best hardware wallet

KeepKey vs Ledger Nano X (2020) | Which One Is Better? (It’s Not What You Think)

KeepKey vs Ledger Nano X! 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 battle of the crypto hardware wallets.

The KeepKey is one of my favorite wallets on the market today and it’s one I use almost every single day due to its revamped user experience and the ability to conduct trades while keeping your private keys in your possession the entire time.

With that said, the Ledger Nano X has really stepped up it’s quality and user-experience as well from the best-selling Ledger Nano S. The two notable features that have been upgraded is the wireless bluetooth support for management on the go with the new Ledger Live mobile app, and also the capacity has been increased to allow up to 100 assets you can hold on the device at once. This by itself, is a massive upgrade from its predecessor.

Which one will win out? Which hardware wallet is better? Stay tuned for the whole article to see who wins in the battle of KeepKey vs Ledger Nano X!

 

Ledger Nano X: Overview

 

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 Nano X: Security

 

 

Ledger is at the forefront of developing the industry’s device security. How? And in what ways?

CC EAL5+ SECURE ELEMENT

 Only Ledger’s devices can claim the French cybersecurity agency ANSSI’s full certification.

The Nano X and Nano S both feature what is called a ‘secure element’. The chip seen below is the next generation chip that comes in the Nano X:

The secure chip meets the CC EAL5+ certification and run’s Ledger’s proprietary BOLOS operating system. 

According to Ledger:

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.”

 

Ledger Nano X: User Experience

 

Honestly, the user experience is a massive upgrade from the Ledger Nano X. With that said, It has a few usability issues that I find to be quite difficult to overcome. Although this device is physically larger than it’s predecessor, it still has a fairly difficult to use early experience.

For example, the screen is still fairly small and still cannot accommodate a QR code for scanning. This may not seem like a big deal, but after using several hardware wallets, it really does make a big difference. Using a QR code is not only safer (because it removes the chance of error from manually typing in a wallet address), but it is incredibly faster and makes the entire of transacting offline, a much easier experience.

Although this device has stepped up the quality considerably from it’s latest iteration, I still feel that utilizing an all new form factor could have been beneficial and a little more innovative than replicating their 1st generation device with a few small tweaks.

 

 

Ledger Nano X: Coin Support

 

 

The Ledger Nano X utilizes the “Ledger Live” dashboard which is a desktop application that allows you to manage all of your coins, portfolio, and potential trades in an easy to use application. You can use this on both an iOS or Android app as well as a desktop.

This app allows you to manage up to 1,100+ coins that are supported by the device. However, only about 200 of them are “native” apps. This means that you can manage them directly within the Ledger Live app, without having to connect to a 3rd party wallet, such as MyEtherWallet or MyCrypto. I will leave a link HERE with a list of fully supported coins.

 

 

KeepKey Hardware Wallet: 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

 

 

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)

 

 

KeepKey vs Ledger Nano X Conclusion: Which One Is Better?

 

Honestly, this was a tough decision on which hardware wallet is “better”. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, however, at the end of the day, I personally choose the KeepKey. Why? Well, the overall portfolio management and ability to conduct trades while maintaining possession of your private keys is unmatched.

With that said, I really do like the wireless support and the fact that I can hold up to 100 assets simultaneously on the Ledger Nano X. For users with a larger portfolio and want the ability to manage their assets offline, you can’t go wrong. But, if you are someone who likes to trade frequently and want a clean and trusted user experience when connected to a desktop computer, you really can’t beat the KeepKey. 

 

 

 

What do you think? Would you choose the KeepKey over the Ledger Nano X? Let us know down below in the comments!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

Trezor Model T Review – Best Hardware Wallet Yet? (2020)

In this article. I am going to provide you with an in-depth Trezor Model T Review! The Trezor Model T Is the second generation device in the Trezor family and it came with a plethora of upgrades and a new capacitive touch screen for authorizing transactions, firmware updates, and entering in your security pin on the device itself versus the one the web application as with the Trezor One.

I also recently wrote an in-depth review of the Trezor One, which you can find HERE if you’re interested and I will be writing a comparison review shortly between both Trezor models.

Additionally, before I jump into the review of the Trezor Model T, I wanted to point out that I just wrote an in-depth guide on the 5 best ways to secure your cryptocurency in the form of a free e-book. It goes over some basic and advanced techniques to make sure that your crypto is the safest it can possibly be and provides you some tips and tricks to ensure your private keys stay protected forever. You can get that free e-book HERE.

Ok, phew, here we go, let’s get to the full review of the Trezor Model T Below! You will also find an attached video of the unboxing at the end. Let’s do this!

 

Trezor Model T First Impression And Unboxing

 

So when you first get the box in your hand, you’ll notice that it is substantially different than the Trezor One box. First off, it’s covered in plastic and then is a slide out box that separates into two parts (see video below). When you go to open the box, you’ll notice there are no security seals or holographic tapes on the box to promote anti-tampering and has a window on the box that shows the device in a display window.

It has a magnetic clasp that you can use to open the box where you will find the device sitting on a foam cushion that is surrounding the device and a blank black box with a green sticker right next to it.

Here is the reason why there is no security tape on the box when you first go to open it (unlike the Trezor One). The security tape is on the device itself covering the USB-C port on the bottom of the device and they have decided to bypass the security measures on the box. I understand why they made they choice and wanted to narrow down the security to the device itself from any side-channel attacks or MIM attacks. However, when you peel off the security tape, it purposefully leaves a very sticky residue on the device and it since it’s plastic, it is very difficult to get off without scratching it.

