A detailed comparison between Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets

2019 is a blockbuster year for cryptocurrencies — but not for the reasons you think. While Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos have surged out of the 2018 doldrums, investor excitement is fast being replaced with a shocking reality: theft.

Trezor.wallet

“Cryptocurrency thefts, scams, and fraud could hit $4.3billion in 2019” reads an August 2019 VentureBeatarticle. In Q1 2019 alone, criminals stole more than $356 million fromexchanges, reports CipherTrace,noted cryptocurrency intelligence firm.

Differentiation can also be made based on the operating system the wallet can be used on. As such, you can have Android wallets (which are Android apps), Apps for iOS on iPhone and iPad, Windows, Mac and Linux, and so forth. Many software solutions are programs with a free download. Wallet is a simple and easy to use password storage application. Whether you keep contacts, passwords, serial numbers, or credit cards within Wallet, Wallet stores them secure and organized in an.

The swell of crypto-excitement has attracted thieves and crooks bent on relieving investors of their cryptos. How to put a stop once and for all to these digital Artful Dodgers?

Trezor vs. Ledger Nano

Why Use a Hardware Wallet

Thieves appear notoriously good at hacking exchanges and metaphorically running off with the goods. Eight exchanges have been hacked in 2019, and we aren’t even finished with the year. Here are the highlights:

• July 2019: Japanese Exchange BITPoint — total of $32,000,000.
• May 2019: Heavyweight Exchange Binance — total of $40,000,000.
• March 2019: CoinBene Exchange — total of a staggering$100,000,000.

Moral of the story: Your cryptocurrencies are not reallysafe on exchanges. Statistically speaking, exchanges are the worst place tosafeguard your crypto-assets.

Solution: Store your cryptocurrency on a hardware wallet right now.

What a Hardware Wallet?

A cryptocurrency hardware wallet is a physical device builtto store the private keys of a given cryptocurrency. These devices are usuallythe size of a USB stick. Hardware wallets are purpose-built to store keysoffline.

In a nutshell, hardware wallets securely store your privatekeys, which give you access to the cryptocurrencies you own that live on theirrespective blockchain.

Wallets come in two flavors: hot and cold. This article willfocus on cold wallets; that is, a wallet that is not connected to the internet.A hot wallet is one that is connected to the internet. Hot and cold walletsboth have advantages and disadvantages outside of the scope of this article.Head over to our article on cryptocurrencywallet types for a breakdown of the hardware wallet types and their prosand cons.

Pros and Cons of Hardware Wallets

Hardware wallets aren’t perfect. Let’s consider the pros andcons.

Pros:

• Store your cryptocurrencies offline
• Pin or passphrase protected
• Immune to malware and viruses (so far)
• Great for storing large amounts of crypto
• Recoverable even if you lose the device (via a recovery seed)

Cons:

• Usually expensive
• Less convenient for active trading

Trezor vs. Ledger Nano

Both Trezor (officially part of SatoshiLabs) and Ledger Nanoare leaders in the hardware wallet space. Trezor was the first to offer ahardware wallet, called the Trezor One, released in 2013. Ledger Nano enteredthe hardware wallet space three years later in 2016 with the release of itsLedger Nano S.

Trezor and Ledger are both well-known and well-regardedhardware wallet makers. A key difference between the two is that Trezor devicesare made mostly of plastic, while Ledger uses aluminum and stainless steel.Given the design, Trezor has larger screens than Ledger, a feature that may beimportant for some consumers.

Trezor and Ledger Nano continue to duke it out over mind- and market-share. In March of 2019, Ledger revealed security vulnerabilities in Trezor devices. Trezor hit back with a blog post detailing the relatively misguided nature of Ledger Nano’s claims. Undoubtedly the Trezor vs. Ledger duel will continue as the market matures.

Other hardware wallet makers continue to produce wallets, including KeepKey, Archos, CoolWallet, and Digital Bitbox.

Trezor Wallet Iphone

Trezor Hardware Wallets

Prague-based Trezor was the first to offer a hardwarewallet, and at the time of writing offers two wallets. Trezor manufactures itswallets in the Czech Republic and is 100% open source.

Trezor One

The Trezor One debuted in 2014 to much fanfare andexcitement. It was the first hardware wallet for consumers. This is atried-and-true hardware wallet that sells at a fair price. For consumerslooking for a standard hardware wallet, the original Trezor One won’tdisappoint.

