Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by Ben
Cryptocurrency is a digital asset that has been disrupting the world for many years. A hardware wallet is a device that securely stores and protects your cryptocurrencies. Ledger and Trezor both make popular hardware wallets, but which one should you go with? This article will break down the features of each so you can decide for yourself!
What are Hardware Wallets?
Cryptocurrency storage is paramount to ensure safety. The cryptocurrency world provides a dangerous environment for participants with malicious actors who have numerous ways to steal funds. Safety precautions should be your top priority if you want to protect your coins at any cost.
You have many options for storing your cryptocurrencies. Some are more secure than others, and some are easier to use. For security purposes, hardware wallets are unmatched.How Do Hardware Wallets Work?
A hardware wallet is an electronic gadget that is used to store a person’s private keys. People use them so they can feel safe about storing their cryptocurrencies. These types of wallets typically don’t connect to the internet, meaning they have reduced attack vectors, making them much more secure than desktop or smartphone wallets.
A hardware wallet is a safe way to store your data. You can use it to sign off on transactions on the blockchain. The private key is like a digital signature that tells people where you are signing from and what you are signing off on. It cannot be copied because it has an array of numbers and letters, making it unique.
Hardware wallets are specially designed to securely store private keys. They’re typically considered safer than desktop or smartphone wallets, mainly because they don’t connect to the internet at any point. Ledger and Trezor are two common hardware wallet brands.
One of the benefits of a hardware wallet is that there are ways to keep using it if you lose your device. You can regenerate your private key by inputting your seed phrase on a different device – as long as you have written down and stored this information in an accessible location.
You can plug in hardware wallets and unlock them with a pin. You will then create transactions that you can verify again by using your keys on the wallet.
Some hardware wallets contain a small screen that offers increased usability.
Why Should Anyone Own A Hardware Wallet?
As a digital currency with limited central regulation, cryptocurrency is routinely targeted by hackers and other malicious actors. One remote threat to be aware of are “snoopeware” programs that can detect private-key-related transactions on an Internet-connected computer or smartphone.
A hardware wallet is like a vault that you can use to store your virtual money.
If someone gets your hardware wallet, you’ll have more protection if you put a PIN code on the device. The device will reset if the wrong combination is entered too many times.
Funds that aren’t being used should be kept in cold storage, which is a good idea for users with limited technical knowledge. Hardware wallets provide this safety to your funds and require no online connectivity.
Hardware Wallets Advantage and Disadvantages
Advantage
Hardware wallets have a lot of advantages. Some of them are:
- A hardware wallet is a device that holds an offline, isolated environment for storing the private keys of different cryptocurrencies.
- Unlike software wallets which are vulnerable to software viruses and malware, hardware wallets protect your private keys more securely without an Internet connection. This ensures a safer transaction.
- A pin protects a hardware wallet. If someone tries to make it open with different pins, the device will delete the keys and then lockout that person.
- You only use the private key on the encrypted hardware device. It is not exposed to anyone else, and there is no chance of it being hacked.
- The wallets are like your personal bank tellers. They ensure that you fully control all the transactions and data since any other individual can’t access them unless you’re physically giving them your device.
- It needs you to confirm a transaction on your device (your computer) before any coins can be used.
- You can store many different types of coins in a hardware wallet.
Disadvantages
The following are the disadvantages of hardware wallets:
- The only downsize to a hardware wallet is that it is more costly than other wallets.
- The wallet could get broken, lost, or stolen.
- The private key extraction becomes hard.
- It’s possible to lose your cryptocurrency recovery seed
- Since they are very secure, it is not easy to do a transaction quickly, and sometimes it is difficult to set up the wallet.
- There are a lot of providers that manufacture and sell fake wallets, stealing the owner’s funds.
Trezor vs. Ledger: Overviews
Trezor Wallet
Trezor was the world’s first Bitcoin hardware wallet, released in 2014 by a Czech-Republic-based company. This is the same founder as Slushpool, which is well known for mining pools.
Trezor started with the intention to fight hackers, viruses, and other people’s fraud. They wanted to keep everything valuable offline and under the control of the person who is using it.
The Trezor wallet has a great reputation. It’s been improving since it was first introduced, and more features have been added over time. Support for new coins has also been added, which helps the Trezor wallet satisfy the growing demand for crypto!
A great way to evaluate a company is by checking out that they have an excellent team behind them. It is recommended that you go to their website and learn more about them.
Ledger Wallet
The Ledger is a product of a company called Ledger. The company was started in 2014 by eight experts with backgrounds in cryptocurrencies, security, and entrepreneurship.
From the start, they wanted to make secure solutions for the blockchain. Now they have 80 employees in Paris, Vierzon, and San Francisco.
Ledger launched its first hardware wallet in December 2014. It has now been improved upon, and the latest release is called the Ledger Nano X. The Nano S has similarly been successful, with over 1 million units traded!
Ledger is one of the major companies when it comes to securing technology for cryptocurrencies. They have a good team passionate about what they do, and they have a vision. That makes Ledger a very trustworthy company.
Which One Should You Buy?
If you want to have the best security for your crypto and are looking to store a large sum of it in one place, then buy Ledger. If ease-of-use is important to you with small amounts that need frequent access through Trezor may be better suited as these devices don’t take too long to set up or require technical expertise – but make sure they’re stored somewhere secure.
Since Ledger and Trezor are both safe devices for storing crypto, you should buy whichever one suits your preferences.
Ledger vs Trezor: Wallets Features
So, we can see that the Ledger Nano S and Trezor wallets have both built a good reputation. They are both doing a good job with the improvements they make. The interesting part about these wallets is that they have different features. Let’s go through them and see how they are different.
