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Ellipal Titan vs KeepKey (2020) | Which Hardware Wallet Has A Better UX?
Ellipal Titan vs KeepKey! In this comparison, we are going to do a head-to-head of two of the most competitive and popular new cryptocurrency hardware wallets in this edition of the hardware wallet roundups.
I am going to dive into which of these hardware wallets is better and more secure. How big is your portfolio? Do you need mobile AND desktop support? Do you use any 3rd party wallets for integration? Do you need web-based access instead of a required download?
These are all questions you will need to consider when deciding which of these wallets will be best for you. At the end of the day, the coin support is one of the most important factors (besides security) when deciding which hardware wallet is best for you.
Ultimately, if it doesn’t support the coins you want to store offline, it won’t work for your particular situation. So keep that in mind as we dive into what I consider to be the most important factors when making such an important decision, such as choosing a cryptocurrency hardware wallet.
Ellipal Titan: Overview
This is a really unique device and has a very robust form factor that has ratings that rival that of some high-end smartphones. What separates this hardware wallet from the majority of other popular wallets is its communication method. So, what do I mean by that? This device has NO: USB Connection, NFC Connection, WiFi Connection, Bluetooth Connection, or Cellular Connection. So, how do you use it? The short answer is: QR Codes.
Ellipal Titan: Security
This is a 100% air-gapped device, so ultimately it is more secure than any other way to interact with a hardware wallet. Period. The device has a tamper-resistant enclosure that includes a self-destruct mechanism for any potential way to access the internals of the device.
It is built in such a way that if anyone tries to break the screen or drill a hole through to device in an attempt to open its internal layout, the private keys will be erased. This is extremely powerful and will ultimately deter people from trying to hack this completely wireless device.
Ellipal Titan: User Experience (UX)
This hardware wallet has a camera, a 4-inch full color display, and does not display any balances on the device itself. The portfolio management and execution of the device is managed via a companion iOS and Android app that is used to initiate transactions and allows you to utilize the camera from your smartphone to transfer funds securely to the cold wallet, and vice versa.
I have been using this device for several weeks now, and in my personal opinion, it has been super easy to use and also very secure. I like knowing that my device is essentially indestructible and does not require any other 3rd party connection in order for it to function. This not only makes it very convenient, but it also very secure and eliminates room for error when typing or copying pasting wallet addresses that you are trying to transact with.
Ellipal Titan: Coin Support
This is always the section I check the most when reviewing hardware wallets, because although functionality and security are important, none of that matters unless it supports the coins you want to store offline. So here is the current list of supported coins and the one that are currently in development listed in the below picture.
KeepKey: Overview
KeepKey has been one of my absolute favorite hardware wallets to use in 2019. I was asked to test and report back issues with the ShapeShift beta that was a complete overhaul and utilized the KeepKey as it’s cornerstone of promoting keeping possession of your private keys under your control while you conduct trades, which has never been done before.
It was an ambitious goal, but they pulled it off in spades, and as a result it resulted in one of the best user experiences while using a hardware wallet I’ve ever encountered. It was quick, safe, and makes it easier than ever to manage your assets, portfolio, and trades all while keeping all your keys on a hardware wallet and never forfeiting custody. This is truly a game-changer and will pave the way for future hardware wallets moving into the next decade.
Let’s find out why below!
KeepKey: Security
KeepKey has a true random number generator (TRNG) for it’s PIN interface for extra physical security. In addition to offline storage, KeepKey’s PIN code and number randomization makes sure that
1) Your wallet is secure from physical theft.
2) That a hacker couldn’t steal bitcoins from your wallet with malware.
KeepKey is an HD wallet, meaning your entire wallet can be backed up with the 12 words generated on setup. 12 words is the default setting, although KeepKey supports seed lengths of 18 and 24.
The seed is generated using entropy from both the device itself and the computer used for setup. The seed is generated offline on the KeepKey and displayed on the device’s screen. The device’s offline screen makes sure the seed is never displayed on an internet-connected device.
KeepKey: User Experience (UX)
This is a complete overhaul that includes all of their services including: Instant Trades, Real-Time Market Data via CoinCap, In-App Crypto Purchases, and KeepKey Integration.
That last part is of particular interest to me because I’ve wanted to find a way to execute purchases and trades while having my KeepKey connected, while ensuring that my private keys are protected throughout the entire process.
This is a very important detail, especially if you want to make purchases online with that extra protection and also ensure that my private keys are never compromised in a trade. This truly is the ultimate non-custodial hardware wallet solution. Here’s a few screenshots and user flows based on my experience using this web app.
