Most Secure and Reliable Crypto Wallets in 2020

The crypto crime data compiled by Chainalysis revealed some staggering figures. According to the report, in 2019, crypto-assets worth $ 282,600,000 were stolen. Hackers have become quite sophisticated, and they have no problem draining crypto wallets that claim to have unshakable security standards. Some of them belonged to some top-notch exchanges like Coinbene, Upbit, and Binance.

Unarguably, crypto criminals are on a continuous lookout for vulnerable crypto wallets. A security feature that seems impenetrable today might not guard your assets against a cyber-attack tomorrow. Does this make you question the security standards of your crypto wallets? If so, then keep on reading to find out how to protect your wallets and stay safe.

Gauge your wallet security

According to crypto experts, you must entrust a wallet with your crypto assets if:

• It is an HD (hierarchical deterministic) wallet;
• Offers a multi-signature feature;
• It requires multiple authentication levels that include two-factor authentication;
• There is a way to back up the wallet;
• By and large, a web wallet must have HTTPS instead of the only HTTP;
• Additionally, for a hardware wallet the manufacturer’s reputation, hardware design, and user interface matter the most.

That said, don’t be in a hurry to pick your crypto wallets as understanding a few other needs is equally important:

• Are you looking for a storage or usage wallet?
• Do you require single or multicurrency support?
• How much does a good user experience matter to you?
• From which device do you intend to use your wallet? (iOS, Android, Web or hardware)
• How often you plan to access your cryptocurrency?
• Are you ready to entrust a third party with your assets?
• How much is the wallet usage fees?
• Is it a paid or free wallet?

Now, that you’ve started contemplating, let’s explore some options that we hand-picked based on the above parameters and security issues.

2020- Most secure and reliable crypto wallets

Hardware Wallets

• Ledger Nano S and X

Ledger Nano S, the trailblazer of Ledger Nano X was launched in 2016. To date, over 1.5 million units of Ledger Nano S have been sold. And it remains the choicest hardware wallet of the crypto-community.

Given these points, the USB like device won the heart of millions for its intuitiveness and revolutionized cold storage.

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• The cold wallet supports over 1000 cryptocurrencies;
• Comes with its own wallet interface – Ledger Wallet Bitcoin, Ledger Wallet Ethereum, Ledger Wallet Ripple;
• Other compatible software wallets are Copay, Electrum, Mycelium, MyEtherWallet, GreenBits, and BitGo;
• Compatible with desktops and Android 7+ smartphones with an OTG cable;
• Staking rewards.

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• The high-grade security it offers is pricey. The official website sells it for $59. Although you might get it at a lower price on Amazon or other sellers, it is not recommended;
• The smaller display screen does not display the complete address or recovery phrase. Needs a lot of button scrolling;
• In spite of offering a highly intuitive interface, it does not compete against the intuitiveness of Software wallets.

Why Ledger Nano X over Ledger Nano S?

Ledger Nano X made its entry in early 2019. It carries over all the features of its precursor however it offers a unique advantage over Ledger Nano S.

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• Mobile support with Bluetooth connectivity;
• The setup of the wallet is extremely smooth;
• One can manage up to 100 assets simultaneously;
• It comes with a battery life of 8 hours.

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• Additional features come at an additional price. A Ledger Nano X costs $119 on the official website;
• Some users reported the Bluetooth connectivity is not pretty smooth.

Author’s Scoreboard

In essence, if you are looking for a reasonably priced security of your crypto assets, Ledger Nano S is the right choice.

• Trezor Model T

As a flagship product of the SatoshiLabs team, Trezor Model T is proceeded by Trezor One, the world’s first hardware wallet. The successor inherits all the advantages of Trezor One. Additionally, it comes with a more natural to use touch screen.

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• Trezor Model T supports over 1000 crypto assets;
• Comes with an easy to use touch screen;
• Trezor T has a slot for a MicroSD card to onboard encrypted storage;
• USB C port to connect to desktops/laptops;
• Keystroke spying is controlled by a 2^nd screen protection.

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• Ah! It’s the price. For the price tag of $170, Trezor T does not justify its touch screen advantage over Trezor One.

Author’s Scoreboard

Altogether if you want to save some bucks by sacrificing the pleasure of a touch screen, go for Trezor One. It is available at $76 on the official website.

Give Trezor a second thought

As per a piece of recent news, Kraken has hacked Trezor Hardware. Let us give Trezor a fair chance here and wait for the team to come forward with a sound explanation. If you are a Trezor user, avoid trouble by following the tips from our recent post.

• KeepKey

Phenomenally designed, the hardware wallet competes well against its competitors Trezor and Ledger. KeepKey was introduced in 2015 at $239. Even when it falls shorts of features like touch screen and Bluetooth connectivity, it holds an upper hand in the market. And that is because it now costs you only $79.

