by @Golven0, @JadeLi1005, and @FriedWagyuu

TL;DR

• Software wallet offers a smooth experience but lacks security
• A hardware wallet offers more security, however, users still have to take care of the seeds
• Custodial wallets hold the keys for the user but they are centralized and users do not have full control over their funds
• Smart contract wallets are the most advanced solution for large amounts of assets
• MPC wallets solve a lot of problems but still need development
• See below for full wallet reviews

1. Abstract

As the portal for users to enter Web 3, wallets are the most commonly used and most important blockchain infrastructure. In recent years, the emergence of various types of wallets, such as cold wallets, hot wallets, and contract wallets…has puzzled many beginner users. Also, some users are afraid of trying different wallets due to concerns about security. I hope that with the help of this article, we can let people learn the distinction between different types of wallets, walk you through the mainstream wallets without stress, and at the same time help you to improve your security awareness.

1.1 What is Blockchain Wallet

Blockchain wallets are tools for users to manage and operate their funds (mainly private keys). From a user’s perspective, wallets can be seen as a medium for storing Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. In general, blockchain wallets are like banking portals for cryptocurrencies — — displaying account balances to users and providing solutions for executing various transactions.

1.2 Essential Functions of a Wallet

Ensure a High Level of Security
Most users have doubts about the security of cryptocurrencies and they usually have little knowledge about technical terms. Users need to rely on wallet providers to enhance the security of their wallets in the first place. Therefore, it is the responsibility of wallet providers to raise awareness of security among their customers. In addition to educating users, wallet providers can also design mechanisms to fundamentally prevent users from revealing wallet data, such as not showing users the seed phrase or private key and private keys are always exported with encryption.

Ease of Use
The most basic function of a wallet is simplicity. Wallet providers need to clearly understand their user’s needs during development and add or remove features to suit all kinds of users.

2. Wallet Evolution and Classifications

2.1 User Managing the Keys

Paper Wallet / Brain Wallet
Basically, the process of generating a cryptocurrency account is seed phrases -> seeds -> private keys -> public keys -> wallet addresses. This process is not reversible due to cryptography and only the public keys or wallet addresses are supposed to be exposed to the Internet. The seed phrases and private keys are the keys to access the wallet, and the user has to make sure that key data is not compromised and stolen. So the easiest and most secure way to do this is to write it down on paper or remember it in the brain. On the contrary, the problems associated with paper wallets are obvious: they are not convenient enough and can be easily lost.

Mobile Wallet / Browser Extension Wallet (Software Wallet)
So far, the majority of accounts interacting on Ethereum have been external accounts, which are accounts generated by a private key. Users of the software wallets are similar to paper wallets — — they have to back up and protect their seed phrases. However, the difference is that the private keys are stored in the wallet software over time, usually in the form of an encrypted file. The advantages of these wallets are their high compatibility with dApps and multi-chains, but the disadvantages are that the tokens need to be secured by the users and there are security risks due to private keys’ exposure to the Internet.

Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets, compared to software wallets, have their seeds and private keys kept forever in a separate device, and the private keys are never exposed to the Internet. When a user generates an account on a hardware wallet, the seed is usually generated by a reliable random number generator in the security module for cryptographic security. To initiate a transaction, the user needs to sign the transaction in the hardware wallets and subsequently transmit the signature to the connected device for broadcasting the transaction. Hardware wallets offer a huge improvement in security over software wallets and are therefore standard for users with a large number of assets.

2.2 Custodial Wallets

Custodial wallets rely on users’ trust in a centralized company compared to wallets where the user manages the keys. The advantage of custodial wallets is that the user no longer needs to keep a careful watch on the seed phrase and private keys. They only need to deal with the account and password to access the custodial service. Users can rely on secondary authentication methods for security. Basically, every exchange wallet can be seen as a custodial wallet. The disadvantage is that the centralized company managing the wallet may have security risks or even rug-pulls with your funds. Also, users often need to give their personal information to the providers for KYC.

2.3 Smart Contract Wallet

Smart contract wallets offer higher programmability and controllership than external wallets (user-managed private keys), allowing users to adjust access to the wallet on demand and have infinite possibilities for expansion. For the average user, smart contract wallets bring benefits such as higher security, the ability to pay gas fees with various tokens, social recovery accounts, and more. For enterprises and DAOs, the application of smart contract wallets focuses on multi-signature (multi-sigs), with a number of team members sharing the responsibility of managing wallet access.

2.4 MPC Wallets

Multi-Party Computation (MPC) refers to the joint computation of an agreed function by multiple participants, where each participant cannot infer the original input of the other participants. MPC has been widely used by custodial wallet providers and exchanges to strengthen the security of private keys. The MPC wallets mentioned in this article will be more decentralized, as the wallet operators usually do not have access to users’ funds like custodial services. MPC wallets also allow for additional features such as multi-sigs and are more suitable for multi-chain transactions as they do not require the creation of contracts.

3. Wallet Reviews

3.1 Software Wallets

MetaMask

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

MetaMask started as a browser extension wallet, also available for iOS and Android. As the originator of Ethereum wallets, MetaMask supports all Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains such as the BNB chain and Polygon. MetaMask’s users come from all over the world — — the USA, Russia, India, Brazil, etc. Its main functions are buying, sending, exchanging cryptocurrencies and connecting to decentralized applications (dApps).

Pros: MetaMask provides the most stable interaction experience and is the most commonly used wallet for testing new dApps. MetaMask also has the advantage of being open-source and compatible with most dApps. It is trusted by most users and developers for its openness and security.

Cons: The interface and functions are limited, and some operations, such as adding multiple chains and adding new tokens, require users to perform complex operations (requiring manual input of various information, but also guaranteeing security and user control to a certain extent), at the expense of user experience.

Supported Tokens: ETH, Matic and all other EVM compatible chain tokens

Trust Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trust Wallet is a mobile wallet invested by Binance. It supports over 160 multi-chain assets and allows users to simply access staking, lending, cross-chain swaps, and other financial services. It has a built-in dApp browser, allowing users to interact with dApps such as Binance DEX. It currently supports 43 chains such as ETH, BTC, BNB Chain, LTC, XRP, Doge, Solana, Polygon, THORChain, etc.

Pros: Trust Wallet integrates with multiple fiats on-ramp providers to send and receive crypto assets conveniently, and integrates support for multi-token transactions connected to the Binance DEX.

Cons: It is not accessible with a web browser and users can only download the application on their smartphones.

Supported Tokens: 43 chains’ native assets such as ETH, BTC, BNB, LTC, XRP, Doge, Solana, Polygon, THORChain, etc.

Coinbase Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Coinbase wallet, as an exchange-developed mobile wallet, reduces security concerns for users, while the link to the Coinbase exchange allows users to easily purchase and withdraw multiple cryptocurrencies. Its support for public chains and assets is much less than Trust Wallet, currently supporting only BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, XRP, XLM, DOGE, SOL and 8 EVM chains. The newly launched plug-in wallet supports EVM chains and Solana. The mobile wallet’s sain functions include swap, DeFi, and dApp browsing.

Pros: Coinbase wallet is easy to use and removes the hassle by saving private keys to iCloud (however raises security concerns). It supports many mainstream chains without the need to import manually.

Cons: Deposits and withdrawal amounts are limited for basic users. Lacks enough technical support according to Reddit users. The private key is not 100% secure since it is saved to iCloud.

Supported Tokens: All EVM assets, BTC, BCH, LTC, XRP, XLM, and DOGE.

Crypto.com Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crypto.com Wallet is similar to Coinbase Wallet as an exchange-developed wallet. Its functions include DeFi earn, dApp browser, token swap, and NFT browser. Users can also link their accounts with the exchange.

Pros: Link with exchange account for easy deposit. Native multichain support. Support mainstream dApps.

Cons: Only supports a few protocols for staking. Only ETH and CRO chain for NFTs.

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, CRO, ATOM, DOT, LTC, NEAR, and other ERC-20 tokens.

Coin98 Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Coin98 is a DeFi aggregation platform that provides one-stop DeFi learning, data tracking, and access to DeFi services. Its mobile wallet and plug-in wallet are also DeFi-centric, supporting a range of DeFi chains. Users can easily access various financial services from their wallets.

Pros: Strong DeFi ecosystem — — exchanges, staking, lending.

Cons: User experience is too complex for normal users.

Supported Tokens: Token on NEAR, BTC, ETH, Tron, BNB Chain, Solana, Kusama, HECO, Avalanche, Cosmos, Polygon, etc.

Rabby

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rabby is a browser extension wallet developed by the DeBank team that supports almost all EVM chains by default. Users do not need to manually add new tokens and chains. In terms of security, Rabby has a built-in token approval checker and transaction security detection, allowing users to check at any time whether transactions may create a threat to their wallet’s security.

Pros: Rabby has put a lot of effort into security. Not only can users enjoy a fast and smooth multi-chain platform, but it also automatically helps users to review every transaction and account safety.

Cons: As a security-focused wallet, the information displayed in the security review is not clear enough, for example, if the contract is risky, users can only choose to decline, but the wallet does not explain in detail the risks users are facing.

Supported Tokens: All EVM chains’ tokens

Zerion

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Zerion was first released as an asset aggregator for EVM chains, providing services like wallet tracking and transaction notifications. Users can follow others’ wallets and be notified in real-time when they made a transaction. In spite of the basic swap functions, users can also buy index tokens easily and explore the market. Zerion recently released an free to mint NFT, which will evolve through users’ on-chain activities.

Pros: All-in-one asset aggregator. Can easily track another wallet and the market condition.

Cons: Users have to wait for the support of new chains, currently only 10 EVM chains are supported.

Supported Tokens: All EVM chains’ tokens

Math Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Math Wallet, like other mobile wallets, has multi-chain support and basic functions like swap and dApp browser. It also has its own DeFi vault, which can give users aggregated returns through multiple DeFi protocols.

Pros: Was one of the first wallet products, with a relatively long-tracked history.

Cons: No advantage compared to new wallet products, lack of updates and new functions.

Supported Tokens: Full support for assets on 106+ chains.

Phantom Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Phantom Wallet is seen as the equivalent of MetaMask for Solana users. With functions including NFT display, swap, and staking. Phantom Wallet is the №1 wallet for interacting with Solana dApps and dApps are most compatible with Phantom.

Pros: Best experience for Solana dApps

Cons: Only Solana supported

Supported Tokens: All Solana tokens include Raydium, Serum, etc.

Exodus

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Exodus started as a desktop wallet, offering users with best of the time experience for managing accounts and assets. Its main function is portfolio management, with built-in swaps and dApps including Compound and staking. Exodus is compatible with Trezor, a hardware wallet, so users can send and receive transactions conveniently.

Pros: Early player with elegant user experience.

Cons: Lack of dApp support.

Supported Tokens: 70+ chains’ assets include BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, etc.

Steak Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Steak Wallet offers a balanced user experience and complexity for accessing DeFi protocols. Users can easily stake native assets on different chains like Solana, Avalanche, Cosmos, ETH, etc. and access DeFi vaults and generate returns.

Pros: User-friendly UI/UX with selected DeFi protocols.

Cons: Choices are limited.

Supported Tokens: Assets on Solana, Avalanche, Cosmos, ETH, Stargaze, The Graph, Celo, Osmosis, Near, Akash.

Atomic Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

With Atomic Wallet, users can access 300+ assets with a portfolio management interface similar to Exodus. Built-in functions include cross-chain exchange and staking.

Pros: Long track record with multichain assets support.

Cons: Lack of new functions including DeFi and dApps browser.

Supported Tokens: 300+ assets on BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, and almost all chains.

O3 Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

O3 Wallet is developed by O3Lab, the developer of the cross-chain protocol O3Swap. O3 Wallet offers a built-in cross-chain swap and dApps browser.

Pros: Supports all EVM chains with cross-chain function

Cons: No other functions except cross-chain and dApps browser.

Supported Tokens: All EVM assets include ETH, BNB, Neo, etc.

Nabox Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nabox Wallet is a newly developed wallet focusing on Web 3 identity. Functions include cross-chain swap and dApps market.