The touch screen is sleek and very bright, which is nice, but it is also very small. Even if you have average sized hands, you may have difficulty with entering in the pin-code and/or additional “25th seed phrase” as a password on the device. More on that later.

This is one of my biggest complaints as the device itself doesn’t look that good when you’re ready to use it and it it has a sticky film when you hold it and un-plug and plug in your device. I will say that this is the worst of your worries as the device is pretty solid and has a lot to offer in terms of security and functionality. The final thing that I noticed this device upon opening it up is it has a very sleek SD card slot that can be used for signing transactions offline and import them.

 

***CLICK HERE TO BUY TREZOR MODEL T FROM THEIR OFFICIAL SITE***

 

What Coins Are Supported?

 

I will leave a link to the official list of what Trezor has listed on their website HERE, but I will point out a few of the coins that this device supports that you don’t really see on other hardware wallets that stands out to me and is what I use on my device as well. The primary coins

NOTE: This device hold over 1,200 coins in total, but the majority of them have 3rd party wallets developed by either the development team for that coin specifically that can be connected, OR major third party wallets that hold hundreds of ERC-20 tokens, such as Mycelium and MyEtherWallet.

Just to name a few coins that are now supported on the beta wallet or (native app wallet) on the web app that is easy to manage and is unique to this hardware wallet is: HoloChain (HOT), Lunyr (LUN), Chainlink (LINK), and Polymath (POLY). They are adding Native support to new coins and tokens all the time, so make sure to keep your eye out for it!

 

Does this work with any 3rd party wallets?

 

Yes. Although I personally recommend using the native apps on the web application on the Trezor website. Why? Because it’s easily managed and located in one place. Additionally, because this wallet for managing is web-based you can easily take this wallet and manage your coins on the go without having download multiple wallets and setting it up and import it when you may not have access to the same computer.

This is safe to do because this hardware wallet is completely resistant to malware or any other viruses that may be present on unknown or public computers.

In regards to 3rd party wallets, there are a handful that are known to work and integrate directly with the Trezor Model T (and Trezor One) such as: MyEtherWallet, Mycelium, MyCrypto.com, and the newly announced partnership between Trezor and Exodus!

I will be doing an in-depth review and video on the Trezor user experience with the Exodus desktop wallet very soon! It looks very promising and they have hyped it up as a much better user experience than the standard web-based wallet, so we will see that review in the next week or so.

 

How Do I Set It Up?

 

Once you take the device and remove the security tape and unbox your recovery seed cards and the USB cable, you will open an internet browser tab and visit Trezor.io/start. This will take you through the process of downloading the “Trezor Bridge“, which is a small downloadable executable file that is required to use your wallet with the web app. Once you download this, you will follow the prompts on your device to download and install the latest firmware update.

NOTE: As a security measure, Trezor ships the device with no firmware installed to ensure that your device is activated properly when you set it up for the first time and the proper firmware will be activated with Satoshi Labs signed firmware. This ensures that no one can alter or tamper with the firmware of inject any malware in the device after it is shipped before it lands in your hands.

Once this firmware update is done, it will ask you on the web app to create a new wallet (recommended for new users) or import an existing wallet. You would only choose this option if you are trying to restore a previous wallet from on older recovery seed.

If you choose the new wallet option, it will prompt you to write down your recovery seed words on the card provided to you in the box and the words will display in succession on the device and will have you verify them in the correct order before the device is fully activated.

Once this has been created and you have decided if you want a 25th seed word as an extra layer of protection (I STRONGLY recommend that you do), you can now send, receive, and view the available coins in your dashboard!

 

***CLICK HERE TO BUY TREZOR MODEL T FROM THEIR OFFICIAL SITE***

 

Does It Support Monero And Ripple?

 

Yes and No. Let me explain. First, let’s talk about Monero support with the Trezor Model T. Although the firmware is setup to support this coin, there is currently no wallet that has been setup to use with it yet. This is currently in development and you will need to periodically check the Github page setup by Trezor to monitor the status of this, or await the newsletter that Trezor will inevitably send out once this is activated.

NOTE: I recently wrote an article HERE that goes over the 4 best Monero wallets, which includes hardware wallet support with the Ledger Nano S, albelt with the integration of a 3rd party wallet.

What about Support for Ripple (XRP)? Yes. Ripple has an easy to use native application that has recently been added to the web app for Trezor Model T. I have personally used and tested this and I am pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to manage. In fact, it was an even better experience than I’ve used with Ledger in regards to XRP.

 

How Does Trezor Model T Compare To Ledger And KeepKey?

 

Overall, this is a higher end wallet that supports many more coins than either Ledger or KeepKey. Additionally, it offers a touch screen for ease of use and independent security that is managed on the device itself. This includes being able to type in a custom password of “25th seed word” to access the device whenever it is connected or having a wallet being restored, in addition to the standard security PIN code.

This also means that it is more expensive. The current price of the Trezor Model T is 149 Euros or approximately $169 USD at the time of this writing. Ultimately, it depends on how many coins and WHICH coins you are specifically looking to hold on your hardware wallet.

If you are a beginner and you only want to hold the main higher market cap coins, like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, then you really just need an entry level device, like the Ledger Nano S or The Trezor One. keepkey wallet

However, If you want to be able to trade and swap coins directly on your hardware wallet without exposing your private keys, I would recommend going with KeepKey. They have a new platform (currently in beta, check out my in-depth review HERE) that allows you to trade on the ShapeShift platform while having your device connected and you never have to give up your private keys. This will be key if you are trying to be primarily trade, instead of just sit and hold.

