Would you give your banking information or car keys to a stranger? Heck no! Why? Because YOU WANT TO CONTROL YOUR ASSETS.

When it comes to our crypto, we should be just as mindful, if not more. Hardware wallets are a great option for safely storing your crypto – but there is a new King in town.

Similar to a hardware wallet, the Monarch Wallet allows you to safely store, send, and receive your crypto whenever you want. What the Monarch Wallet adds, however, is the ability to earn interest (up to 7%), buy crypto with your bank account or credit card, and trade ERC20 tokens through their built-in decentralized exchange. This crypto wallet is feature-rich AND secure!

The Monarch Wallet makes a great alternative to owning a Trezor or Ledger hardware wallet. If you have an extra phone lying around, you can just download the app, take out the SIM card and turn off WIFI. It is a non-custodial wallet where you are the only one with access to your recovery seed and private keys.

Monarch has also partnered with Celsius, allowing them the ability to pay interest on your crypto deposits (for certain supported coins). For example, if you deposit Bitcoin, you could receive up to 7% a year – paid out in Bitcoin (NOT USD)! This is my favorite feature because as an average crypto HODLer (who doesn’t sell a product or service), I can still earn crypto without risking it on trading or dApps. I can’t even get this kind of return with my bank. Imagine if you earned an extra 7% in BTC for the year and then the price of BTC doubles – what traditional bank gives you this kind of opportunity?

You can also buy Bitcoin and Ethereum directly in the app by linking a credit card or bank account. If you’re looking for an alternative “fiat on-ramp,” this is worth considering! In my experience, the exchange rate was fair, and the fees were less than what I saw with the Coinbase app. I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the usefulness of the Monarch Wallet mobile app, and they are constantly making updates every few weeks. One of the more recent updates was the addition of a built-in, decentralized exchange.

KYC is not required for the basic functions of the wallet (storing, sending, receiving). If you want to earn interest or purchase BTC, ETH, BCH within the app, however, it will require KYC. There was a separate KYC process for each function (earning interest and in-app crypto purchases). I did have some hiccups completing the KYC process and hope it could be smoother in the future. I had to contact support, but the help I received was quick and pleasant. Also, I feel the user interface could be improved. I do believe, however, these improvements will be made with the passage of time.

The Monarch Crypto Wallet is a working product that is rapidly gaining traction with the addition of new features and partnerships. Their customer service has been great, they have an active telegram group, and they also have weekly prize giveaways posted in the app as well. I have crypto spread across various devices, mobile wallets, dApps, and exchanges (DEXs and centralized); but this has definitely been my favorite crypto wallet – and it even makes HODLing fun. I recommend giving the Monarch Wallet a try!