If you're not new to cryptocurrency then you've probably heard the popular phrase Not your keys, not your coins. If you haven't this statement is often repeated and reiterated in the crypto-community by members of the crypto awareneness event Proof of Keys. The objective of this annual event is to educate cryptocurrency holders the importance of maintaining monetary sovereignty by withdrawing all their bitcoin and other holdings away from exchanges and other third party platforms to a wallet they control by holding its private keys.

Over the last 10 years of Bitcoin's existence we have heard stories after stories of exchanges being hacked, individuals losing keys to wallets, or even throwing away machines holding bitcoin which all result in the loss of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin.

Without learning from other people's experiences its very easy to find ourselves repeating the mistakes of the past and that's why over the last few years, as a solution to the problem of secure cryptographic key management we've seen exponential growth in the development of hardware wallets.

Types of CryptoWallets

Although we will mostly be covering hardware wallets in this post their are two other types of wallets available as storage solutions for cryptocurrency holders; sofware & paper wallets. Software wallets are programs that live either on your computer or on the Internet, and paper wallets are physical documents with private keys.

Hardware wallets are physical wallets with your private keys encrypted in them. These keys are paired with a digital signature that serves as a ID that verifies ownership and ensures your private key is safe from prying hands lowering the chances of theft to near zero.

If you are considering a shift from using paper or software wallets to hardware wallets, congratulations on taking the first step to taking possession of your assets on your journey to monetary sovereignty. This decision is just the first step though and in the next section we'll review some of the features to look out for prior to making a hardware wallet purchase.

Key Features to Consider

Before jumping into my recommendations of some of the best hardware wallets to consider for your use, its important to not only do your owe research, but to also go through some of the key features we need to consider in our selection:

• Security: Encryption Protocols/safety from viruses and malware/recovery processes.
• User Interface: How easy (or hard) it is to use the hardware wallet.
• Hardware: Size / Weight, a small and manageable size is always best
• Pricing: We weigh each wallet on the price scale balance.
• Currency Support: We also take into consideration if the wallet supports only Bitcoins, or other currencies as well, and if it does, how many and which!

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Now that we know which key features to consider and why, here's a performance analysis of three of the most popular hardware wallets of 2018. We'll also explore each wallets commonly known pros and cons.

Ledger Wallets (Nano X, S)

The Ledger Nano X is a Bluetooth® enabled secure device that stores your private keys. Make sure all your crypto assets are safe, wherever you go. With a state-of-the-art security model the Nano X ensures your private keys are stored in a certified secure element and Bluetooth connection is encrypted.

The Ledger Nano S functions with minor differences from the Nano X. The Nano S is built around a secure chip, locked by a PIN code ensuring security. It is also fully-certified by ANSSI, the French cybersecurity agency.

Both ledger wallets support 1000+ coins and have easy to use web interfaces. Ledger also allows you to set up a recovery seed to retrieve your private keys if your device is lost or broken. This recovery seed is a set of words that must be put together in a certain order. Ledger allows you to recover all your lost bitcoins with your recovery seed so no need to break a sweat.

Although the device is rather small, it's still an object which means you still have to carry it around with you like you do with your credit card or wallet. The Nano S would require an additional USB cable adaptor to function. Overall, the Ledger wallets are affordable, elegant and function exactly as you’d want it to.

Trezor Wallet

Trezor was developed by SatoshiLabs, a Czech startup, and it’s essentially a device that provides an added authentication layer to an outbound Bitcoin transaction. Because of its design, it can be used to sign transactions even on an unsafe computer. It’s also impervious to keyloggers. If a host PC has been compromised, an attacker still won’t be able to get a private key. The wallet provides support for more than 700+ currencies.

Unfortunately, It lacks mobile support. As of the moment, it will only work with Linux, OS X, and Windows. This means you can't pair your device with your tablet or mobile phone. Fortunately, SatoshiLabs announced that it’s currently working on USB on-the-go functionality to enable Trezor use on any Android device.

KeepKey Wallet

KeepKey is one of the best secure cryptocurrency hardware wallets 2017 that provides access to the leading cryptocurrency assets of the world today. Because it’s an HD or Hierarchical Deterministic wallet, you can think of it as a mini computer that’s specifically designed to store private keys.

It currently supports 7 Coins, 40+ ERC-20 Tokens and its recent price markdown has made it affordable for users who are looking for security and value when it comes to managing cryptocurrency wallets. A major con of the wallet is that because there’s no web wallet, you still need to add a software like MultiBit or Electrum in order for you to utilize KeepKey's applications.

Conclusion

Every cryptocurrency hardware that we have listed above is made of high-quality materials. All of them have features that are unique, but most importantly, they provide extremely secure storage for your cryptocurrencies.

Disclaimer: Its important to note this is not investment advise and you're required to stay informed on the development status of each hardware to continue making informed decisions about your asset protection.