 

 

***CLICK HERE TO BUY TREZOR MODEL T FROM THEIR OFFICIAL SITE***

 

Conclusion

 

So what’s the bottomline? I would recommend the Trezor Model T to anyone that is trying to expand their coin selection and are smart enough to know they need to keep their coins on a hardware wallet at ALL times. This wallet will continue to expand it’s coin support and they have already grown this support dramatically over the last 12 months. If there is a coin in particular that it currently doesn’t support on it’s web app, there is a STRONG chance that it is either supported with a 3rd party wallet you can integrate this with, or it will be natively supported very soon.

If you are just looking to buy and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum (or even Litecoin), you really don’t need a device as nice as this. At least not yet. As you understanding of this technology and your taste for new altcoins grows, you will probably want to expand into a new wallet, and in fact, it’s quite normal for people to have more than one active hardware wallet at once to diversify and protect themselves as well.

Additionally, you may want to consider using a device like CryptoTAG, as a metal backup to your recovery seed card, if you are holding enough funds that you want to have a backup of your backup. This makes sense for anyone that is holding more funds on their hardware wallet, than they actually paid for the wallet. This is actually not that much, so make sure you download the free e-book I mentioned above, so you can get the free tips above.

 

What do you think? Is the Trezor Model T the best hardware wallet out there today? Let me know in the comments 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.

KeepKey Vs. Trezor Vs. Ledger: Which One Should I Buy? (2020)

In this review, I will go over all 3 primary hardware wallets and see the show down of KeepKey Vs. Trezor Vs. Ledger. People always ask me when they realize they need to start taking their private key security seriously is “Which hardware wallet should I buy?“ This questions has been presented to me hundreds, if not thousands of time, and there is no one real “clear” answer.

It ultimately depends on which coins you want to store and how you want to access them. Do you plan on trading your coins often? Are you simply just trying to “buy and hold” for several months and several years, like a set and forget situation? Are you planning on using the wallet to “bake” or use to contribute to the blockchain on proof-of-stake (POS) networks?

While these are all valid questions, I personally have all 3 wallets and use them regularly. Why? Well, aside from being in the industry, and needing to stay up to date on these devices and their features and capabilities, the main reason is to diversify. What do I mean by this?

Well, if you have (or plan to have) significant holdings, it is smart not to have all of your coins or private keys on one wallet, just in case. Now I’ve created a free e-book that explains how to avoid this which you can get for free HERE, but ultimately if you are in the market for a wallet for the first time, I will tell you the wallet I like to use the best right now in May of 2019.

 

KeepKey VS. Trezor VS. Ledger

 

Stay tuned below for the final result, but I go over some pros and cons of each device below. They all are very secure and safe to use, but it really just comes down to preference and really how often you decide to interact with the device. Let’s get right to it!

 

#1 TREZOR

There are two versions of Trezor: Trezor One and Trezor Model T. The former is the entry level device that came out 2013 and has since received regular firmware upgrades enhancing it’s security and adding new software support for native and 3rd party applications for new coins. In 2018, they released their 2nd-gen product called the “Model T“.

The latter is a larger device with touch screen and is operated by a “Beta” wallet that supports over 1,000 coins between it’s native applications and 3rd party integration. Most recently, they added NATIVE support (which is a huge upgrade in my opinion) for Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). This means it is connected to its unique application that was custom designed by Trezor to manage your ETH accounts directly in the app. Previously, any ETH or ERC-20 based token required to use a 3rd party wallet, which was annoying and cumbersome.

I understand there is a lot of development work that goes into creating and managing any native app, but Ledger and Trezor already had native support for this, (as they should) considering it’s been in the top 3 coins by market cap consistently for years.

Trezor Model T however, is a massive upgrade and adds not only native support for multiple coins, but has added security in the form of a PIN entered in on the touch screen of the device instead of the web app used on the web application. This upgraded device was used for several new features including a password manager and multiple additional security options and ease of use for recovery options on the device itself. Very powerful.  Below is the overall feeling I have about the device(s) and the overall team behind them. 3 best cryptocurrency cold storage solutions

Bottomline: They have upgraded some basic functionality, which is good, and to their credit they have added support for some coins that really need it, such as Monero and Tether. This is of course when their team collaborates and helps build a supported wallet to tie into their code base. They have been building a foundation for the future and that is going to work in their favor as soon as each coin’s respective development team decides to catch up.

 

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Binance Coin (BNB)    

-Monero (XMR)

-Cardano (ADA)

-Ravencoin (RVN)

-Tether (USDT) *Stable coin*

 

 

#2 KEEPKEY

keepkey

Keepkey has always been a favorite of mine, as it’s a solid design and very sleek and stable frame that just feels good when you hold it in your hands. 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.

Bottomline: Keep an eye out for the newest upgrades and the new platform that is coming soon. I hope to gain access to the private beta soon, and if given access, I will ask permission to write a review for your guys. *UPDATE* I have gained access to the beta and have tested it thoroughly, please see below.

 

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Basic Attention Token (BAT)

-DigixDAO (DGD)

-Augur (REP)

-Polymath (POLY)

-TrueUSD (TUSD) *Stable coin*

 

#3 LEDGER

Ledger is considered “The most recommended hardware wallet” on the market. The simple reason for this is because it’s cheap (low barrier to entry) and they have been working on upgrading their infrastructure and recently released Ledger Live, which is their new desktop (and iOS) application for managing all of your coins. This is much better than their previous solution of using a chrome extension to access the UI, but Ledger Live is not without it’s quirks.

Overall, the UI is pretty clean and is pretty straight forward in terms of first time setup and detects your device when it’s plugged into the USB port and asks you to authenticate to view the app. The one thing most people don’t understand is the Ledger Nano S has very little RAM, so even though they advertise that it supports over 1,100 coins, you can only have approximately 3 or 4 coin apps installed at once on your device.

You will want to make sure you choose your coins wisely and perhaps get multiple devices if you want to diversify and/or use a 3rd party wallet as mentioned above to manage more coins on the same device.

This however, does not apply to the new Ledger Nano X. In addition to the new design and being able to manage this wirelessly via bluetooth, you can manage your coins anywhere on an iPhone or Android effortlessly. You also can support up to 10x the amount of apps or “coins” to be supported on the same device at once. This is huge if you want to diversify and be able to hold more than 3 or 4 at a time. The device is approximately $119 right now and it should be available to the public within the next 7 days. Very exciting.

Bottomline: It’s not perfect, but it has made some good improvements over the last year and is continually updating it’s coin support. I will list below some of the coins that are supported on Ledger currently that are not yet available on other platforms, which brings it’s edge.

I will say the best advantage (for me, anyways) that Ledger has going for itself right now is the fact you can “bake” Tezos on your hardware wallet directly, and no other hardware wallet on the market currently supports that. As a firm believer in that project and the fact I can participate in the network, while keeping my private keys offline is a HUGE plus.

 

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Ripple (XRP)

-EOS (EOS)    

-Tezos (XTZ)

-QTUM (QTUM)

-USD Coin (USDC) *Stable coin*

 

KEEPKEY VS. TREZOR VS. LEDGER CONCLUSION: WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU BUY?

 

As I mentioned above, there is no definitive “correct” answer, as each person’s needs may differ. Now that I have that disclaimer out of the way, I will provide my personal recommendation if you are a first time hardware wallet buyer and you only need one to start out with. I will say this was NOT an easy decision, but here is what I would recommend to my mother or personal friend who is looking to secure their cryptocurrency in an easy to use way. I would recommend getting a KEEPKEY. KeepKey Vs. Trezor Vs. Ledger

Why is this my answer? Well, as I updated above, I was invited to participate in their private beta (In depth review on that coming shortly) and I was blown away. ShapeShift (the company that bought KeepKey) has revamped their entire interface. This is extremely noteworthy because before, you had to download multiple applications, and chrome extensions to manage your private keys and it was not the best user experience. This has all changed.

Their new platform that will be coming out very soon and is by far the easiest to use and best hardware wallet experience I have seen yet. Not only can you easily trade coins while keeping your private keys on the device the entire time, managing your portfolio has never been easier. At the time of this writing, it is only $79, and while it is not the cheapest device, it is certainly the highest quality, and best user experience I have seen yet on their new platform.

As far I know, they have plenty of new coins and features in the pipeline, and it is so easy to use, even my grandma could use it and wouldn’t have to explain much. It really is the first plug and play hardware wallet experience I have used (and I’ve used them all). Again, it’s hard to give visualization of my experience, but with my upcoming review, you will see some screenshots and see what I’m talking about.

Overall, it has proven to be the easiest way (so far) to manage my funds safely, and the ONLY way to trade assets without handing my private keys over to an exchange or any other type of wallet or custodian. I highly recommend this hardware wallet if you are making your first purchase and trust me, you won’t regret it.

 

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE KEEPKEY HARDWARE WALLET DIRECTLY FROM THEIR WEBSITE!

 

What do you think? Would you have chosen something different? Please let me know 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.

Ledger Nano S Review: 7 Things You Need To Know Before You Buy (2020)

In this article, I will go into depth of the Ledger Nano S Review: 7 things you need to know before you buy it. The Ledger Nano S was the first (but definitely not the last) hardware wallet I ever bought, and the experience actually led me to create this website as I started learning more and more about crypto security. ledger nano s review

It was the second hardware wallet that came on the scene after the Trezor One device and implemented a new security structure and a new form factor to try and compete directly with the only trusted hardware wallet at the time.

When the Ledger Nano S started picking up momentum, it was because they started adding altcoin support at a rapid pace. This was exponential as Trezor only supported native apps for Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin by the time that Ledger had over 20 native apps for alt coin support with hundreds of new coins that were already in development.

This was a HUGE deal at the time, and only picked up steam as the 2017 bull run started and people began accumulating a wide array of altcoins for speculative investment. Today, the other competitors have caught up pretty well for the same level of support, but the Ledger Nano S still has an edge for certain coins that are supported, and that is a HUGE reason that I use this device on a semi-weekly basis to this day. There has been lots of progress and development on the device itself, the massive altcoin support, and the introduction of Ledger Live. Lets check it out below!

 

WHAT IS A HARDWARE WALLET AND WHY DO I NEED ONE?

 

For those who are new to the cryptocurrency landscape, you may have heard that you need a hardware wallet. But, why? Well, when you receive your first bitcoin, whether it be in a mobile, desktop, or web wallet, you have the public key (your bitcoin address) and the private key (the secret key required to control (send/receive) your bitcoin. your PRIVATE KEY is the MOST important piece of this process, because without the private key, you do not own or have control of the coins in your wallet.

When you have your private keys connected to a “Hot Wallet” or a wallet that is directly connected to the internet, you run the risk of them being hacked or compromised. This is where hardware wallets come in. These are known as “Cold Wallets” or “Cold Storage” and has your private keys stored securely offline, so they are impervious to attack or compromise.