Pros: Good user experience with multi-chain support.

Cons: Functions are limited

Supported Tokens: Assets on ETH, BNB Chain, Polygon, Celo, Klaytn, and 37+ chains.

3.2 Hardware Wallets

Ledger

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ledger is the leading hardware wallet company from France, long trusted by consumers and businesses. Ledger can be used to sign transactions via USB connections to PCs or with Ledger Live app using Bluetooth. Ledger usually supports new chains immediately. It also has Web 2 security features such as Windows Hello login and Fido U2F.

Pros: Elegant design and compatibility with most blockchains.

Cons: Due to screen size, sometimes full transaction details are not displayed and may incur risks if the software is hacked.

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, Doge, and 1000+ chains’ assets.

Trezor

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trezor offers an almost identical user experience to Ledger. The key difference is that Trezor’s Model T offers Shamir Backup and SD Card Protection. Shamir Backup means a user can split the seed into up to 16 pieces to avoid the risk of theft or losing the seed. And, SD Card Protection saves the security key to unlock the Trezor on an SD card so the owner can take out the SD card to make the Trezor useless to attackers. Yet, when using Trezor One, the entry model, the seed phrase can be entered through the computer. Although there is a function of entering the seed phrase all through Trezor, the risk of leaking the seed phrase is slightly higher.

Pros: Additional safety with Shamir Backup and SD Card Protection

Cons: Security concerns for inputting the seed through PC

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, Doge, and 1000+ chains’ assets.

Safepal

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SafePal is a hardware wallet invested by Binance, and its price ($39 at its lowest) is very affordable compared to the Ledger Nano X’s $119 price tag. In terms of security, SafePal uses QR codes to read and sign transactions, completely avoiding attacks via USB or Bluetooth. However, SafePal can only be used with the official app and does not interact directly with the browser extensions, making it a little difficult to use with certain dApps.

Pros: Affordable price and good mobile experience, with built-in dApps browser

Cons: Unable to interact with browser extensions, not suitable for dApps built for PC

Supported Tokens: Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Zcash, Optimism, and 5000+ coins.

imKey

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

imKey is the hardware wallet developed by imToken. All the features of imKey are provided by imToken, which are basic wallet functions and a dApp browser. imKey is mainly advertised targeting Chinese users.

Pros: Simple and easy-to-learn design.

Cons: Functions are limited and supported chains are limited

Supported Tokens: Only 18 chains including ETH, BTC, EOS, ATOM, etc.

3.3 Custodial Wallet

Fireblocks

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fireblock, as a custodial service, does not provide services to retail customers. With Fireblock, businesses and institutional customers can manage their funds in a secure and compliant manner. It offers many services that meet the needs of institutions, such as tokenised assets, asset transfer acceleration, ethereum acceleration, DeFi API, and PoS staking. Fireblocks also provides DeFi solutions for customers to interact with all dApps. In the future, NFT custodial service will be provided.

Pros: Secure transactions for institutional customers with access to popular services

Cons: Not available for retail customers.

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, Solana, and 1100 tokens.

BitGo

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

BitGo is similar to Fireblock as an institutional custodial service. With staking services and an NFT wallet, BitGo is trusted by exchanges and investors.

Pros: Securely make transactions and portfolio adjustments.

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, Solana, and almost all tokens available.

Cobo Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️

Cobo is the industry’s leading custodial service provider for retail users. Users can participate in a variety of DeFi protocols through the Cobo wallet. The advantage is that users can easily manage their assets and participate in various financial services, but the dApps and services supported are quite limited and users do not have the freedom to participate in many projects in the market.

Pros: Easy to use and participate in DeFi projects.

Cons: Limited projects available and cannot interact with all dApps freely

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, and more than 350 assets.

3.4 Smart Contract Wallet

Gnosis Safe

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gnosis Safe is a contract wallet for institutions and DAOs. Gnosis Safe can be deployed on multiple EVM chains. The core features of Gnosis are multi-signature and bulk execution of transactions. It currently manages over $120 billion in funds and has over 35,000 wallets.

