Introduction to Good Crypto Wallets

I started this website after my Metamask was hacked and all my crypto was drained in February 2024. Luckily it was just my hot wallet, so most of my crypto stayed safe...but that event led me to taking a deeper dive into all the available crypto wallets to make sure it never happened to me again. Since I keep getting asked for crypto wallet recommendations, I decided to make a quick guide to list the best cryptocurrency wallets to keep coins safe and also use this opportunity to teach people the basics of securing their crypto. This guide isn't about which crypto wallet is the nicest looking or the most popular, instead, this guide is for finding crypto wallets that are the safest to use.

I'm making this guide publically available, because when you keep your crypto wallets vulnerable, you don't just hurt yourself, you hurt every other holder who has to deal with the hacker dumping the price when they sell your coins.

To keep these recommendations unbiased, I will not be participating in any referral/affiliate programs or take any sponsorships or even run ads on this website. I've been in crypto since 2016, so frankly I don't need the money and lets be honest, you are not going to say anything bad about a product, when they pay you thousands of dollars per month in commissions/sponsorships.

Software Wallets

Software wallets are located on your computer, either in the form of a browser extension or standalone piece of software. I absolutely do not recommend this category of crypto wallets because they are just not safe and are a major target for hackers to drain your wallet. There are just way too many vectors for exploits. You download a free piece of software or movie or just open the wrong email attachment...and all your money is gone. You go to the wrong website, your browser gets compromised and all your money is gone. You try to copy paste an address, and it gets switched out for the hacker's address, because they hacked the copy/paste function or your browser to replace the address. There are just too many ways for the hackers to get you, so it becomes a case of WHEN not IF you get hacked. It's just not worth the risk when there are plenty of crypto wallets that are actually safe to use.

Mobile Wallets

Mobile wallets are apps on your phone that let you manage your crypto holdings. These are more secure than software crypto wallets because your phone is a closed system so you avoid the risk of installating something that might give a hacker access to your funds. Great for sub $10,000 holdings.

  • zypto logo

    Zypto Wallet

    This is the one I use. Supports all chains and NFTs. In-app DEFI exchange(lowest fees I've seen). Lets you buy no KYC virtual debit cards(up to $9,500). Partnered with Moneygram for same day cash on/offramp at any of their locations. Website offers crypto bill pay service, gift cards and reloadable KYC debit cards up to $150,000. Best choice if you are now or planning in the future to live off your crypto gains.

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  • trust wallet logo

    Trust Wallet

    Metamask for phone wallets. Holds your crypto and NFTs(although if you plan to dive deep into NFTs, I'd look elsewhere since its not as good at that part). Has an in-app DEFI exchange. Overall a good wallet. Only downside, is that they require 5,000 token holders before they'll display the token price in-app, which makes it a little hard to use if you plan to invest into low cap moonshot projects sub 100M marketcap.

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  • coinbase logo

    Coinbase Wallet

    Well designed wallet with good security. Integrated with Coinbase the company, so you can use a lot of the CEX features directly from your mobile wallet (like buying crypto directly with USD). Only downside is essentially this makes every single address in that wallet be fully KYCed so you are trusting a centralized company with your decentralized finance which can be an issue for some people in crypto.

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Hardware Wallets

Hardware wallets are physical wallets that are essentially standalone micro computers that let you safely secure/use your crypto. These are a must for any large holdings. Personally I think anyone with more than $10,000 in crypto holdings needs to use one.

  • trezor logo

    Trezor Wallet

    This is the one I use. They've been around since the start, and never had any controversy unlike some of the other players. Model One is $59, Safe 3 is $79 and Safe 5 is $169. I do not recommend Model One, it doesn't have the chip, so that means your PIN can get extracted by anyone who steals it. Between Safe 3 and Safe 5, personally I prefer the Safe 3. The touchscreen is nice, but for long term holds, I think it best to minimize potential points of failure.

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  • ledger logo

    Ledger Wallet

    Ledger has a whole bunch of products. From the cheap Nano S Plus($79) and Nano X($149) to the Flex($249) and Stax($399). On the lower end, I'd say they fall short of Trezor offerings(Trezor is just easier to use). On the higher end, I'd say they are superior(note this would be a vanity purchase), just a more ergonomic design and better tech and the UX process is just overall cleaner. Note, Flex has gorilla glass while Stax doesn't, so it should be more resilient to daily use.

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  • ledger logo

    Tangem Wallet

    Tangem gets an honorable mention because they offer a less is more approach. It's basically a secured antenna for your private keys, no screen to crack, no batteries or charging system that might break. Yes, they let you do more active crypto stuff through their app, but that kinda defeats the purpose. You should only be using these for long term cold storage, where you buy today and don't touch anything until its time to sell 5 years later.

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Guide To Securing Your Coins

You can have the most secure crypto wallet in the world and it won't matter if you don't take the most basic precautions. First things first, make sure you never store a digital copy of your security seed. Write it down(with a pen) and store it in a physical location only you have access to. Do not store it digitally, do not type it into your computer, do not type it in your phone, do not put it into your email as a draft, the ONLY copy of your seed should only be in the physical piece of paper that you have stored securely. Next, make sure you have a unique pin that you don't use for anything else. Finally, don't connect your wallet to any website. Yes I know you really want that free NFT, yes I know you think someone just magically wants to give you a random token worth $20K for free, but 99.99% of the time, its just going to be a scam. So if you don't want to lose everything, be smart, and keep your long term savings safe. Because it only takes falling for one scam, to lose all your savings. You should also be aware of dusting attacks, what that is, is someone sends you a random token, you then do anything with it and it drains your entire wallet. Always remember, there is no free lunch in crypto.