When becoming your own bank, this is a vital part of properly managing and securing your cryptocurrency. Hot wallets are good for everyday spending and ease of use (much like a fiat wallet you keep in your back pocket), but it is NOT ideal for longer term storage.

ledger nano

The Ledger Nano S is a very compact, sleek, and secure device that allows you to store over 1,100 cryptocurrencies at the time of this writing. This is crucial as more altcoins gain acceptance and you need a wide portfolio to protect longer term. Ledger takes their security very seriously and for good reason. There have been a number of exchange hacks and reports of people losing or having their wallets hacked by nefarious individuals throughout history. This is why having this device is so crucial.

Ledger Nano S is a device that is upgraded frequently with new features and firmware upgrades to ensure that it has the latest security protections and new assets being added every single month. Not to mention, it is currently the cheapest among the 3 best-known hardware wallet companies, starting at only $59 USD!

 

LEDGER NANO S REVIEW: HOW IS THE SECURITY?

 

The Ledger Nano S has an A-grade security setup which sets it apart from the competition. It uses a secure element which holds and stores the private keys in a separate and secure environment from the rest of the operating system. This ensures that if for any reason the rest of the device is somehow compromised, you precious private keys are safe.

It also supports the standards BIP-39 protocol that requires you to setup a recovery seed phrase of 24 words during the initial setup, that allows you to restore your coins to any other wallet in the event you have broken, lost, or somehow cannot gain access to the device itself, so you have a fail safe.

 

(PRO-TIP: If you lose, rip, tear, get wet, or otherwise destroy your recovery seed, you are in serious trouble. I would recommend obtaining a CryptoSteel device as a metal backup for your recovery phrase that protects you against a fire, flood, earthquake, or your brand new puppy. This is STRONGLY recommended if there is ANY amount of cryptocurrency you would be financially damaged by losing. This is a literal metal vault for your backup system) 

 

Additionally, they have a proprietary operating system known as BOLOS (Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System) that allows developers certain access to develop applications and a framework for them to add support for a wide spectrum of coins and stacks for scaling up. It is built with security in mind and to work comprehensively with the secure element by ensuring there is a smooth delivery of sensitive data when making a transaction using the Ledger Nano S.

In my opinion, this is one of the most secure devices out there, as it has built in several security checks for every action taken on the device, and if those checks have not been successfully executed, it will not move on to the next phase, making it even more secure. To me, this extra attention of securing my private keys provides me peace of mind even with an entry level device.

 

WHAT MAKES THE LEDGER NANO S DIFFERENT THAN TREZOR OR KEEPKEY?

 

I get this question a lot, as I use all three of these devices on a regular basis. Not only is this device the smallest of the bunch, it is the only one that has a built in screen protector in the form of a polished aluminum cover for ensuring the OLED display avoid scuffs and scratches during transit. The smaller form factor is an advantage and a disadvantage. The disadvantage to me if not being able to see the full address in one place when verifying a transaction.

It does end up scrolling to reveal the full address, but that can be difficult if you are trying to verify letter for letter for confirmation. The advantage would be it’s very discreet and transportable. It slips easily into your pocket, or your keychain if you’re so inclined. But, the largest notable difference is the specific coin support you can’t get anywhere else on a hardware wallet.

As a HUGE advocate for privacy coins, I tend to favor these and accumulate them for personal investment and also private transactions, and as a result, I need a secure place to store them. To their credit, the other hardware wallets are working towards supporting these coins, but Ledger already has support for 2 of my favorite coins, Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC).

Ledger also supports Zcoin (XZC) and a few others as well. These are support by Ledger Live (which I will go over in a minute), which is the native dashboard for managing native applications for these coins which is very convenient.

Additionally, this is the only hardware wallet (currently) that supports Tezos (XTZ), which has a very bright future in my opinion. Tezos is a POS coin that has a new unique blockchain consensus that rivals Ethereum on a number of levels, and I personally believe will be a top 10 coin very very soon.

Not only that, when using Tezos you can “Stake” your coins while holding your private keys while ON the Ledger Nano S. This is HUGE, and is a main reason I use Ledger Nano S, since I like to participate in this process personally. No other hardware wallet has even announces plans for this kind of native support for this at the moment, which gives Ledger a massive edge over the other two in my opinion.

 

LEDGER NANO S DESIGN

 

I will keep this section short and sweet, as I addressed above, this is a sleek and compact device, which make its very stable and durable. It has a small OLED screen and 2 physical buttons. This is used for navigating apps, verifying your pin to access to the device, confirming a transaction, and generating the recovery seed words upon first time setup.

When entering in your PIN on the device, the right button will function as the “Up” arrow, and the left button the “Down” arrow for scrolling through your selections, then pressing both at the same time will confirm your selection, so it’s pretty intuitive. It has a one port which is micro USB that connects to a cable to a standards USB port that can be used on a MAC or PC.

 

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE LEDGER NANO S

 

LEDGER LIVE – IS THE UPDATE WORTH IT?

 

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.

CONCLUSION – BOTTOMLINE

 

PROS:

-Very easy to setup if you have never used a hardware wallet before, you just need to download the desktop app from Ledger’s website and follow the prompts once you connect it for the first time.

-It’s the cheapest hardware wallet as of this writing at $59.00 USD. If you are just getting started and you only need a few coins to hold at once, this is easily the best intro wallet to keep your private keys stored offline.

-It has the widest range of native apps and newest coins being added all the time and being supported. You can click HERE to view their roadmap to see if your favorite coin is currently in development of being added to the platform.

-It is currently the only hardware wallet that natively supports Tezos (XTZ) and Monero (XMR) if you’re a fan of those coins and other privacy coins in general.