KeepKey: Coin Support
Natively, this wallet in the current beta form supports over 40 assets with more on the way! Here is a current list of assets that are supported right now. Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty. For years, KeepKey only supported: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Namecoin, Dogecoin, and Dash. For a hardware wallet that needs to compete in this market place, that needed a serious upgrade.
Luckily, they have been making some AMAZING changes and not only added a ton of ERC-20 Support, but more importantly, they are revamping their entire platform to have one fluid, seamless application that integrates all of their core services (See my previous post for details on this). This is extremely powerful, and a decision that I believe will catapult them ahead of the competition. They are currently in a closed beta, and it is expected that they will be releasing this later in 2019. Stay tuned for news on this.
Some of the notable coins that have been added are:
-Chainlink (LINK)
-DigixDAO (DGD)
-Binance Coin (BNB)
-Dai (DAI)
-Maker (MKR)
-TrueUSD (TUSD)
Ellipal Titan vs KeepKey: Conclusion
Overall, this is a very difficult choice. These 2 wallets have been my favorite user experience of any hardware wallets in the past 2 months. However, I use them for VERY different purposes.
First, I use the KeepKey for when I want to make crypto trades and not have to send my private keys to the exchange. This is the only hardware wallet (currently) that allows you to trade and still maintain full non-custodial control throughout the entire process. As mentioned above, they completely revamped their software to include trading, portfolio management, and more.
With that said, the Ellipal Titan does allow you to trade certain coins using their QR code transfer process, but you still have to transfer your private keys to a 3rd party while the trade executes, which is pretty close, but not the same.
I use the Ellipal Titan for long term “HODLing” and the KeepKey for trading and portfolio management. There is no “wrong” choice, it ultimately depends on your trading habits and your goals. At the end of the day, I would still go with the ELLIPAL TITAN, for the reasons stated above, but the KeepKey is a VERY close second.
What do you think? Would you choose the BC VAULT over the D’CENT Wallet? Let us know down below in the comments!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
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SafePal S1 Review (2020) | Binance’s “Unique” Entry Level Hardware Wallet
In this review, we are going to deep dive into what makes the Safepal S1 hardware wallet unique. Why is it any better than Trezor or Ledger? Why is the price so much lower? How secure is this new and fairly unknown hardware wallet maker? Is it backed by Binance? Stay tuned for this article to get all of these questions answered and more!
This device was originally created by Binance Labs division and wanted to have a unique approach to a hardware wallet that was cheap enough for the average user, but also supported the Binance chain and added support for their internal projects. This really is a unique entry level hardware wallet, that greatly differs in terms of design, functionality, and overall user experience.
I will also link to the full reviews for the Trezor One hardware wallet, and the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet, HERE and HERE, respectively for comparison. Also, if you have any questions that were not answered here, leave a comment down below and I will personally answer them for you.
Now, onto the Safepal S1 hardware wallet. Let’s go!
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SafePal S1 – What Makes It Unique?
The Safepal hardware wallet is first and foremost an entry level hardware wallet competing directly with Trezor One and Ledger Nano S, in terms of pricing and functionality. However, although this wallet does not support anywhere near as many coins as the Trezor and Ledger (more on that bellow), but it’s truly a wireless, disconnected and unencumbered security device.
This device is 100% completely offline. This is not true of the two other wallets mentioned here. So how does this device work, then? Two words for you: QR Codes. The device has a camera installed on the back and has a 1.3 color LCD screen to verify transactions, which has the ability to display a QR code for you to make transactions directly from your smartphones mobile wallet, directly to the Safepal.
The Safepal S1 hardware wallet is built with dual chip architect. Embedded with financial grade EAL5+ crypto chip, S1 keeps your private key in top security. It has multiple layers of sensor detects any possible software or hardware attacks, and once a malicious attack is detected, the device will activate self-destroy and key-erasing mechanism, preventing anyone from stealing your money.
This is most likely why thy don’t ship the box with any anti-tampering mechanisms, much like Ledger.
What’s In The Box?
This device has everything you need to get setup right out of the box (minus the Safepal App for your smartphone). Recovery seed cards, user manual, stickers, and more.
• SafePal S1
• User Manual
• USB Cable (Charging Only)
• Mnemonic Recovery Card (x3)
• SafePal Stickers (x2)
• Cleaning ClothThere isn’t anything else you need, except either a charging adapter, or your computer to power up your device on the only button on the side of the device. However, my device came with a little juice already on it when I pulled it out of the box.
