Official Website Trezor

Trezor | Trezor (Official) Website | Choose Your Device Model

Trezor was the first legitimate and secure Bitcoin hardware wallet. The wallet was built by SatoshiLabs and was truly pioneering, in every sense of the word. It is not as inconspicuous looking as Ledger since it looks like a small calculator with an OLED screen. You can use the Trezor wallet with Android devices and with apps such as Trezor Wallet, Mycelium, and Multibit HD. Trezor builds an isolated environment for offline transaction signing. Trezor minimizes the risk of private key discovery, even if the PC is infected by malware.

Every single Trezor wallet has a PIN code that never leaves your wallet. This simple feature makes sure that even if the computer that the wallet is using is compromised, your PIN will not get stolen. The PIN system in Trezor also has an inbuilt system that prevents any brute-force attempts. After each incorrect guess, the waiting time between the guesses is raised by a power of two. Making 30 guesses will take as much 17 years.

The entire wallet is backed up with the 24 words generated on setup. The original 24-word seed is generated using RNG (Random Number Generator) from the device and the computer. The seed is generated offline and displayed on the wallet’s screen, which ensures that the seed is never on an internet-connected device. If you ever lose your Trezor wallet, then you can simply recover it with the 24-word seed and passphrase. 

Best Hardware Wallets: Trezor One

Trezor One is one of the most popular hardware wallets out there. Let’s take a closer look at how you can work with them.

Working with Trezor

So, after connecting with your chosen interface, you will notice this in your laptop:

You will have to enter the PIN which will be randomly generated by your wallet every single time and will be displayed on the screen of your wallet like this:

The number will randomly generate for every single transaction. This gives an added layer of security to your cryptocurrency. In case, you have some keylogger in your computer recording your activities for malicious purposes they won’t be able to get access to your wallet because the pin will keep changing.

After you have put in your PIN, you will have to put your passphrase which is known to you and only you. When you are done, you will gain complete access to your wallet and you can send/receive funds as and when you please. If you are sending someone money, your Trezor will ask for your confirmation by showing this message on its screen:

You can cancel or deny the transaction.

Trezor One Supported Coins

As per Trezor’s website, they support 1064coins. These include the following:

• Bitcoin 
• Ethereum 
• Ripple (only Model T) 
• Bitcoin Cash 
• Litecoin 
• Tether 
• Stellar 
• Dash 
• Ethereum Classic 

Trezor One Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Extremely simple to use.
• Very sleek design.
• It can be used on all devices provided the platforms are compatible (Windows, Mac OS X or Linux).
• Never exposes your private key.
• Randomly generated pin code keeps the device safe and secure.

Cons:

• Costs $75 which is a bit steep.
• Trezor One doesn’t support Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Monero (XMR), and Tezos (XTZ). 
• Not as inconspicuous-looking as Ledger Nano.

Best Hardware Wallets: Trezor T

Trezor T is an improved version of Trezor One with a better screen. The wallet also lacks any buttons and is completely touchscreen.

What’s in the box?

The Trezor T box includes the following components:

• Trezor Model T device with a holographic seal over the connector
• Type C USB cable
• Getting started card
• Magnetic dock
• Recovery seed card.
• Stickers.

How to setup Trezor T?

Trezor T will work with the up to date versions of both Chrome and Firefox. To set up your device, do the following:

• Connect the Trezor wallet to your computer or smartphone.
• Open trezor.io/start to begin the execution process.
• Choose the Model-T option and follow the on-screen prompts.
• The wallet will now ask if you are setting up a new device or want to recover a pre-existing wallet.
• To backup, your wallet, click “create a backup in 3 mins” in the GUI and write down the randomly generated 12-word recovery seed on the papers given to you.
• To confirm, the wallet will ask you to re-input two random words from the seed sheet. You must make sure that the device doesn’t get powered down during the process. If you do, then you will need to start over.
  
