins” - tokens pegged to the main cryptocurrency exchange rate - are supported.

Electrum - the best crypto wallet for Bitcoin

Since Electrum was released in 2011, its enduring popularity may be quite surprising, especially given that it follows its old-school ways — it works only with Bitcoin. Granted, top-of-the-line security and Bitcoin-related features somewhat compensate for the lack of other assets. So, it is tailor-made for people who care only about BTC.

Electrum enables multi-signatures, transaction proof checking, 2FA, and simple payment verification. The latter enables operations as a light client, so there is no need to download the entire Bitcoin blockchain. There is also an option to “throttle” transactions — users can set the network fee themselves to ensure faster processing or to save money by spending more time. Electrum is fully integrated with Trezor, Ledger and other similar solutions.

By modern standards, Electrum is cumbersome, unwieldy and complicated. The setup process requires some knowledge and considerable time investment, and the UI presents many difficulties to beginners. After all, it originates in the era when blockchain enthusiasts were expected to know what they were doing very well. Another problem is a lack of technical support service - other users on forums are your best bet if you encounter any issues.