Hardware Wallet (HW)

You have to be extra careful in the crypto world. While there are several ways to protect yourself, you can lose your assets if you don't have 100% control over them. One of the most famous hacks in the entire crypto sphere was MT.Gox. It processed more than 70% of all bitcoin transactions worldwide at one point. Hackers have been able to extract bitcoins from customer accounts and have stolen over 740,000 bitcoins (around USD 15 billion today) over the years.

One option to prevent this is a hardware wallet, often referred to as a "cold storage" device. This cryptocurrency wallet type stores your private keys on a physical device that you can keep at your fingertips. Crypto and other assets such as NFTs are protected by a hardware wallet that stores the keys to access your wallet and keeps them offline, so they are not vulnerable to hackers. Whenever an owner needs to access their digital assets, they can securely unlock their hardware wallet and communicate through its interface.

A hardware wallet is a physical device the size of a USB flash drive, used to securely store cryptocurrencies, NFTs and other digital assets. Seeds, passwords, and PINs are stored directly in your offline wallet, making it the most secure storage.

The entire crypto market adoption has been growing at a tremendous rate in recent years, whether it is DeFi, NFT or Gaming. With popularity comes fraudsters looking for an opportunity to use your information to gain access to your wallet.

A hardware wallet allows you to be the only person in control of access to your assets. It also provides the necessary security when interacting with dApps.

Do I really need a hardware wallet?

If you are serious about the crypto world in the long term, then you need a hardware wallet. On the other hand, if you are just starting and only have a small crypto amount, a software wallet (SW) may be enough for you. Everyone has a different threshold for when you need a wallet. If you already have enough cryptocurrency that you can't afford to lose, get a hardware wallet.

There are a few things to consider when choosing a hardware wallet

• Compatibility: make sure the hardware wallet is compatible with the devices you want to connect it to and that it supports your chosen cryptocurrencies and NFTs
• Ease of use: look for a hardware wallet that is easy to set up and use
• Security features: make sure the hardware wallet has all the necessary security features, such as a built-in display, offline transaction signing, and two-step verification
• Price: hardware wallets can vary in price, so choose one that fits your budget

The two largest and most secure HW wallets on the market

Cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger is based in France.

It has two wallet types: Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S Plus.

You can find the connection of Ledger with the SW wallet MetaMask in our tutorial.

Ledger Nano X

Ledger Nano S Plus

Another company is SatoshiLabs, which produces cryptocurrency wallets Trezor, based in the Czech Republic.

It has two wallet types: Trezor Model T and Trezor Model One.

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Trezor Model T

Trezor Model One

Each model is different and has its own specifications. When choosing, be careful which option you choose.

Never buy a secondhand Hardware wallet! Always buy from the original e-shops of the given brand. Thanks to this, you will be sure that no malicious software has been uploaded to the HW wallet by a third party.

For Ledger use this link.

For Trezor use this link.

PROs

• Your seed, pin or password is stored offline on the wallet device
• Almost zero vulnerability to viruses
• Multiple cryptocurrencies in one secure place
• No transaction can be confirmed without a connected HW wallet
• Regular software updates

CONs

• The need to have a HW wallet always connected
• Confirmation of transactions on the HW wallet
• Complex setup for a beginner