Features & Price
This can be considered one of the most attractive features of the device as it’s only $39.99 for this hardware wallet. Yes, you read that right. But why is it so cheap? Well, even though it looks like a very sleek and expensive device, its is made of plastic coating and a very small camera module that is used to transact at a very low resolution.l It’s obvious that they built this as cheaply as they could, while still remaining secure.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you also get what you pay for. One of the key features that sets this device apart from most other competing hardware wallets is the fact that there is NO:
- NFC
- BLUETOOTH
- USB
- CELLULAR
- EXTERNAL DEVICE CONNECTIONS
This gives it extra security, but it also makes it easier to use, as there are no extra devices necessary for this to operate, other than your smartphone. All you need right out of the box is a charger that supports USB-A to charge the device and a smartphone to download the Safepal App to setup and initialize the device.
Additionally, this is the first and only device to support the Binance DEX (decentralized exchange) for ERC-20 and BNB tokens for trading offline. Pretty sweet.
Coins Supported
This is the one weal point of this product is the lack of coin support, as it only supports: Bitcoin, Ether (and ERC-20 Tokens), BNB, Litecoin, Dash, and Bitcoin Cash. However, they have mentioned that there is Ripple (XRP) and Tron (TRX) coming very shortly. They truly are attempting to add more coins, and over time, if they don’t raise their price, this option will be a slam dunk for most users.
Additionally, I will add that the Binance Chain Coins (BEP2) tokens are also supported as this is a Binance hardware wallet after all. Below Is a full list of coins currently supported.
Safepal – Conclusion
Overall, this is a pretty solid introductory hardware wallet. It’s unique from it’s direct competitors and its simple and easy to use. As mentioned above, it has no connection weaknesses and cannot be hacked by any radio frequency or directly connected internet device. It’s truly a unique wireless hardware wallet that can be used on the go and is one of only a few hardware wallets that are “truly wireless” with no dependence on other devices. Oh, and did I mentioned it’s under $50?
There are higher quality and more durable devices that use a similar method of communication, such as the Cobo Vault and The Ellipal 2.0 (and upcoming Ellipal Titan), however those devices are much more expensive. Personally, If I mainly only wanted to secure Bitcoin, Ethereum, and only a handful of ERC-20 tokens, then I would definitely go with this device over the Ledger Nano S, or even the Trezor.
Not because the above are bad in any way (because they are not), but because for the price and no dependence on other devices, this is truly a contender for the best “entry-level” hardware wallet.
What do you think? Is there a better deal for an entry level hardware wallet? Sound off below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
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Ledger Nano X Review (2020) | The “Best” NEXT-GEN Wireless Hardware Wallet?
In this review, we are going to dive deep into the newest hardware wallet from Ledger, the Ledger Nano X! Is it the best bluetooth hardware wallet out there? Is it much of an upgrade from the Ledger Nano S? Is there any other hardware wallet that is close to this one in terms of security and price that I should be considering? We are going to address all of these questions and more in this review, so stay tuned!
Ledger has always been a well-respected company in the crypto community and has been shipping hardware wallet products since early 2015. Their first flagship product, the Ledger Nano S, was a runaway hit and sold over a million units throughout 2017. The problem was though (at the beginning) is that you had to download a chrome app for each wallet and was a real pain to try and manage your assets.
Then, they came up with a desktop app called Ledger Live that unified all the apps in one easy-to manage-dashboard and supported many native apps, which was a much needed upgrade. So they solved the user experience issues they had and continued to innovate. As they started rolling out new coins and blockchains being supported, they had another hurdle they faced and that was the amount of space or apps that were supported on the Ledger Nano S (See full review HERE). You could only hold 3-4 coins at once on the device and users who wanted to expand their portfolios and use a hardware wallet that didn’t integrate with 3rd party wallets, like MyEtherWallet.
This is where the Ledger Nano X comes in, solving this problem and more! This device can support up to 100 apps (coins) simultaneously and solved a major usability complaint that many customers had. Mobility. People wanted to manage their crypto on the go and not be tethered to a computer to safely manage their assets. Out of this, the Ledger Nano X was born. Let’t take a look!
Ledger Nano X Design
The Nano X comes beautifully packaged with the device itself, a USB-C cable, a set of instructions and recovery seed cards. The previous bulky buttons that were on top of the device are now seamlessly integrated on it in a way that’s even a bit hard to notice. All in all a beautiful design. The primary features of this device are the bluetooth connection which allows you to manage this device using your smartphone via the iOS and Android app.
Additionally, you can now hodl, store, or manage up to 100 cryptos simultaneously, all without access to your desktop or laptop computer. This is easily it’s best new features, but aside from the upgraded storage capacity and the wireless connectivity, the device itself is now larger, has an integrated 2-function button, and an overall larger screen for verifying transactions. With a trusted device and a more universal charging cable, this makes it much more compelling to spend the extra money to store more coins and one that you can easily take with you as you travel.
