7 Best Online Digital Crypto Wallets

Cryptocurrency wallets always have to balance ease of use and practical usability. The more convenient the software is, the more potential vulnerabilities it has. Technology can somewhat reduce these vulnerabilities and make them harder for malicious actors to exploit, but it is impossible to avoid this balancing act.

Online wallets, also called “hot,” require a direct connection to the Internet to operate. As a result, they are much easier to use than their “cold” offline alternatives, enabling faster transaction sending and many more advanced features. But there is a price — online wallets are inherently less secure than solutions able to sign transactions without an Internet connection.

Thus, the default recommendation is to use cold wallets for long-term storage and online ones for “pocket money.” Fortunately, there is no shortage of options tailored to different needs and preferences.

The list of popular wallet categories, depending on their main focus, includes, but is not limited to:

• DeFi-focused
• General purpose - for everyday use
• Mobile-focused
• NFT-focused
• Mono-asset - specialized in comprehensive support of a single cryptocurrency
• Beginner-friendly
• Security-focused

We’ve compiled a list of the best offerings on the market - one for each category.

Best Online Crypto Wallets

The Main Wallet for DeFi

Decentralized finance is the fastest-growing segment of the crypto market. Dozens of new projects and DeFi assets appear every day. The majority of them are deployed on the Ethereum blockchain — despite fierce competition, it is still the most popular blockchain network among DeFi and Web3 developers. MetaMask, the most popular wallet specialized in supporting Ethereum-based assets, has naturally become the default option for the decentralized finance industry. Some dApps even straight-up require MetaMask to use them.

This status is partly due to MetaMask's support for all EVM blockchain networks, including Avalanche, BNB, and Polygon, and partly due to an extensive list of well-implemented features. As a browser extension, MetaMask is extremely accessible and enables access to the overwhelming majority of financial dApps, DeFi-related tokens, and GameFi projects, including NFTs. Combined with robust security (for an online wallet), good performance, and a well-thought-out UI, you get an almost perfect solution.

The main problem of MetaMask is it's lack of BTC support. The only way to get Bitcoins in MetaMask is via “wrapped” BTC — tokens pegged to the Bitcoin exchange rate.

The Best “All in One” Digital Wallet for Crypto

Crypto.com is arguably the most famous cryptocurrency portal on the Web. After all, it has the most advantageous domain name. No wonder the wallet offered by this platform is among the most popular ones. However, the name is not it's only advantage.

First, the wallet comes in two varieties - custodial and non-custodial. The non-custodial one is inherently more secure; however, the custodial one offers many features that simply cannot be implemented without the platform keeping the private keys, such as one-to-one swaps and investment tools enabling passive income.

Second, Crypto.com offers one of the best security systems among competitors. In addition to habitual features like 2FA, it supports biometric authentication and Secure Enclave technology.

Third, it supports almost four hundred cryptocurrencies on multiple blockchains. The software allows you to earn interest on 25 of them.

Finally, it is very easy to connect to DeFi apps, import other wallets, or create multiple online wallets on one device, making Crypto.com one of the most flexible on the market.

The Best Online Crypto Wallet for Mobile Devices

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, released TrustWallet, which is mainly focused on mobile devices. It is fully integrated into the Binance ecosystem, but an exchange account is not necessary to use it.

It is easily accessible due to a great UI and has an unusually high rating in app stores for an online crypto wallet. Fortunately, accessibility does not mean reduced functionality: it is a great non-custodial digital wallet for crypto with NFT and DeFi support and a powerful Web3 browser.

However, TrustWallet's main selling point is the sheer number of tokens and coins it supports — over 10 million. Basically, if a digital asset exists, TrustWallet works with it.

The main drawback is that TrustWallet may not be a great choice for US residents due to regulatory troubles Binance has been having lately in the US. Hence, it's future in this specific market is a bit uncertain at the moment.

Beginner-Friendly Wallet for Crypto

Another major cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, focused on newcomers to the industry when developing it's online crypto wallet. The easy-to-read interface and comprehensive yet unobtrusive built-in tutorials for all operations make it incredibly accessible. Not to mention, the extensive library of educational content on cryptocurrencies is available on Coinbase.

Granted, it is a bit simplistic and lacks many features the competition offers, but the wallet is easy to understand and master, even for a complete beginner. However, experienced crypto-enthusiasts also use it often since it is integrated into the exchange ecosystem and enables safe storage and movement of funds between the exchange accounts and the user’s personal wallet. The integration is not compulsory - the wallet is a standalone product within the ecosystem.

The Coinbase wallet doesn’t have a full-fledged PC version — it has a browser extension, but it's functionality is even more limited than that of iOS or Android apps. So, better options are available if you don’t like relying on mobile devices.

The Most Secure Hot Wallet

Online wallets are inherently less secure than their “cold” alternatives. However, some developers made their software much more secure than the competition. Exodus is an excellent example of such a product, offering a balanced approach to security, practical usability, and functionality.

Exodus is fully integrated with the Trezor ecosystem. Thanks to that, users gain access to both secure long-term cold storage on a hardware wallet and a convenient solution for everyday use and “pocket money”.

Exodus takes advantage of all the security features Trezor uses and adheres to the highest standards of operational security with regular software audits. Moreover, it also runs a very generous bug bounty program continuously: depending on the severity of the bug, the reward can reach $100,000.

Another advantage is that Exodus is one of the very few truly multi-platform wallets. It has versions for all popular operating systems, including Android, Linux, Windows, iOS, and MacOS.

The number of supported assets is in the middle of the road - about 260. Most popular cryptocurrencies are included, but more niche coins and tokens are not supported.

Naturally, the end-user has full control over the private keys; otherwise, ensuring the appropriate level of security would be impossible.

However, it is worth remembering that Exodus’s security level is high by hot wallet standards, but it is still not suitable for long-term storage of large amounts.

The Best Online Crypto Wallet for Bitcoin

BlueWallet is a very interesting mono-asset product for users who are solely interested in Bitcoin. It is much simpler and easier to use than more famous products like Electrum but offers plenty of quality-of-life features and enables relatively fast BTC transactions.

It supports Lightning Network, so sending BTC faster and cheaper than via standard Bitcoin transactions is possible.

Despite the focus on ease of use, BlueWallet has many advanced features that many more sophisticated alternatives don’t support:

• Customizable fees to balance the speed and cost of transactions
• Batch transactions
• Watch-only wallet that allows monitoring of cold storage but doesn’t have the private keys
• Decoy - a separate password can be set up. Its entry will decrypt a fake wallet. This way, the funds may be protected even if the user is forced to give up credentials.

However, all these features are available only for BTC - BlueWallet does not support other digital assets. The only significant drawback for Bitcoin users, however, is the lack of two-factor authentication, which is not that uncommon among hot wallets.

The Best NFT Wallet

While the peak of the NFT “golden rush” has passed, non-fungible tokens are still a very popular and essential part of the blockchain world. Thus, specialized solutions for managing them are in high demand. Magic Eden Wallet is a prime example of such a solution.

It is free software with mobile and browser extension versions. It combines a simple and clear interface with extensive functionality. Magic Eden supports multiple blockchain networks, including all EVM-compatible ones, and the Bitcoin blockchain is one of the few options that support EVM-based NFTs alongside Bitcoin Ordinals. In addition, it is seamlessly integrated with the Magic Eden Marketplace - one of the largest trading platforms for NFTs.

Magic Eden’s functionality enables users to manage their NFT portfolios, sell, buy, and even mint new tokens right in their browsers, making using non-fungible tokens a pleasant experience.

Regarding security, Magic Eden is very similar to Exodus — it is built using the same technologies and security architecture.