Ethereum is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies ever. This doesn't just mean that investors want ethers - hackers are also after them. That's why you should ensure your coins are properly secured. A hardware wallet is the best way to do this.
There are various types of wallets, but we believe a hardware wallet is the safest option. There are also various manufacturers of hardware wallets, but don't let this unnerve you. It's fairly simple, because they all have a few things in common:
- They're physical devices
- The access code (private key) is generated offline.
The private key will not be shared via the internet, so you'll always keep hackers safely on the outside.
What can you do with a Ethereum hardware wallet?
Regardless which brand of hardware wallet you have, they all provide safe storage of your Ethereum. Connect the wallet to your phone or desktop using a cable or Bluetooth to send, receive and manage ethers.
We call these devices wallets. But technically, you don't really store your ethers on a wallet. You should rather see your hardware wallet like the PIN code of your bank account. It's like an admission ticket to show that the coins are truly yours.
The blockchain keeps track of who has how many coins. This is a digital ledger, which records everyone's balance and transactions. In order to add transactions to your page of this ledger, you should show that those ethers belong to you, and you do this using your hardware wallet.
Why a hardware wallet is safer than other types of wallets
So, a wallet is like a PIN code which you use to prove that you're the owner of a blockchain address (a page) containing the coins. That's why you should treat the access code to your ethers like the PIN code of your bank account.
What happens if someone else can access your private key? Then they can send the coins to a different address. And, contrary to a bank, there is no customer service you can call when that happens.
That's why it's so important to store your access code offline, just like a PIN code. You don't store that on your phone either, you don't take a screenshot of it, and you most certainly don't want your PIN code to be accessible from the internet. No one can know your PIN code except you.
You store your PIN code offline, in your head. This is the main difference between a hardware wallet and an online wallet for your desktop or phone: the access to your coins remains offline, where no hacker can reach it.
But which hardware wallet should you choose to safely store your ethers? That depends on the price, quality or simple aesthetics. These wallets support Ethereum:
