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So you’ve bought some Bitcoin and now you need a way to keep it safe. If you haven’t quite grasped the difference between hot and cold wallets you should take a moment to gain a basic understanding of them first. As a refresher for the rest of us, cold storage wallets- also referred to as hardware wallets- are secure offline devices.
They are designed to store your private keys offline, to provide immutable protection against hacking and scams. However with the rapid evolution of the crypto-verse, there is one device that has emerged as the top Bitcoin wallet in 2018. Don’t believe us?
Lets do a quick comparison of the top 3 in the market today:
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The Trezor wallet was the first offline wallet to hit the market. Using a two-buttoned interface the device is relatively simple to use, only taking a few minutes to set up. The package comes with everything required to set it up, including a recovery sheet. It connects via micro USB cord to your PC, however this short is exceptionally short. If you use a desktop computer rather than a laptop it is more than inconvenient to plug in and operate.
Depending on the accompanying wallets the Trezor can store Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, Dash + more. However as a first gen. hardware wallet support for new coins and forks is often slow. In terms of security the wallet uses a secure pin code, 2 factor authentication and generates an on-screen seed password, which can be used to recover your account if the Trezor is lost. As a 1st gen. storage wallet however, can the Trezor take the title of the top Bitcoin wallet in 2018? Take a look at the key features below.
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The Ledger Nano can be considered a second-generation cold storage wallet. Using a similar two-buttoned operation, and micro USB connection it appears to be similar to the Trezor on the surface. However the Ledger does come in at a cheaper price, and improves on the security capabilities of the Trezor.
In terms of security it also uses cryptographic attestation (Certification level: CC EAL5+), a secure pin code and 2-factor authentication.The Ledger Nano S is also compatible with a number of online wallets and tokens. It has the capacity to store Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether and Dash, and can be combined with My Ether Wallet to store other ERC-20 tokens and some alt-coins. So is the Ledger Nano S the top Bitcoin wallet in 2018?
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If the Ledger Nano S is considered a 2nd gen. wallet, it is fair to say the Secure Wallet can be considered 3rd gen. With a sleek design and the size of a credit card, the Secure Wallet is ultra portable, and the only true cold storage wallet. Interaction with the wallet via phone or computer is completely wireless through the accompanying app, eliminating both the inconvenience of a cabled connection, and rendering the device completely impenetrable to viruses or other malware.
Moreover the Secure Wallet incentivises its use. By staking OMI tokens (the native token of the ECOMI ecosystem, users are able to use the wide variety of dApps and software solutions offered. The card also supports open platform software, with primary support for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, LiteCoin, Ethereum and Ripple, and development underway to support ERC-20 tokens as well as alt-coins.
Similar to the Ledger and Trezor wallets, the Secure Wallet has both pin-code and built in seed generation. However it goes one step further to enable one time passwords, used to confirm transactions and perform other functions, ensuring complete security of your assets.