 

CONS:

-The screen is small and if you’re verifying your transaction address using the small screen, you have to wait for it to scroll, and then verify quickly the characters match before you can authorize the transaction. This is not ideal for a quick at a glance process to ensure the address you’re sending to on the app, matches what shows on your device (VERY IMPORTANT).

– You can really only hold 3 or 4 apps on the device at once. I originally only kept 3 apps on the device, as those were the only coins I needed to add at the time. However, when I went to add a 4th, it told me I needed to remove an existing app to make room. The RAM or space is on the device is very limited, so it’s good if you have only 2-3 coins you want to manage at once.

-They require you go through the process of removing and uninstalling all apps and then going in and reinstalling them for EVERY firmware update. This is tedious and really obnoxious for the serious hardware wallet user. I understand you need to have backups and be careful with every upgrade but c’mon, this is the only device I have this issue with.

As you can see, overall this a is a very solid entry level wallet with top notch security. I recommend if you are a brand new hardware wallet user and you are just dipping your toe into this large pond, this is your best bet. It has a clean, easy to follow interface and you can get started at the cheapest price of only $59.00 to start.

If you do not plan on holding MANY different coins at once on the same wallet, this is the wallet for you. Now, you can use 3rd party wallets to integrate it with, but that’s an entirely different learning curve. If you want to hold 3-5 coins to start and get it done simply and effortlessly, this is where I personally started and I recommend you start.

 

PURCHASE LEDGER NANO S FROM LEDGER’S OFFICIAL SITE

 

What do you think? Is there a better wallet you recommend for people getting started? Let me know in the comments 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.

Hot Wallets Vs. Cold Wallets – Which One Should I Use?

In this article, I am going to dive into hot wallets vs. cold wallets – which one should I use? This is an interesting topic, and in fact, it was one of the first topics I started researching when I first discovered cryptocurrency and ultimately inspired me to create this website. As you can see, I have a bias towards cold storage wallets, but what exactly is the difference? I am going to discuss below what the pros and cons of a hot wallets vs cold wallets are and in what scenario you would need to use both. As cryptocurrency payments become ubiquitous, it’s important for your own safety and best security practices in managing your wallets and private keys on an on-going basis. Let’s begin.

WHAT IS A HOT WALLET?

 

In short, a “hot wallet” is a digital wallet for your cryptocurrency that is connected or is easily connected to the internet. This provides a lot of convenience for making day to day purchases as most active hot wallets are either on your smart phone or also on a desktop wallet on your computer for easy access for making online purchases. I always use the comparison of using your hot wallet like you would for a wallet in your back pocket that holds your credit cards, ID, and fiat. By a general rule of thumb, you should never hold more money on your hot wallet than you would normally keep in your leather physical wallet on a regular basis. Most people never keep any more than a couple hundred dollars in there at any given time, which is smart. The same applies to a hot wallet.

These wallets are designed for your average day to day spending. This could be at your local merchant down the street, or even if you’re browsing online at and trying to purchase gift cards at a site like bitrefill.com. This is done typically by scanning the screen’s QR code with your smartphone via your own wallet to make a quick transaction and simple transaction or even buy something off Amazon (like millions do everyday), but by using Purse.io, which is a platform that is built on top of amazon but accepts multiple cryptocurrencies as payment, and at a steep discount. Click this link to get some free BTC if you want to get started. Most purchase discounts range anywhere from 15-33% off anything at Amazon through this site.

These are just a few examples of how/when you would use your hot wallet for a simple transaction. You can also pre-load Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on Bitpay’s visa debit card. I will link my video review of this from Youtube HERE.

WHAT IS A COLD WALLET?

A “cold wallet” is also a digital (or sometimes physical, in the form of a hardware wallet) wallet that is kept completely offline. Why? Because any funds that are kept offline cannot be hacked or tampered with. You can think of this as virtual bank vault, that is very secure, hard to access, and is designed to store your larger amounts of crypto and primarily your longer term holdings. There are many advantages to having these wallets, and even safer to implement Multi-Sig wallets. It is also recommended to diversify your holdings between multiple hardware wallets when you start to accumulate a vast sum of crypto.

I have a soft spot specifically for hardware wallets as I’ve actually designed and built one for a prominent cryptocurrency company (although due to  an NDA, I cannot discuss it yet). But the reason I think it’s important is because using and owning this kind of device is like putting up a nice big middle finger to the big banks and over-reaching governments that tend to control our money supply and bank accounts whenever they see fit. No “authority” should have that kind of power. Hardware wallets are symbolic of sovereignty and self-reliance. That is why literally “becoming your own bank” is so important. One of my favorite quotes in this space is “Whoever controls the people’s means of exchange, controls the people”. This is scary, but very true. When you use cryptocurrency, you are taking personal control and responsibility of your finances, and that is SO empowering. Just writing about it send chills down my spine, but I digress.

If you are new to hardware wallets, I recommend getting a Keepkey device for beginners. Why? I have been testing their closed beta of their new platform and it is by far the easiest and most user friendly hardware wallet platform I have used (and I’ve used almost every one of them). I think I could teach my grandma how to use it, and that’s saying something. The current platform works fine, but the future platform is very exciting and if you are brand new, you will be pleasantly surprised. I will be writing a review on this platform shortly and I will update this post with a link as soon as I do, so stay tuned.

 

WHY WOULD I NEED EITHER ONE?

