beginner
There’s hardly any crypto enthusiast out there that hasn’t heard about Ethereum, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency. Created by Vitalik Buterin, this blockchain with smart contract functionality went live in July 2015.
Ethereum is one of the most innovative digital projects in the world. Not only is it a perfectly good cryptocurrency and a payment method, but it also serves as a platform for a myriad of different exciting digital projects, many of which are revolutionary in their own right. Ethereum was the project that kickstarted the DeFi and NFT crazes and has many other mind-blowing plans in store.
Ethereum has incredible usability and is loved by professional and retail investors alike. It is a great digital asset to invest in. We’ve already talked about how you can buy it and mine it, and now it’s time to discuss how you can store it.
What Is Ethereum?
Before we get into the best Ethereum wallets, let’s first take a look at what Ethereum is.
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts. These smart contracts are applications executed exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third-party interference.
Ethereum is unique in that it allows developers to create their own tokens, which can be used to represent virtual shares, assets, proof of membership, and more.
The Ethereum blockchain is powered by Ether — ETH — the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Ether is used to pay gas fees and transaction fees on the network. It also often serves as a payment method both outside and inside the network.
Why You Need an Ethereum Wallet
If you want to use Ethereum, you will need a place to store your ETH coins. This is where an Ethereum wallet comes in. An ETH wallet is a piece of software that allows you to interact with the Ethereum blockchain.
With an ETH wallet, you can send and receive ETH, various ERC-20 tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). You can also use your ETH wallet to interact with decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum network. Even if you only want to use your Ethereum account to trade and speculate on the coin’s value, you will still need a crypto wallet that supports Ether — it is not safe to store your investments and funds on exchanges.
The number 1 rule of crypto investing. Source: OKX
Wallets can give you even more than just a place to store your crypto: some also offer staking, lending, in-app exchanges, and more.
Types of Ethereum Wallets
There are many different types of wallets, and which one will be best for you depends on what you want to do with your crypto, what qualities you value more (e.g., usability vs. privacy), what price you are willing to pay, and so on. Here’s an overview of the different types of crypto wallets you can get to store Ethereum.
Cold Wallet
Hardware wallets are USB stick-like devices that are not connected to the Internet. Many modern cold wallets also have small interfaces that can be used to send and receive the crypto stored on them.
No matter what hardware wallet you use, you can be sure that your digital assets will be kept safe. Although some hardware wallets are rather clunky and pricey, they are worth it if you want to store large amounts of crypto.
Hot Wallet
Software crypto wallets are basically apps that you download onto your computer or mobile phone. They are extremely convenient, and most have very intuitive interfaces.
Software wallets usually offer a wide range of different features, such as in-wallet exchanges or purchases. Additionally, they make it easy to manage your portfolio and interact with the crypto world by aggregating crypto news and prices.
They are connected to the Internet, so they are technically less safe than hardware wallets, but many software wallets have top-notch security to ensure your funds will be safe.
Hot Ethereum Wallet vs Cold Ethereum Wallet
The biggest difference between hot and cold wallets is that while the former are connected to the Internet, the latter are not. While this makes hardware wallets slightly more secure, it also makes them a bit harder to use for day-to-day transactions.
However, nowadays, hot wallets are not that much less secure than hardware ones, and cold wallets offer features that make it easy to carry out transactions and manage your portfolio. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide whether you prefer the safety of having your crypto and keys stored on a physical device or the ease of making transactions that the hot type of wallet can offer.
Many modern crypto investors use a combination of hot and cold crypto wallets to manage their portfolios. For example, some of them store their long-term investments in a hardware wallet like Trezor while keeping the crypto they use for day trading and everyday transactions on a hot wallet.
Paper Wallet
Paper wallets are exactly what they sound like — pieces of paper with your public and private key written on them, often in the form of a QR code. This is probably the safest and most secure wallet type, but it is neither very intuitive nor easy to use. It is mostly recommended for people who want to store large amounts of crypto for long periods of time. You can learn more about them here.
Top 10 Ethereum Wallets
There are tons of good Ethereum wallets on the market right now — after all, this cryptocurrency has been around for quite some time now, and both its own popularity and overall popularity of crypto ensure there are lots of companies out there that want to create products for it.
If none of the wallets we talk about in this article suit you, you can always find the perfect Ethereum wallet using this handy tool on the coin’s website. Just pick the features you’d like to see in your crypto wallet, and then choose one of the wallets from the list presented to you.
Metamask
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Web, Mobile)
Metamask is a popular hot ETH wallet and the perfect gateway to the world of DeFi and the Ethereum network. Being unbelievably easy to use, it has a sleek interface, an option to create and manage multiple wallets at a time, and more. Just like other Ethereum wallets on this list, it also offers in-app purchases and exchanges. You can get it as both a browser extension and a mobile app.