Pros: The only contract wallet trusted by institutions and supports multiple chains.

Cons: Takes many steps to initiate a transaction.

Supported Tokens: Assets on Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and other 8 EVM chains.

Argent

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Argent is a smart contract wallet for retail users. Users need to approve each transaction using Argent’s guardian service or their own designated guardian wallet. Users can also recover the wallet via Argent or the guardians in the event of a loss. The wallet offers multiple allowlisted DeFi protocols, making it easy for users to manage their money and generate returns. Argent is also the only smart contract wallet that supports ZK-Sync, an Ethereum layer-2, allowing users to use Argent at a fraction of gas.

Pros: Easy to use, manage portfolio, and invest in DeFi protocols. Users can choose to use ZK-Sync to minimize transaction fees.

Cons: Requires gas for layer-1 wallet creation. For ZK-Sync, the security is protected by one private key instead of by the smart contract, however, the user can still use the layer-1 contract to recover the layer-2 wallet.

Supported Tokens: Assets on Ethereum and ZK-Sync.

Blocto Wallet

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blocto is a contract wallet created for the Flow ecosystem. On the Flow chain, every wallet is by default a smart contract. By using Blocto, users can pay the gas fee on different chains with its BLT token, which simplifies the user experience without having to prepare different tokens for gas on different chains. By default, Blocto Wallet is protected by Email and password, which gives users a Web 2 experience in the Web 3 world.

Pros: Multi-chain smart contract experience and smooth user experience for non-crypto users.

Cons: The owner key for the smart contract is by default controlled by the team, which brings security concerns.

Supported Tokens: Assets on Flow, Solana, BSC, Polygon, Avalanche, Ethereum and Tron.

3.5 MPC Wallet

Qredo

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Qredo is a multi-signature MPC wallet for institutional users. Qredo uses MPC nodes for private key management and compliant decentralised custody. At the same time, Qredo is also a Layer 2 solution, allowing node operators and users to participate in the maintenance of the MPC trustlessly, further securing the private key with decentralization.

Pros: Compliant non-custodial wallet, having multi-sig function while compatible with multi-chains

Cons: Supported chains are limited

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, ADA, ALGO, SOL, and ERC20 tokens.

ZenGo

Safety: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

User Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Compatibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ZenGo is an MPC wallet for individual users. ZenGo maintains non-custodial by holding half of the private key. When a transaction is executed, ZenGo server confirms the user via email, 2FA verification code, etc. Users can recover their wallets via their own or a friend’s facial scan or encrypted cloud backup. Even if the ZenGo server is not running, ZenGo has a third-party backup solution that guarantees the private keys held by the ZenGo server will not be lost.

Pros: Smooth user experience

Cons: Having to rely on ZenGo to protect half of the private key

Supported Tokens: BTC, ETH, BNB, DOGE, and 70+ assets.

Final Thoughts

Most of the software wallets are built for dApps interaction and MetaMask is undoubtedly the king of the Ethereum ecosystem. However, its user experience is not great and some of the newcomers such as Rabby offer a better experience. Exchange-developed wallets such as Trust Wallet and Coinbase Wallet can be more easily trusted by users and will see faster user growth. Some application-specific wallets such as Coin98 are targeting specific users. More software wallets may emerge in the future, which we hope can being better user experience and functionality.

For the store of valuable assets, contract wallets are the most secure solution. MPC can be used to achieve multi-signature-like functionality by splitting the keys, but MPC relies on an external system, which creates a security shortfall. In extreme cases, MPC wallets can still be lost due to service providers. MPC wallets also have a number of problems, such as the fact that most MPC operations do not currently use hardware security modules, and that even if private keys are kept in pieces, they cannot be kept secure from being exposed in extreme cases. At the same time, decentralised MPC custody of private keys makes the protocol or the MPC chain a security shortcoming and does not allow the private keys to achieve Bitcoin or Ethereum level of security.

We recommend that entry-level users consider acquiring a hardware wallet for long-term security. Custodial wallets or MPC wallets are useable if there is no need for multi-chain transactions and high-frequency interactions with dApps. For users who hold a large number of funds, a contract wallet is essential.