 

As you can see from the examples of use cases listed above, it is important to protect your cryptocurrency and make it useful and convenient when you need it. But it’s even more important to  protect it and secure it when it’s required. As the user adoption begins to snow ball, it’s crucial for everyone to understand that they will need both a hot and cold wallet for their various uses. You can even make transactions online with your hardware wallet connected via USB for even more protection. Most hardware wallets never expose their private keys to the internet when making the transactions by design. This is super helpful because you want to ensure that from every point in a given transaction, you do not want your private keys to be exposed in transit and potentially have your keys copied by a 3rd party before it reaches the intended destination.

Having said that, most digital wallets on your smart phone are typically secure enough for day to day spending and you shouldn’t be too concerned, so long as you have a trusted wallet for your phone. The top 3 I use on a regular basis is Bitpay, Jaxx, and Blockchain. These are all non-custodial wallets and have security features built in and can have 2FA or (two-factor authentication) enabled to confirm each transaction and will include Touch ID and Face ID, if you enable it.

I already recommended my top hardware wallet for beginners in the previous section, but any of the wallets that I offer through this website, are all trusted and good to use, it just depends on your needs and wants out of a secure air-gapped device.

 

Please sound off below! What hot and cold wallets do you like? Do you have any other wallets you can recommend not listed above? Let me know 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.

Is There A Hardware Wallet That Can Store The Top 30 Cryptocurrencies?

Is There A Hardware Wallet That Can Store All The Top Cryptocurrencies? I get this question a lot, and to be honest, there is no clear way to answer it. It ultimately depends on what you believe is the “Top Cryptocurrency”. As a newcomer into the cryptocurrency market, you start to learn the best practices for managing and storing cryptocurrencies and you will inevitably find that yes, a hardware wallet is your safest and best choice. The second question that usually follows that is, “What is the best one? Which one should I buy?

The answer is not so simple, but I will lay out some of the pros and cons of each of the featured cryptocurrency hardware wallets being promoted and offered through this website, because they have been personally vetted by myself and my team. Each wallet will support different variations of altcoins, but all of them support 3rd party wallet integration such as MyEtherWallet and Mycelium. These are commonly used for ERC-20 token support and most upcoming STO’s will be supported as well as a lot of them are supported by the same protocol. Is There A Hardware Wallet That Can Store All The Top Cryptocurrencies?

There is currently no hardware wallet that supports every single “Top Cryptocurrency By Market Cap”. Why? Well for one, the market cap rankings tend to shift almost everyday based on trading volume and various product releases, news events, protocol, and network upgrades. However, there have been some pretty consistent coins that, until recently, haven’t had hardware wallet support such as Monero or Ripple.

I am going to list the 3 major hardware wallets below: Trezor, Ledger, and Keepkey. With them, I will have some recent support added to each wallet and a link to each wallet’s fully supported coin list.

This should answer the general questions you have about coin support and you will be able to identify if there is a particular coin you are searching for and whether or not it’s supported. Please note that each wallet is constantly updating support for new (and old) altcoins to be supported, so this list may be outdated as soon as a few months.

 

#1 TREZOR

 

There are two versions of Trezor: Trezor One and Trezor Model T. The former is the entry level device that came out 2013 and has since received regular firmware upgrades enhancing it’s security and adding new software support for native and 3rd party applications for new coins. In 2018, they released their 2nd-gen product called the “Model T“. The latter is a larger device with touch screen and is operated by a “Beta” wallet that supports over 1,000 coins between it’s native applications and 3rd party integration.

Most recently, they added NATIVE support (which is a huge upgrade in my opinion) for Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). This means it is connected to its unique application that was custom designed by Trezor to manage your ETH accounts directly in the app. Previously, any ETH or ERC-20 based token required to use a 3rd party wallet, which was annoying and cumbersome.

I understand there is a lot of development work that goes into creating and managing any native app, but Ledger and Trezor already had native support for this, (as they should) considering it’s been in the top 3 coins by market cap consistently for years.

Bottomline: They have upgraded some basic functionality, which is good, and to their credit they have added support for some coins that really need it, such as Monero and Tether. This is of course when their team collaborates and helps build a supported wallet to tie into their code base. They have been building a foundation for the future and that is going to work in their favor as soon as each coin’s respective dev team decides to catch up.

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Binance Coin (BNB)    

-Monero (XMR)

-Cardano (ADA)

-Ravencoin (RVN)

-Tether (USDT) *Stable coin*

 

#2 KEEPKEY

 

Keepkey has always been a favorite of mine, as it’s a solid design and very sleek and stable frame that just feels good when you hold it in your hands. 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.

Bottomline: Keep an eye out for the newest upgrades and the new platform that is coming soon. I hope to gain access to the private beta soon, and if given access, I will ask permission to write a review for your guys.

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Basic Attention Token (BAT)  

-DigixDAO (DGD)

-Augur (REP)

-Polymath (POLY)

-TrueUSD (TUSD) *Stable coin*

 

#3 LEDGER

 

Ledger is considered “The most recommended hardware wallet” on the market. The simple reason for this is because it’s cheap (low barrier to entry) and they have been working on upgrading their infrastructure and recently released Ledger Live, which is their new desktop (and iOS) application for managing all of your coins. This is much better than their previous solution of using a chrome extension to access the UI, but Ledger Live is not without it’s quirks.

Overall, the UI is pretty clean and is pretty straight forward in terms of first time setup and detects your device when it’s plugged into the USB port and asks you to authenticate to view the app. The one thing most people don’t understand is the Ledger Nano S has very little RAM, so even though they advertise that it supports over 1,100 coins, you can only have approximately 8 or 9 coin apps installed at once on your device. You will want to make sure you choose your coins wisely and perhaps get multiple devices if you want to diversify and/or use a 3rd party wallet as mentioned above to manage more coins on the same device.