Ledger Security
Ledger is at the forefront of developing the industry’s device security. How? And in what ways?CC EAL5+ Secure Element
A Secure Element is a secure chip that…embeds intrinsic countermeasures against many known attacks. This kind of chip is tamper-resistant and protects your device to a range of different attacks.”This secure chip differentiates the Ledger’s method of key storage from its competitors’ hardware wallets (with the exception of coldcard).Ledger Live Update – App + ERC 20 Support
This was a MASSIVE upgrade from the chrome apps they were utilizing before. This new desktop app is very clean and seamless. They also have a new mobile app designed for use for the next generation product the Ledger Nano X (We will go over that in a future review) for wireless management. However, the desktop app is very clean and easy to navigate. The first thing once you connect and authenticate your device is a dashboard if you had already have an existing device, showing you your balances and charts on a single screen.
You can see your accounts on the left hand side, and you also see the “Ledger Manager” which is where you add and remove apps. When you perform any firmware upgrades, it requires you to delete the apps on your device (don’t worry your coins are safe) and you re-install them after it is done.
When you first plug in and install the app on your desktop, it will ask you if you want to setup a new device or if you have a device that is already setup and then have you authenticate with the PIN. It will then check for any updates or firmware upgrades that are necessary for you to view your account. Once you have access, it’s pretty easy to manage everything overall, and they have even introduced a way to “Buy Crypto” from such partners as “Coinmama” where you can purchase directly with a debit or credit card, and “Coinbase“, which you can do they same and also use your bank account directly via ACH.
There is also a pricing history dashboard built right in, thanks to an integration with “Kraken” and “Bitfinex“. This allows you to see trends and historical data, which may help you decide at-a-glance what you would like to do for managing your next transaction. Once you install an App, you can create multiple accounts and label them if need be, for managing and organizing your portfolio. The only one complaint I have with it, is if you do use a 3rd party wallet, like “MyEtherWallet“, you have to leave the app and manage your funds on a 3rd party site. Overall, all the native apps work beautifully, and they are adding new coins and assets all the time.
Ledger Nano S vs. Ledger Nano X
I’ll keep this section pretty straight to the point. Other than the price, the primary difference is two-fold. One, on the Ledger Nano S only holds about 3-4 apps (coins) at a time. This is ok if the you only plan to hold 3 or 4 total coins on your hardware wallet and you are ok with only working on a desktop computer to manage your crypto. The primary selling feature of using the Ledger Nano X is the wireless support and smart phone support for managing crypto on the go. The second is the fact that it can hold up to 100 apps simultaneously.
It really just boils down to how many coins you want to store securely offline on the device, and if you need to flexibility to use it when you’re on the go and do not have access to the computer. They both use the same ledger live app (mobile for Nano X and desktop for Nano S), although you can still use a cabled connection with the Nano X if need be. It also has a fairly large battery life.
Ledger Nano X Review Conclusion – Bottom Line
Overall, the Ledger Nano X is surely a nice upgrade from the Ledger Nano S that has been a top seller in the hardware wallet space for many years. By listening to it’s customers, it’s crafted a way for people who enjoy the software, coin support, and overall user experience of the first generation product and allow it to wirelessly connect to your smartphone and conduct safe transactions.
If you are someone who wants to use and store your cryptocurrency safely and completely unconnected in a way that is fairly satisfying. Is the user experience perfect? No, but they are continuously working out the bugs and adding consistent fixes to their user flow and adding new coin support and security upgrades on a continual basis. This is still much cheaper than it’s closest competitor (Trezor Model T) and now manages a lot more “Native” apps than it’s counterpart, which honestly is a huge plus. Native app support is a feature that many take for granted, but it significantly improves the user loyalty and experience using the branding and platform of any company or product.
Additionally, it allows for a more “unified” experience that doesn’t require additional 3rd parties to ultimately control the support you need and pay for. It’s inclusive. Personally, this still has an advantage over the Trezor Model T, but if you want another competitor that will surely give this device a run for it’s money that matches all of it’s features and more (although at a higher price), I would check out the Ellipal Titan. If you’re interested in learning about that product’s unique features, you can read the full review I recently wrote HERE.
The Ledger Nano X is a sleek, powerful, and very competent device that includes the wireless functionality that most end users need these days to properly manage and secure their crypto!
What do you think? Is this a new contender for mid-level hardware wallets? Let us know what you think down below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