Physical Appearance
Display Screen
The Trezor and Ledger wallets have a display screen used to store the seed phrase and send crypto.
From its size alone, the Trezor wallet is more user-friendly than the Ledger. It also has a color touchscreen which is easier to view when making transactions.
Material
Trezor wallet is made of plastic. It is not as durable or portable as the Ledger wallet, which has a stainless-steel body.
Buttons
The two of the devices come with buttons that are used to manage their software. Trezor’s buttons are easier to use because they have more space between them. The buttons in the ledger wallet are close together, so it is easy to press both at once.
Size
Trezor is larger than the Ledger Nano S. It might be quite easier to carry the Ledger wallet with you since it is smaller in size.
Currency Support
Both Trezor and Ledger wallets can hold 1000+ coins. They also support all ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum network.Ledger wallets can be used with more cryptocurrencies than Trezor. You will find Ledger’s list of supported currencies on their website, but you won’t see any information about the coins that are compatible with Trezor. However, both wallets support the most popular altcoins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The Security Screen
When considering how safe it is to enter passwords, in Trezor wallets, the password is entered through a keyboard on the connected device. This can make it easy for an attacker to see what you are typing.
In a Ledger wallet, your password is linked to another PIN. You enter the password using the normal keys.
Durability
Since hardware wallets aren’t cheap, something to take into account when purchasing one is durability. The foldable stainless steel “casing” that the Ledger hardware wallets come with makes them more durable and gives them a sleek look.
When buying a hardware wallet, durability should be a consideration. The Ledger is durable because of its sleek-looking stainless steel case and the fact that it’s foldable for easy portability.
The Trezor hardware wallets, including the premium price Model T, are both made from plastic.
Something that might make the difference in durability is buying a case with your Trezor. Trezor offers cases for the type of device you have – silicone and leather cases in different colors for the Trezor One, but they don’t offer any cases for the Model T.
Regardless, the fact that Ledger wallets use durable materials to make them last longer means they have a durability edge over Trezor.
OS and Device Compatibility
Trezor and Ledger are both of the most popular hardware wallets in use today, both for storing cryptocurrency and other sensitive digital data.
Trezor’s operating systems supported include Windows 10+, macOS 10.11+, Linux (excluding ARM processors), while its compatible smartphone OSes comprise Android 7+.
Ledger is similarly versatile with operational support from Windows 8+ to MacOS version 10.10+. Furthermore, it supports a multitude of different cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash BCH-ABC or Litecoin LTC-Lite, among others that you can store securely on your device!
Wallet Software Compatibility
Compatibility with different apps is likely not the most important factor for deciding between a Ledger and a Trezor. If you just use the native app on your phone, desktop, or tablet to manage your cryptocurrencies, this section is irrelevant.
However, if you want to use your hardware wallet for lots of things, make sure that the app works on it.
Hardware wallets can be used for two-factor authentication, managing passwords, and signing encrypted messages.
Pricing
A hardware wallet can be expensive, so the cost difference between Ledger vs Trezor might determine which one is right for your needs.
The price point for the Ledger Nano S is $59, and for the Trezor One, it’s $55.
The Ledger Nano X and Trezor Model T have a big price difference. The Ledger Nano X is $119, but the Trezor Model T is $169.99.
The Nano X has a lot of features. For example, you can connect it to your mobile device using Bluetooth and manage your assets on the go. This is hard to justify paying $50 more for the Model T when the Nano X has all this already.
It is especially considering that the Model T does not offer a big upgrade over the Trezor One.
Setup and Use Process
The Trezor and Ledger are both easy to use once you get the hang of them. The lower-priced models (Trezor One, Ledger Nano S) have a similar design in that they rely on two buttons for input. However, their interfaces differ from one another solely based on style preferences.
Plus, something you’ll like about the Trezor Model T is its color touchscreen. It makes it much more uncomplicated to see and input necessary information because of its large screen and clear display, like amounts and addresses.
Touchscreens are better than pressing two buttons. They make it easier to do things like entering passcodes.
The Trezor wallet and Ledger wallet are both compatible with Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. They both have to be connected to your computer using a micro USB cable.
The process of setting up both wallets is quite similar, as both require two main steps — setting up a PIN code and writing down your recovery seed.
Security
The main reason you might want to buy a hardware wallet is for its security. It is important to think about what is the best choice when comparing Trezor vs Ledger.
Aside from the standard that both the Trezor and Ledger hardware wallets will protect private keys from being leaked, there are some other differences to consider when comparing the two brands.
Neither device has been hacked, and any reports of people losing crypto with either hardware wallet have been the result of a mistake. For example, one common mistake is storing seed phrases digitally, which exposes seed phrases (and the crypto associated with them) to hackers and other malicious actors on the internet.
Both Trezor and Ledger offer a safe way to store your cryptocurrency. Trezor is open source, so you can see the code that goes into it. Ledger is not, but considering their team could do something like injecting malicious code into the device firmware to transfer all Ledger users’ crypto to an address they control.
It is not likely that the Ledger team will crumble, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
Summary
When it comes to storing your cryptocurrency, the safest storage solution is a hardware wallet. They provide unmatched security levels and are a difficult match with other methods regarding how safe they make you feel about funds stored on them.
When looking for a hardware wallet, users have many options to choose from. Some of them are a lot more expensive than others, and some support different cryptocurrencies. Educate yourself on the various types available before making your decision, so you can make an informed decision about what kind of hardware wallet is best for you.