Investing in cryptocurrencies is widely known to be associated with risk, given the crypto market’s volatility, regulatory dilemmas and high-profile incidents of hacks, scams and fraudulent activities. According to Chainalysis’ midyear report on cryptocurrency-related crimes in 2022, approximately $1.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen in various hacking incidents and fraudulent activities compared to under $1.2 billion at the same point in 2021.
Safely storing and managing cryptocurrency assets has its own set of challenges, and traders must educate themselves on the best options. As a type of cold storage, a crypto hardware wallet is a physical device designed to securely store cryptocurrencies offline, providing additional layers of security for those who hold large amounts of crypto and want to keep their holdings safe for a long time.
This article will discuss what a hardware wallet is, how to use one and the benefits of hardware wallets vs. software wallets, and it will answer the lingering question: Should you keep your crypto coins in a hardware wallet? Additionally, there’s information on the available hardware wallets to store your crypto assets safely.
Related: How to mitigate the security risks associated with crypto payments
What is a crypto hardware wallet
Crypto wallets can be broadly classified into two categories: hot wallets and cold wallets. Hot wallets are software-based crypto wallets connected to the internet, while cold wallets are physical devices. Cold wallets are considered a more secure storage option than hot software wallets, as they are not connected to the internet and do not interact with potentially vulnerable software and web viruses. Among cold wallets, hardware crypto wallets are considered one of the safest options to store cryptocurrencies.
A hardware wallet is a physical device typically resembling a USB drive or a small plugin device designed to securely store cryptocurrencies and other digital assets such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Hardware wallets do not actually store cryptocurrency; instead, they store the private keys that allow access to the stored digital assets.
One may check the price, model and specifications as per requirement. Bitcoin (BTC); Ether (ETH); stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC); and other popular digital assets like Ripple’s XRP (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) are supported by most hardware wallets.
Hardware wallet vs Software wallet
While software wallets allow ease…
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