  Note: You must keep your seed sheet as secure as possible. Your device is only as safe as your recovery seed. If they fall in the wrong hands, then they will be able to import your wallet and steal your funds.
• After you have recorded your recovery seed, you need to out your 5-9 digit PIB code. You will need to put in the PIN twice before completion.

Trezor T Supported Coins

It supports all the coins that Trezor One supports, along with Ripple, Cardano, Monero, and Tezos. 

Trezor T Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Extremely simple to use.
• Very sleek design.
• It can be used on all devices provided the platforms are compatible (Windows, Mac OS X or Linux).
• Never exposes your private key.
• Randomly generated pin code keeps the device safe and secure.
• Has more coins available than Trezor One.
• It has a touchscreen instead of buttons.

Cons:

• Costs $159 which makes it more expensive than its peers. 
• Not as inconspicuous-looking as Ledger Nano.

Best Hardware Wallets: KeepKey

KeepKey was founded in 2015 by Darin Stanchfield and is headquartered in the US. In 2016, they acquired the Bitcoin wallet Multibit. Later in August 2017, the wallet was acquired by Shapeshift, the Switzerland-based exchange founded by Erik Voorhees. Stanchfield heads the company as the CEO and Ken Hodler as the CTO. KeepKey is one of the most well-built wallets out there and is priced at $99.

KeepKey: Getting Started

You will need to go to the “Getting Started” page where you can start the initialization process:

• Download and install the KeepKey Chrome App.
• Insert the KeepKey hardware wallet into your PC.
• Initialize the KeepKey Google Chrome app.
• When the extension is installed, you will be redirected to the chrome://apps/. If not, then manually open that in Chrome and pick the KeepKey client.
• If the KeepKey is not running in the latest firmware version, then you will be prompted to upgrade it, via a warning.
• You will now have to unplug your device and upon replugging it, you will need to hold down the button on top.
• While holding the button insert your KeepKey into the USB which will activate the firmware upgrade mode.
• Once the firmware is upgraded, you will get your hands on the private key.
• The private key seed will be displayed only once and you need to keep it a secret.
• Up next, you will need to make your PIN. The longer the PIN, the better the protection.
• After PIN confirmation, KeepKey will show 12 randomly generated words which will be your “recovery sentence.” KeepKey will now show these words again, so you must be super careful while writing these down.
• KeepKey uses a technique called “Recovery Cipher,” which scrambles and shuffles the letters of your word. This makes sure that the wallet remains safe, even if the computer is infected with malware.

KeepKey Supported Coins

KeepKey natively supports the sending and receiving of the following coins:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Bitcoin Gold
• DASH
• Dogecoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin

KeepKey also provides support to ERC-20 tokens.

KeepKey: What’s in the box?

When you open the package, this is what you’ll get:

• KeepKeey hardware wallet
• USB cable.
• Cardboard recovery sentence card
• Warranty compliance leaflet

The wallet itself is pretty huge yet elegant looking. It has dimensions of 38 x 93.5 x 12.2 mm. At the front, it has a large 256×64 3.12″ OLED screen which is protected by a polycarbonate casing. On the back, the wallet is built out of aluminum.

The wallet has a single button on top, which is used for confirming or canceling transactions. While it can be powered by a power bank or a charger, it needs to be connected to the KeepKey Chrome App to operate.

Pros and Cons of KeepKey

Pros

• Large LCD makes user interaction simple.
• Integrated with ShapeShift.
• Built to withstand wear and tear.
• Design is very user-friendly
• Top-notch security.
• The recovery cipher keeps the wallet secure.

Cons

• The recovery seed is shown only once.
• The wallet size is huge, which means that it is not easily accessible.
• There is no Lock feature, so if you forget your device unlocked and plugged in, anyone can access it, even without using your PIN.
• Development is slower compared to Ledger and Trezor.
• Customer service leaves a lot to be desired, as per user reviews.