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If you have been in the cryptoshere for a while, then you should have been conversant with ways to protect your coins and what type of wallet you should have them stored. In this article, we’re going to show you the most known hardware wallets.

Why Should You Use A Hardware Wallet?

Hardware wallets give you more assurance of storing your cryptocurrencies much more safely and also facilitates your payments faster. This is one of the reasons hardware wallets for Bitcoin have seen steady growth in recent years. This article explains in details your best devices for storing the Bitcoin cryptocurrency without having to expose the access to those coins to cybercriminals. Good news is, you can buy all these devices online and have it shipped to you wherever you are in the world in a matter of days.

Where Are My Cryptocurrencies Located?

When people refer hardware wallets as offline wallets, it doesn’t mean that the coins are stored on the device and therefore cannot be accessed by anyone unless the device is stolen. That’s a misconception. The hardware wallet is merely a device that is not readily connected to the internet. What’s contained on the device is an application which is the gateway to your coins on the blockchain.

Your tokens are always on the blockchain. So what’s the need for a hardware device when your cryptocurrencies are not on it any way you might ask? Yes, they do not hold the cryptocurrencies, but they keep the access to cryptocurrencies called the private keys or seed words which are actually what connects you to your cryptocurrencies on the blockchain. These hardware devices are also encrypted that even when the device is lost or taken, these keys cannot be stolen therefore keeping your cryptocurrencies safe. Account creation and key/seed words generation are all done in the encrypted environment of the hardware device, and since they are not devices connected to the internet on their own, cyber attackers have no chance whatsoever to access and make away with accesses to peoples funds.

Any amount of cryptocurrency more than what you can afford to lose is adviced to be stored on a hardware device, and the following are the best options you can invest your money on for better security of your coins.

Top Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallets For 2019

Ledger Nano S Hardware Wallet

The Ledger Nano S is one of the best wallets for Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies you can ever get. Your coins are stored, and transactions are also done within the device. You can check and confirm your transactions on the screen built into the device. With the private keys encrypted on the device, access to funds is only limited to the device alone. This makes your coins safe. If you’re interested to know why you should own a Ledger Nano S – you should read our article: Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Own A Ledger Wallet

Ledger Nano S supports: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ark (ARK), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Expanse (EXP), Dash (DASH), Digibyte (DGB), Dogecoin (DOGE), Komodo (KMD), Litecoin (LTC), NEO (NEO), Pivx (PIVX), Posw Coin (POSW), Qtum(QTUM), Stealthcoin (XST), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Stratis (STRAT), Ubiq (UBQ), Vertcoin (VTC), Viacoin (VIA), Ripple (XRP), Zcash (ZEC) and many more. In all, the hardware wallet supports over 1,000 coins. You can see the full list here.

Trezor Bitcoin Wallet

The Trezor bitcoin wallet is also one of the most secure wallets on the market today. Even when used on a malware-infected system, the Trezor still proves itself secured as it keeps your private keys offline and also signs bitcoin transactions. The Trezor is recommended for the less technical users as it is straightforward to use.

Cryptocurrencies That Trezor Supports: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC), Namecoin (NMC), Dogecoin (DOGE), ERC-20 Tokens

KeepKey Hardware Wallet

The KeepKey Hardware Wallet is yet another simple and powerful cryptocurrency hardware wallet that is trusted to protect your bitcoins. The KeepKey works on basically any operating system, Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’s a USB HID-class device, which means it requires no driver to function properly with your operating system. A one time opportunity is granted the user to write down the 12-word recovery key. Because the KeepKey has no operating system installed, it cannot be infected by malware and other programs used by cyber attackers.

KeepKey currently supports Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum (ETH), Dash (DASH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin Gold (BTG).

CoolWallet S Wallet

The CoolWallet is a flexible, waterproof wallet which keeps access to your cryptocurrencies 100% offline. No matter how vulnerable your network connections, your private keys never leave the CoolWallet device. Its OTP system allows users to sign their transactions offline. The CoolWallet is a credit-card shaped device which perfectly fits into your wallet. CoolWallet currently supports;

Bitcoin (BTC)

Ether (ETH)

Litecoin (LTC)

Ripple (XRP)

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Icon (ICX)

ERC20 tokens

OpenDime Bitcoin Credit Stick

The OpenDime is a sleek, small USB device that allows you to spend Bitcoin like dollar bills. It works with any computer, laptop, or a mobile device. However, this is different from all other mentioned devices as the private keys are generated within the device and are not revealed to anyone. Though losing the device can mean losing your cryptocurrencies, but loading some value of bitcoin and giving it to someone assures the person you can’t take back the funds. OpenDime currently supports Bitcoin only.

Corazon

Its a relatively new cryptocurrency hardware wallet that has been built by SatoshiLabs in partnership with Gray, a Singaporean luxury accessory design firm. Its a designer hardware wallet that is made up of beautiful silver titanium on the outside. However, it doesn’t come cheap. At $700 to $1500, Corazon is the most expensive crypto wallet.

SatoshiLabs is the company behind Trezor. Therefore, functionally on the inside, Corazon is just a Trezor Model T, and on the outside, it has a titanium case which delivers a significant aesthetic difference and a few other functional differences.

The Gray titanium case offers the two key advantages when compared to the default Trezor Model T molded plastic case; extra durability and its challenging to imitate by counterfeiters.

The wallet offers high security and also supports a vast array of cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, BTG, LTC, DASH, DOGE, ETC, ETH, ERC20, NEM, NMC, ZEC, EXP, and UBQ.

Archos Safe-T Mini Wallet

Safe-T Mini is another relatively new hardware wallet within the crypto industry. It’s manufactured by Archos, a French electronics company that was established in 1988. The company produces smartphones, tablets, portable media devices, portable data storage devices, and recently got into crypto through the Safe-T mini hardware wallet.

It’s a very basic version of crypto hardware wallet which is quite safe. So far, the wallet supports several crypto coins including; Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, ERC-20 Tokens, and Bitcoin Gold.

Some of its advantages include; generating and storing your private keys offline, an integrated screen that displays transaction information and an encrypted chipset memory.

Bonus: Digital Bitbox

The Digital Bitbox is a hardware wallet for multiple cryptocurrencies, made by a Swiss-based company called Shift Devices AG. The device comes with a native software that excludes the risk associated with browser-based extensions. Private keys are generated and stored on the device and not the computer device on which it’s used; this makes it a top choice for a cold storage solution. The Digital Bitbox device stores Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and other ERC20 tokens.

The device also provides multiple signature protection features for cryptocurrency transaction confirmations. It also offers smart verification and two-factor authentication for Android and IOS devices.

Reasons You Can Always Trust A Hardware Wallet

Your private keys are stored securely in a protected area of the device and cannot be transferred out in plain text.

Hardware wallets need physical confirmation to execute a transaction. He who doesn’t have your device at hand, cannot get access to your funds quickly.

Hardware Wallets are immune to computer viruses.

Because companies use open source software for these devices, the device operation can be easily verified.

Image Source: LameSheep

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