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• Great design and intuitiveness;
• As it comes with a larger screen, it displays full cryptocurrency addresses;
• Competitively priced;
• A second screen protection guards against Keystroke spying;
• With ShapeShift acquisition, the wallet also brings users in-built crypto to crypto exchange.

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• Supports only 40 crypto assets;
• Users have complained updates on supported cryptocurrencies are slow. For example post Bitcoin Cash hard fork, the wallet support for Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision took way longer.

Author’s Rating

If you are okay with a slightly bigger hardware crypto wallet that does not support way too many coins, you may pick KeepKey.

Desktop Wallets

• Exodus

Why does Exodus top our desktop wallet list? Undoubtedly, it is the intuitiveness and security features of the wallet that push it up the stack. If you are planning to keep a smaller sum of crypto assets to trade frequently, Exodus is a good choice.

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• Users are in complete control of their private keys;
• Supports over 100 cryptocurrencies;
• In-App crypto-to-crypto trading with ShapeShift integration;
• As a lite wallet, it does not require users to download the entire blockchain;
• Quick transaction execution;
• Offer an equally worthy Mobile Wallet too.

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• Missing 2FA dents its promise of security;
• Higher transaction fees associated with quick transactions;
• No option for manual selection of transaction fees.

Author’s Scoreboard

Given these points, Exodus should be your first choice if you are new to cryptocurrencies. The extremely user-friendly interface gives you the right head-start. As a fast, safe, lite and private desktop wallet, it has a massive fan following.

• Electrum

As one of the seasoned wallets in the market, Electrum demands you to know the crypto space well.

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• A feature-rich wallet that allows users to customize the transaction fees;
• With the Replace By Fee Feature(RBF) users can push their non-confirmed transactions again at a higher fee;
• Send one transaction to multiple recipients.

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• Supports only Bitcoin. But clones have been created for Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold and more;
• Not for beginners;
• It does not offer a mobile app.

Author’s Scoreboard

Undoubtedly, Electrum is a feature-packed wallet. But it happens to be more suitable for crypto literates. For the beginners, it demands a learning curve where mistakes might happen. And in crypto, one cannot afford mistakes.

Mobile Wallets

• Enjin

As one of the highly versatile crypto wallets, it promises impenetrable security. With a very easy to the user interface, it is perfect for traders, gamers, and hodlers. What makes it more impressive are the top-notch security aspects.

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• The latest speed boost makes it the fastest wallet in the town;
• The App keyboard is designed to provide input protection enhancement. By randomizing the keys, it prevents keyloggers from stealing the credentials;
• Software and memory encryption ensure all vital elements are deleted from the memory;
• Offers crypto exchange-ability within the Enjin wallet;
• Customized fee and transfer limit options;
• Allows users to segregate trading wallet, saving wallet, business wallet and more;
• Offers you hardware wallet tracking with fingerprint verification login;
• Backed by a very active development team that keeps on introducing new features;
• Supports dApp browsers in the app.

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• The only downer is limited coin support. Designed primarily to support ERC-20 based tokens, it now also supports Litecoin, Bitcoin, ZeroEx and Enjin Coins.

Author’s Scoreboard

All in all, it is quite a secure wallet that comes with loads of features without sacrificing the user-friendliness.

• Trust

The firm that developed Trust was acquired by Binance in 2018. And since then its reputation has catapulted. Working on the best security standards, Trust promises users that only they have access to their private keys.

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• Private keys are not stored on any server;
• The wallet back up option ensures, the wallet users can restore it;
• A large number of token support makes it a popular choice;
• Maintains user anonymity;
• Integration with exchanges like Coinbase, Shapeshift and Changelly ensures easy purchase of crypto assets;
• Users can directly interact with the dApps in Web3 Browser;
• Works with Binance DEX and supports instant trades.

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• With no 2FA in place, some users question its security aspects.

Author’s Scoreboard

To summarize Trust Wallet has proven its worth to both novice and pro-crypto traders. With an acute focus on user-friendliness, privacy and security, Trust is a good wallet to work with.

• Bread

As one of the easiest and simplest wallets, it caught our attention for its credit card crypto purchase options. On the whole that obviously was not the only reason. As a non-custodial wallet bread offers supreme security to the users crypto assets.

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• Wallet users are in complete control of their private keys;
• Cryptocurrencies can be purchased via the App;
• Credit card cryptocurrency purchase support;
• Wallet user can buy crypto in Bread wallet using USD, EUR, GBO, CAD, DKK, BTC, ETH and DAI;
• It can be backed-up.

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• The customized transaction fee management is still under development;
• Coin support is limited;
• Small bugs are reported now and then. But the team is doing a good job in addressing them quickly.

Author’s Scoreboard

To sum up, Bread’s beauty lies in its highly intuitive interface. To date, no hacks have been reported on the Bread wallet. Thus, it’s a good wallet for beginners.