By Larry Wright
Cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream, with many random users, traders, institutional investors, and businesses trying their best to get their hands on cryptocurrencies and other similar assets that run on blockchain technology. These are not merely the businesses or people who seek cryptocurrencies from a profit point of view but also governments and states who are finally seeing the significance and importance of cryptocurrencies that are divulging the abrupt and subtle usage of this technology in their day-to-day activities.
It might come across as an absolute shock to you, but the centralized financial institutions such as banks and other markets have finally adopted cryptocurrencies and not only have they adopted this, but they are pouring tons and tons of money into the crypto market for its various investment options.
See, the crypto market is not merely tied to the idea of providing the end investors with cryptocurrencies and tokens; there are multiple other things that can be used for the sake of investment or exploited as opportunities made available by the market itself.
First of all, you have got non-fungible tokens, the digital landscape of the blockchain technology that can be maintained and even sold at a later date to turn in a profit, exchange-traded funds, decentralized apps, and many other such offers present. People do tend to look into the opportunities and investment regimes of the crypto market.
Introduction to Crypto Wallets
This was merely an introduction to what the crypto market is, what are its offerings and, what opportunities can be explored by the end investor, and how these are taken by governments, states, and institutional investors combined. Now the passage that is going to follow is accustomed to talking about the storage units for these cryptocurrencies, which are the systems that are known as wallets.
Blockchain Technology is a ledger that consists of the reports of all the transactions that have taken place right from the genesis block up to the recent transaction that has taken place. But you need a crypto wallet for the sake of storing your crypto assets; for the time being, you are not using them.
There are now two different types of technologies that govern and oversee the working of the hardware wallets, and these are Ledger and Trezor. Both of these are hardware wallets that have a unique set of functionalities and multiple differences when it comes to the storage, acquisition as well as verification system when the time to pull off some of the cryptos as per the demands of the user comes.
If you are a beginner to the whole domain of crypto market and blockchain technologies and are only coming by it just now, then it can be confusing trying to understand which wallet you should be choosing from the top two contenders. It is important, therefore, to know all the differences that exist between Ledger and Trezor wallets so that you can finally have all the options and functionalities laid out before you, which will eventually help you to make a much more calculated decision.
To better understand which one is the right choice for you, it is important to understand the very functionality of these hardware wallets. Such as what are these? what is the technology behind the storage of these wallets? And what gives when it comes to extracting your funds from either of these wallets?
What are Hardware Wallets?
If you aspire to the idea of hardware wallets, do seek out the answer to this very question, so when you have decided to buy more cryptocurrencies, where are you going to store them?
Of course, you need a hardware wallet that is going to make things extremely easier for you, especially when you want to have those cryptocurrencies on yourself all the time. These hardware wallets are just like the physical wallet that you use for the sake of storing your cash and all the debit and credit cards and have categories for easier reach whenever you want to do that.
Here is a mind jerker, these crypto wallets don’t actually store your cryptocurrencies or tokens in their digital form at all, but these store the private keys and other such sensitive information which is required for authenticating crypto transactions for the tokens that you have bought earlier. Think of these hardware wallets as a repository for those soft elements. There are two main categories of crypto wallets that are soft and hard wallets.
Crypto exchanges that you use on a day-to-day basis for the sake of either trading in cryptocurrencies or finding new ones are just like your soft wallets. These exchanges then become the server space that is going to provide the storage compartment for the perfect alignment and storage of your crypto as well as backup keys. In the long run, there is much incompetence that is tethered with the idea of soft wallets, the whole thing could be hacked, and therefore the information that was stored on them could fall into the wrong hands, thus robbing you of your precious tokens.
How do Hardware Wallets Work?
Now that you have come to understand the basics of a hardware wallet, it is important that you come to know its mechanism before searching for various hardware wallets out there in the market. The first and foremost duty of a hardware wallet is to be able to store your private keys and all the information pertaining to crypto assets that you have stored or bought within the wallet itself.
If you want to add another layer of security on top of the private key, then you can either add a PIN or opt for a second factor or two-factor authentication process, which will require you to enter a one-time password every time you try to access your crypto wallet.
Whenever you need to process a transaction or do something like this, then you would have to connect your crypto wallet with the Internet itself; otherwise, it is pointless and useless other than the times that you want to proceed with a transaction, your hardware wallet would remain permanently disconnected from the Internet, making it the most secure container that is not prone to hacking for other such cyber criminal activities because it is not even connected to the Internet at all.
Another important thing that you should keep your eyes peeled for is the seed phrase that is generated for hardware wallets. Every user is expected to write down the seed phrase and then store it in a safe place because if you have lost each and every connection with your wallet or you don’t have the one-time password mechanism functioning properly, then you can always opt for that seed phase which will allow your wallet to regenerate the private key which was lost in the first place.
It is also helpful in cases that you lose your pen drive or your wallet completely, and there is just no sign of it turning up anytime soon in the future; at that specific interval, a seed phrase is nothing less than a lifesaver.
Ledger Hardware Wallet
This is one of the types of hardware wallets that is provided with many offerings, including the Ledger nano X. There is a custom operating system that caters to the needs and processing aspects of the wallet, and that is known as the blockchain open Ledger operating system. There are more than 1100 cryptocurrencies of different kinds that this specific hardware wallet supports at the moment, and the support for various others is being added as we speak.