Features:

• Size: 2.4in x 1.2in x 0.2in
• Screen Size: OLED, 128 × 64 pixels
• Native Support: 14 cryptocurrencies
• Total Support: 1000+ cryptocurrencies
• External Wallet Support: Many
• Asset Recovery: 12-word to 24-word sentence restores account
• Color: Black or white
• OS Compatibility: PC, Mac, Linux, and Android
• Security: PIN code, passphrase, recovery sentence
• Other: Password manager; FIDO/U2F compatible
• Certification: None

Retail price (2019): $55

Trezor Model T

The Trezor Model T is a second-generation hardware wallet released in 2018. It builds upon the Trezor One’s strengths and is fully open source. This hardware wallet has dispensed with the OLED screen and buttons in favor of an LCD touchscreen. The Trezor Model T also includes a MicroSD slot, uncommon for hardware wallets.

Features:

• Size: 2.52in x 1.54in x 0.39in
• Screen Size: Full-color LCD touchscreen, 240 x 240 pixels
• Native Support: 50+ cryptocurrencies
• Total Support: 1000+ cryptocurrencies
• External Wallet Support: Many
• Asset Recovery: 12-word to 24-word sentence restores account
• Color: Black
• OS Compatibility: PC, Mac, Linux, and Android
• Security: PIN code, passphrase, recovery sentence
• Other: Can function as both a cold and hot wallet; functionalityfor GPG encryption and U2F authentication
• Certification: None

Retail price (2019): $169

Ledger Nano Hardware Wallets

This French firm is another leader in hardware wallets, andalso offers two popular wallets. As a hardware wallet leader, Ledger isconcerned with security. To this end, the company has ensured that bothhardware wallets meet specific security certifications, although products arenot fully open source due to manufacturer limitations.

Ledger Nano S

The Ledger Nano S was released in 2016 and is considered one of the safest and cheapest hardware wallets. The Nano S is the only independently verified hardware wallet and has clocked in over 1.5 million-plus sales.

While lacking in storage size, this is a reliable, well-received hardware wallet at a reasonable price point.

Features:

• Size: USB-sized
• Screen Size: 128 x 32 pixels
• Asset Storage: 3 – 18 digital assets simultaneously
• Native Support: 22 cryptocurrencies
• Total Support: 1,100+ cryptocurrencies
• External Wallet Support: 55+ wallets
• Asset Recovery: 24-word sentence restores the account
• Color: Black, yellow, pink, green, blue, or transparent
• OS Compatibility: PC, Mac, Linux, and Android
• Security: PIN code, recovery sentence
• Certification: Certified Secure Element (CC EAL5+) + Independently certified by ANSSI

Retail price (2019): $59

Ledger Nano X

The Ledger Nano X is the newest hardware wallet, as it wasreleased this year (2019). This wallet deviates from other competitors in thatit focuses on mobility, specifically its Bluetooth accessibility and built-inbattery. In addition, the Ledger Nano X (and Ledger in general) is well-knownfor its focus on certified security.

Features:

• Size: USB-sized
• Screen Size: 128 x 64 pixels
• Asset Storage: 100 digital assets simultaneously
• Native Support: 22 cryptocurrencies
• Total Support: 1,100+ cryptocurrencies
• External Wallet Support: 55+ wallets
• Asset Recovery: 24-word sentence restores the account
• Color: Black
• OS Compatibility: PC, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS
• Security: PIN code, recovery sentence
• Other: Bluetooth enabled (encrypted)
• Certification: Certified Secure Element (CC EAL5+)

Retail price (2019): $119

Honorable Mentions

While Trezor, Ledger will work for most consumers, they may not be suitable for everyone. In addition to the top three, we will touch on Archos, CoolWallet, and Digital Bitbox. These hardware wallets have specific use-cases and may not be suitable for the average consumer.

KeepKey: A Top Wallet Contender

KeepKey hardware wallet was born in 2015, created by Seattle-based KeepKey. The company created a completely open-source hardware wallet that stands out with its large screen. The company grew but was acquired in August 2017 by Swiss crypto exchange ShapeShift. The KeepKey wallet stands out as having a high degree of craftsmanship and a good feel. Unfortunately, it is a clear third place as it doesn’t support near the number of coins of Trezor or Ledger.

Features:

• Size: Almost twice as large as either the Trezor or Ledger (1.49x 3.68 x 0.48 inches)
• Screen Size: 256 x 64 3.12” (large) OLED display
• Asset Support: 40 digitalassets
• Native Support: 8 cryptocurrencies
• Asset Recovery: 12-word sentence restores account
• Color: Black
• OS Compatibility: PC, Mac, Linux, and Android
• Security: PIN code, recovery sentence, passphrase
• Other: Built-in exchange via ShapeShift integration; open source
• Certification: None

Retail price (2019):$79

Archos is a French firm that makes a variety of technologyproducts, from smartphones to portable media players — and now a hardwarewallet. The Safe-T mini is small, circular hardware wallet that can fit in thepalm of your hand. It has an LCD where you can confirm transactions with anup-to-six-digit PIN code.

• Supported Coins: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Gold(BTG), Litecoin (LTC), Dash (DSH), Ether (ETH), Ether Classic (ETC), ERC-20Tokens, Groestlcoin (GRS), Monacoin (MONA), le Fujicoin (FJC), and Bitcore(BTX).
• Supported Software: Electrum (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, BitcoinGold, Litecoin, Dash), MyCrypto (Ether, Ether Classic, ERC-20 Tokens)

Retail price (2019): $55

CoolWallet S

CoolBitX, maker of the CoolWallet was founded in 2014. Thecompany crowdfunded the CoolWallet on Indiegogo in 2015, with a successfullaunch of the wallet in 2018. The wallet has an unusual design compared to manyin the market, often referred to as “credit card like” and has the exact designspecifications of a credit card. The wallet scores high on portability anddesign and can be used as an every-day wallet with its Bluetooth functionality.

• Supported Coins: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC),Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Horizen (ZEN), ICON (ICX), Tether (USDT), Binance(BNB), and ERC-20 Tokens

Retail price (2019): $99

BitBox 01

The BitBox 01, formerly Digital BitBox (and upcoming BitBox 02) was created by Shift Crypto security AG, a spinoff of ETH Zürich national university. This is perhaps the smallest hardware wallet on the market, about three times the size of a MicroSD chip. Speaking of the microSD, the device houses one that creates a backup for easy restoring. It also includes a touch LED for confirming important actions.

• Supported Coins: Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ether (ETH),Ether Classic (ETC), and ERC-20 Tokens

Retail price (2019): $49

Downloads

Current Version: 0.17.1.4 - Oxygen Orion

• Linux 64-bit
• Mac OS X 64-bit

• Windows 64-bit (Installer)
• Windows 64-bit (Zip)
• Mac OS X 64-bit
• Linux 64-bit
• Source Code

There are also packages available for multiple Linux distributions. See the list on GitHub.

Be aware that some antiviruses and firewalls may flag the Monero executables and archives as malware. More info in the FAQ.

Trezor Bitcoin Wallet

Verify

You are strongly advised to verify the hashes of the archive you downloaded. This will confirm that the files you downloaded perfectly match the files uploaded by the Monero development workgroup. Please don't underestimate this step, a corrupted archive could result in lost funds. Always verify your downloads!

Show hashes to verify your download

These SHA256 hashes are listed for convenience, but a GPG-signed list of the hashes is at getmonero.org/downloads/hashes.txt and should be treated as canonical, with the signature checked against the appropriate GPG key in the source code.

Two guides are available to guide you through the verification process: Verify binaries on Windows (beginner) - Verify binaries on Linux, Mac, or Windows command line (advanced).

Windows 64-bit (Installer)

8c9a820fd7dc228807f8ecc46973350d3d5d871c6f8dd67ef066d04407575d14

Windows 64-bit (Zip)

df78006226d21e70ea5d342b0f6d4335cf398e94cb3d0f750aec4db2d2b3f7f9

Mac OS X 64-bit

4e319a9dfb5e1caa42b52f6503480af3b44403f3bf4691da523880c6a6ec38a9

Linux 64-bit

abe94552803fd6646e934d1248e6ef33d8d6e2ac9a725c600fa7e8d4bfcc21a3

Trezor Wallet App Mac Os

Help and Support

Hardware Wallet Trezor

A guide with an explanation of every section of the wallet is available: See latest release.

Trezor Wallet App Mac Download

If you are experiencing issues or you need more info, feel free to reach out to the community. You can find the GUI team at #monero-gui, or else check out the Hangouts page for a more complete list of contacts and chatrooms.