Nova Wallet

Basic Information

Nova Wallet is a popular software non-custodial wallet that allows you to safely store your assets, both cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Furthermore, it allows you to stake your assets, participate in crowd loans and work within decentralized finance (DeFi), all on the mobile application.

Functionality

Nova Wallet is an application that runs on your Android and iOS device, being developed by a company Novasama Technologies. The company aims to create a friendly and comprehensive wallet that will allow you to operate within the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems.

When you download the application, you will see that in addition to storing cryptocurrencies, you can earn money by staking your assets. Fans of art will also note that you can store NFTs, too. The wallet also offers you the possibility to participate in a crowd loaning, and all Polkadot decentralized applications (dApps) are also supported.

Wallet safety is ensured with a 12-word seed and a pin code that you can choose yourself. On some devices, you can even set up biometric authentication.

You can also connect Nova Wallet to a Ledger HW wallet or to Parity Signer. The installation and the setup itself will take you no more than a few minutes.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Easy to use and install
Supports a huge amount of dApps
Connection with Ledger HW wallet or Parity Signer

Cons

Focused only on the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems

Supported Chains

The wallet supports more than 172 assets running inside the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. Unfortunately, on the official wallet website, there is no complete list of supported coins / tokens. However, installing the wallet will take you no more than two minutes and, according to the roadmap, it will support ERC-20 tokens in future.

Tips from an Analyst

As stated above, Nova Wallet is a software wallet (SW). Therefore, we recommend you download it directly from the official site. When you do so, make sure no one is looking at your phone, and make sure you write down the seed on a piece of paper or a metal plate that can be bought online for this specific purpose. After you have done this, store your seed securely. Never put your seed on your electronic device, nor take a picture of it. If you do, you are putting yourself at risk of having your assets stolen. Before downloading or buying any kind of wallet, be sure to conduct thorough research. This also applies to buying cryptocurrencies or NFTs.

In order to store your assets more safely using the Nova Wallet, it is recommended that you connect it to your hardware wallet (e.g., Ledger).

Personal Opinion

Nova Wallet is a good wallet when it comes to the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. The team behind it is working really hard on developing it into something more. When you look at the roadmap, you can see that they are active, and the wallet is being developed more and more. Lot of people will also be pleased to read that the team is working on native support for ERC-20 tokens.

I like that you can connect the wallet to a Ledger device. Another positive is that the wallet supports many dApps. Thanks to its user-friendly UI, the app is also suitable for beginners to the crypto world. However, even though the interface is easy to get used to, it wouldn’t hurt to provide clearer instructions on how to use it.

Overall, I think that Nova Wallet is one of the better tools to help you start working within the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. So far, people in general seem satisfied with the application, and it is almost impossible to find a bad review of the wallet itself.