Hardware wallets for cryptocurrencies have now started hitting the market, especially after a series of hacking that have resulted in investors losing their cryptocurrency investments.
Some years past, the only available crypto wallets were the online wallets and then later the offline wallets that required the investor to download a software onto his/her device came. All this, especially the online wallets, were very susceptible to hacking and many investors have succumbed to hacking ending up losing thousands of Dollars to online thugs.
What are cryptocurrency hardware wallets?
A cryptocurrency hardware wallet is a wallet, which is linked to a hardware device, where the addresses of all transactions as well as the private keys are safely kept. The device is usually mounted on to the compatible devices and linked to an online platform.
The hardware wallets are usually encrypted or password protected to ensure that only the owner can access and use them.
The main advantage of hardware wallets is that they are safe from any online hacking. This guarantees the crypto user some form of security and confidence whenever he is using them.
3 safest hardware wallets for 2018
There are several hardware wallets that have been developed, but we shall only look at the outstanding three. Those which we can guarantee are top class and have been tested and proven.
Below are the 3 safest hardware wallets:
1. Trezor
Trezor wallet is a product of SatoshiLabs. It is a compact, sturdy plastic device with a 128×64 pixels OLED screen and two buttons.
Trezor wallet can be used with a number of cryptocurrencies which include: Bitcoins, UBIQ (UBQ), DASH, Zcash, Namecoin, ERC-20 Tokens, Dogecoin, Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin, NEM (XEM), Bcash (BCH), and Expanse (EXP) cryptocurrency coins
Trezor is compatible with MacOS, Linux or Windows Computer Operating systems as well as all Android devices.
How to use Trezor
Trezor is usually connected to the computer or android device using a micro USB cable. Then you will have to have a Trezor plug in attached to your browser so as to access the Trezor wallet platform.
Trezor creates a wallet for every crypto coin you wish to own. You just have to go to the top left corner of the platform and choose the wallet to use from the drop down list.
For you to send and receive coins from other wallets, you simply have to first get the address of the Trezor wallet you wish to use (e.g. the Bitcoin Trezor wallet). Then go to the exchange platform that you normally use and log in using the other Bitcoin wallet that you normally use and choose the amount of coins you wish to transfer to the Trezor wallet, click withdraw and insert the copied address and click send.
The coins should reflect on your Trezor account balance in the transactions tab at the top.
For security purposes, it requires a 9 digit randomly generated digital pin and it also has a twenty-four seed key for recovery if it is damaged or lost.
2. Ledger Nano S
Ledger Nano S is a product of Ledger, a France based company. Its design resembles that of a USB Flash drive, but with an OLED screen, which is slightly narrower than that of Trezor. It also has two small buttons at one of the longer edges.
Ledger Nano S wallet support a number of cryptocurrencies which include: Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Fido U2f, Dogecoin, Zcash, Dash, Stratis, Ripple, Hello, Bitcoin Cash, Komodo, Ethereum Classic, Posw, Ark, Expanse, Ubiq, Pivx, Vertcoin, Viacoin, Neo, Stealthcoin, Bitcoin Gold, Stellar, Hcash, Digibyte, and Qtum.
The Ledger Nano S is compatible with Windows, Mac 10.8+ and Linux. It can also be connected to a cellular device, although it will require a USB adapter to do that.
For the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet, it can be used with other wallets like Copay, MyCellium, Bitgo, Electrum, GreenBits, and MyEtherWallet instead of only depending on the plug in extention.
How to use the Ledger Nano S
You just have to connect it to the USB port of your computer directly. Then, before anything, you will be required to set a PIN to enable you get a recovery seed (24-word) which you should store safely and advisably not on your computer.
To send and receive any coins from another wallet, the process is similar to that of Trezor. However, for the Ledger Nano S, you may choose to use it with any of the other wallets mentioned above.
3. KeepKey
KeepKey wallet is an aluminium built hardware device with a whole side set as a screen. It generally takes over the management of the generation of the private key, the storage of the private key, and signing of transactions.
It can be used for a number of cryptocurrencies which currently include: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Dash.
It supports Linux, MacOS, Windows, and Android.
Just like Ledger Nano S it can be used with a number of other wallets like: Electrum, Mycelium and MultiBit.
And one of the most unique feature of this hardware wallet is that users can directly exchange crypto coin on the wallet using ShapeShift.
How to use KeepKey wallet
It requires a micro USB cable to be connected to either your computer or Android device. After which you will be required to set up a password. Then the wallet generates a private key and stores it safely.
After the private key is generated, you should write a recovery seed key as a 12 character sentence.
After all that, you are now free to use the wallet.
Whenever, a transaction is done, it has to be physically approved using the buttons on the sides. Also, every transaction is displayed on the screen.
For you to send and receive crypto coins from other wallets, the procedure is just the same. Just that with KeepKey, you can choose to use either of the other wallets which it is compatible with.
Great article….i will prefers Nano Ledger S because it has many features.