So in a way, if you choose to go with a Ledger hardware wallet, then it is kind of a given that you will get the best service when it comes to storing crypto, accessing it, and making sure that it is safe and sound at all times.
Trezor Hardware Wallet
SatoshiLabs is offering the Trezor hardware wallet, and one of the most significant offerings within the hardware wallet is the Trezor Model T. This is one of the most offering that you can get from the company at the moment as it has tons of amazing functionalities to its name.
The firmware, as well as the operating system for this wallet, is completely open source which means that you are eligible to change it however you like, customizing settings and doing additions and deletions based on how you want to propel further with the wallet in question.
At present, the wallet supports more than 1200 cryptocurrencies, and it is safe to assume that in the near future, the wallet will add support for many other cryptocurrencies, emerging ones, as well as for those that are simply existing at the moment.
This wallet allows for easier management of all the cryptocurrencies involved, which does take a huge load off of your plate and allows you to focus your time and energy on more elegant elements of your business.
Key Differences Between Ledger and Trezor
Both of these wallets are exemplary and are top of their game plus, when you opt to buy any of these; you will get access to tons of exciting features that are just hard to come by when considering the soft wallets. The Trezor Model T now even comes with a touchscreen that you can hold in your hand and use as go; you can see your present private keys stashed in there, what specific type of two-factor authentication you have placed on it, and so on.
Plus, there is support for more than 1000 different cryptocurrencies, and with time more support will be added in due time, and this is something that is not applicable to the domains of the soft wallets at all.
The Ledger Nano X is offering you Bluetooth support that is hard to come by in many hardware wallets out there, including the mobile app. You can use the mobile app to configure your wallet, such as viewing the private keys, changing the two-factor authentication settings however you see fit, and more. These were some of the over extensive features of these wallets, now is the time to opt for the differences that these have, following are the differences that you should be expecting.
Crypto Support
The first thing that you need to lay your eyes on when making a comparison between these wallets is the crypto support. When it comes to it, the Ledger wallet has the upper hand here as it has support for more than 1800 different tokens, whereas the Trezor only has got support for the 1649 crypto tokens. Ledger allows you to customize the placement of the tokens into groups and sub-groups with many crypto tokens to apply yourself to.
An additional advantage that you can get with the Ledger wallet is the support for cryptocurrencies that are a bit extenuating, and many wallets don’t have support for these, such as Uniswap, Avalanche, and Graph tokens, as well as Yearn Finance tokens. It gives you tons of options to choose from, giving you a lot of exploration within the DeFi landscape.
Ease of Use and Customization
Any hardware wallet that has tons of shenanigans up its sleeves and is too difficult to use is something that no one will opt for. The good thing here for both these wallets is that they are tailored in such a way that they tempt both beginners as well as expert-level consumers as well.
Although you would have to come around the use of firmware updates of the device and create the wallets as well, this is something that is different for both these wallets, and it is not like there is an easier way to do so; both these have their own methods to do this, and you would just have to be accustomed to the process no matter which wallet you go for.
On top of everything else, you would have to set up a seed phrase that will act as a backup and will also have to set a PIN that will work as a two-factor authentication system for the hardware wallet.
Both these wallets offer a seamless installation system, but there is a small hiccup that you would have to cross yourself when it comes to the Ledger wallet, and that is the fact that you would have to install the Ledger live app onto the wallet itself or otherwise it won’t work. All the Trezor wallets, on the other hand, can work very well on a web-based interface which means that you don’t require an app to control the functioning of the app at all.
Features
When it comes to the futures, both Ledger and Trezor provide you with the same set of functionalities that govern those features might be a bit different for both wallets. Both of these wallets are actually the top contenders within the crypto world; therefore, the set of features that these represent is going to be more similar than different.
A ledger wallet is going to be the same as a USB stick, and it is often heavier as compared to the Trezor wallet, which is a bit thinner and lighter as well, making it a perfect hardware wallet or companion that can store the crypto keys and other sensitive information. It isn’t like a USB at all but offers a more rustic and classic design.
There is a plastic case that you can use for the sake of safely storing your Ledger wallet. Ledger once again has the upper hand here because it does add support for the iOS devices, whereas Trezor just doesn’t.
But Trezor offers an LCD display that allows you to communicate with the device on a more serious note while choosing to move around the options in the best possible way. Ledger offers a brighter OLED screen configuration which once again beats the standard LCD configuration of the Trezor; it would seem that Ledger once again has the upper hand here.
Mobile App
Another aspect that can be used for the sake of checking out the credibility of the wallet service is the availability of the mobile app. Ledger does provide you with the Ledger live app, which can easily be downloaded on the present device of the user, whether iOS, Android or PC.
It allows you to control each and every aspect of the wallet, such as allowing the user to check their crypto balance, sharing news with them about the crypto landscape, and such.
Trezor, on the other hand, doesn’t have any mobile app at the moment but will be adding the functionality for a mobile app down the road. It would seem that in all the comparisons, Ledger has come out as a more viable and strong candidate, but at the end of the day, whatever decision you end up having is totally up to you and the use case that you are going to have with the said wallet.