Are Hardware Wallets Really Impenetrable?
And Which One Tops the List?
Your crypto could be at risk. Millions of dollars worth of crypto-related assets have been stolen by scammers, and you could be their next victim.
Countless NFT holders, with BAYC holders being the most infamous, have fallen prey to phishing scams, malicious websites and wallet drainers.
You may not think much of it, owing their mistakes to stupidity and carelessness, thinking how you’d never fall for similar scams if you were in their shoes. But don’t be mistaken, even the most experienced on-chain experts are susceptible to security breaches.
These scams aren’t just unique to NFT (or BAYC) holders. Various wallet drainers, either through phishing websites or malicious smart contracts, have the sole purpose of getting you to connect your wallet and sign transactions for them to steal your coins.
No matter how experienced or smart you think you are, you should always equip yourself with the best on-chain security practices possible, and one of the ways you can do so is by using a hardware wallet.
Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets are physical, pocket-sized vaults for your crypto assets. They store your private keys – cryptographic sequences that let you access your crypto-assets – offline in a protected area of a microcontroller.
Hardware wallets epitomize the principle of self-sovereignty, and while this empowers individuals with full control and unrestricted access to their assets, it also transfers the burden of security onto them. This form of 'cold storage' reduces your exposure to the hacking risks associated with 'hot wallets', which are online methods of storage like Metamask.
There are a lot of hardware wallets to choose from. So, let's delve into some that we think are the best in the industry, from ones you may have not heard of to the most popular ones, focusing on their unique attributes, advantages, and potential downsides.