Bottomline: It’s not perfect, but it has made some good improvements over the last year and is continually updating it’s coin support. I will list below some of the coins that are supported on Ledger currently that are not yet available on other platforms, which brings it’s edge. ledger nano

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Ripple (XRP)

-EOS (EOS)    

-Tezos (XTZ)

-QTUM (QTUM)

-USD Coin (USDC) *Stable coin*

 

CONCLUSION

 

I realize that may not answer all of your questions or solve all of your problems, but it really just comes down to preference. If you already know what coins you plan to accumulate, then I would click the links under each section that has the “Newest Notable Coins Added” to a link to each coin supported by each wallet, currently. I use every single one of these and have different coins on each depending on what my needs are and what exchange I accumulate them from.

It might be a good idea to place your wallets in terms of “buckets”. What I mean by that is if you plan to trade and hold long term, perhaps it’s best to have one wallet for each purpose. This not only allows you to diversify, but it keeps things organized based on what your short term and long term goals are for accumulating and for accessing exchanges.

 

If you have any questions or comments on this post, please sound off below! I’d love to hear from you! Until next time…

 

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.

Why I’m Excited For Shapeshift’s New Unified Platform — KeepKey Hardware Wallet Integration

shapeshift

In this article, I am going to tell you in detail why I’m excited for Shapeshift’s new unified platform. I remember when I decided to start this site back in 2016 and was fairly new to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Once I spent over 100 hours researching all facets of this new technology, I knew that cryptocurrency was the future. However, I had read so many scary articles about how people were losing their Bitcoin from so many exchanges, including the infamous Mt. Gox that notoriously lost over 800,00 Bitcoin (valued at around $473 Million at the time).

As I dove down the rabbit hole even further, I came across “Cold Storage” and how it was vitally important for any person who takes their cryptocurrency holdings seriously. It made perfect sense, you need to keep your private keys in your possession at all times and have it stored offline, so it cannot be subject to an online hack or be exposed to nefarious individuals.

It was at this time that I had the bright idea that I wanted to find a way to become a reseller for these wallets, as it seemed to me that this market was going to be huge. Logically, cryptocurrency adoption was inevitable and EVERY single person who owned cryptocurrency will need one of these cold storage wallets. The mere idea of someone being able to “Become your own bank” and the concept of permissionless finance was fascinating to me. And so it was, BitcoinLockup.com was born.

As I started researching and buying these wallets to use for myself, I found the market trusted and used (at the time) only 3 hardware wallets: Trezor One, Ledger Nano S, and Keepkey. They all have their pros and cons, but there was definitely one that stood out above the rest, and it was Keepkey. Why? Well, the devices that Ledger and Trezor had available at the time were cheap, flimsy pieces of plastic that were difficult to use and had a horrible UX.

Keepkey felt like the top of the line, premium version that was being under served in the marketplace. In fairness, the altcoin support was far behind the other two when I was comparing them in October 2016. However, over time you start to realize that even with your trades and gains, that coins that have a higher market cap and network stability tend to be what you want to store longer term anyways.

That’s not to say that altcoin support is not important, (because it is) but I know first-hand that it takes incredible resources and operating capital to run nodes and support these new coins and tokens that come out seemingly everyday. Not to mention the developer resources necessary to build and maintain a quality user experience, so I completely understand Shapeshift’s strategy.

keepkey

Now, onto the new Shapeshift platform! First off, I will say that they are currently in a closed beta, so I have not used it personally yet, but I’ve been researching it like crazy. If you want to gain early access to the beta before the masses, use this link to sign up.

As an avid Shapeshift user myself, I have always enjoyed the simplicity and ease of use that using an instant coin exchange offered. I am now even MORE excited that it is going to integrate with my Keepkey and make managing my cold storage assets even easier. (Watch out Ledger and Trezor)

ShapeShift’s New Platform

When your private keys are stored offline and never leaves your device, it is inherently safer. However, with security you often sacrifice convenience. This has been a trade-off that today’s society has a hard time understanding and accepting. We’ve been conditioned with really, any product or service, that we want it now!

Having said that, I am excited to gain access to the closed beta as soon as possible as I anticipate this will solve a myriad of problems that people have had so far using the device. I am very optimistic about this massive update and I will list the key advertised features below:

1.) Shapeshift Trading – You can seamlessly buy, sell, or trade dozens or crypto assets directly in the platform. Trading is non-custodial, so there is no need to trust a third party. This is a MASSIVE plus and a differentiator from any other exchange out there.

2.) Hardware Security – Utilize the best practice of offline security. Retain control of your private keys while enjoying an intuitive web interface. This is the best of both worlds and I will add that this is not currently possible on any other hardware wallet platform currently.

3.) Real Time Market Data – Get real-time market prices and historical data without ever having to leave the interface. This means no extra tabs or historical charts from any other 3rd-party site that you have to toggle between to get the data you need. This allows you to enjoy a beautiful ad-free experience.

4.) Portfolio Performance – Visualize your portfolio performance through graphs, sparklines, and real-time value movement. View your dashboard balances at anytime, anywhere. Your hardware wallet only needs to be connected for signing transactions.

I’ve always been a firm believer that the quickest way to crypto mass adoption is to have a fluid, seamless, and extremely easy user experience. I have used virtually every hardware wallet currently on the market and there are always trade-offs and things you wish they had, but I personally believe that Shapeshift has cracked the code to exchanging, managing, and securing your private keys better than every other solution on the market.

If you need any personal advice on the Keepkey device, please feel free to comment below or email me at the “Contact Us” page at the top and I’d be more than happy to help!

 

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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