This digital wallet is rightfully considered to be one of the best software Ethereum wallets. Read more about it here.
Exodus
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Desktop, Mobile)
Exodus is one of the best hot wallets out there. Its sleek, fully intuitive interface makes it perfect for beginners and experts alike.
Exodus gives users access to a bunch of cool features, such as live price charts, portfolio monitoring, in-app crypto exchanges and purchases, and more. Exodus lets you store 100+ different cryptocurrencies all in one place.
Exodus is incredibly secure and utilizes the latest technology to keep your funds safe. If you want even more protection, this crypto wallet is partnered with Trezor, a hardware wallet manufacturer, allowing you to take advantage of all the features Exodus has to offer while keeping your funds stored soundly on a reliable cold wallet.
Trezor
Price: $79 (Nano S Plus), $149 (Nano X)
Type: Cold wallet
Trezor has two flagship models: Model One and Model T. Both are extremely secure and easy to use.
Trezor Model One is a cheaper version of Trezor’s flagship wallet, Trezor Model T. This small crypto wallet is insanely reliable and powerful and is known to be highly secure. Compact and lightweight, Trezor Model One is sized at just 2.4 × 1.2 × 0.2 inches, which makes it perfect for traveling — it can be easily carried in a bag of any size.
Trezor Model T is Model One’s big brother. It’s an advanced cryptocurrency hardware wallet that is perfect for anyone who plans on storing a large amount of crypto. Your private keys will never leave the device, and your funds will be safe from various online vulnerabilities. This wallet also has an extra layer of protection: one has to confirm all transactions on the device itself. Trezor Model T features a touchscreen with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that will allow you to review all information about your crypto exchanges and purchases.
Trezor Model T keeps you safe from more mundane threats, too: you will be able to recover your funds even if you lose your keys. You will have to use your 12-word recovery seed phrase for this, so make sure to write it down in a safe place that you will be able to easily find and access later. It is one of the best Ethereum wallets.
Ledger
Price: $79 (Nano S Plus), $149 (Nano X)
Type: Cold wallet
Ledger offers two different hardware wallets: Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S Plus.
Both Ledger hardware wallet models look and act like a USB stick but offer much more than just a place to store your crypto: you will also get access to Ledger Live, a desktop app that will let you effortlessly purchase and exchange crypto within its interface. Ledger Nano X also has Bluetooth, allowing you to effortlessly connect it to your mobile devices.
Ledger Nano S is a budget alternative to the company’s flagship product, Nano X. However, don’t let its (relatively) cheap price fool you: this device is unbelievably powerful, durable, and reliable.
Once you connect your Ledger to your PC, you will be able to take advantage of Ledger Live, a user-friendly app that lets you exchange, buy, and sell crypto within its interface. Both Ledger wallets support the storage of multiple cryptocurrencies at once, so you won’t have to worry about looking for a separate wallet for each coin or token in your crypto portfolio.
MyEtherWallet
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Web, Mobile)
MyEtherWallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that supports only Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens, Ethereum-compatible networks (ETC, BSC, Polygon, and more), and NFTs since it was exclusively built for this purpose. This web and mobile wallet lets you send funds to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time, with just a few clicks and without any middlemen, minimums, or limits.
MyEtherWallet has partnered with a wide variety of crypto services to make your experience even more smooth and enjoyable — for example, its in-wallet crypto exchanges are powered by Changelly!
MyEtherWallet makes it easy to interact with all things Ethereum, from NFTs and dApps to all the various tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain. Many consider it to be the best Ethereum wallet app. After all, it has the cutest acronym in the world — MEW!
Freewallet
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Web, Mobile)
Freewallet is an Ethereum wallet app available both as a mobile app and a browser extension. This wallet supports over 100 cryptocurrencies and is known for its usability as it requires no verification or registration to get started. You can also buy crypto directly within the Freewallet app with a credit or a debit card.
One of the best things about Freewallet is that it offers a wide variety of features, such as in-wallet exchanges, price charts, and transaction history. You can also set up price alerts to get notified whenever the prices of your favorite cryptocurrencies change.
Freewallet is a great option for anyone who wants to store multiple cryptocurrencies in one place. It is one of the best Ethereum wallets and comes in the form of both a mobile app and a browser extension.
Trust Wallet
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Mobile)
Trust Wallet is an incredibly feature-packed and easy-to-use Ethereum wallet. It is a mobile wallet app that lets you store, earn, purchase, and exchange cryptos and NFTs.
Unfortunately, this software wallet does not offer Ethereum staking. However, it enables buying crypto right in the app with a credit or a debit card. Trust Wallet also supports a wide range of DeFi protocols, so you can handily use it to manage your crypto portfolio.
Trust can rightfully be considered one of the best Ethereum wallets for mobile devices.
Argent
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Mobile)
Argent is a multisig open-source layer 2 Ethereum wallet that makes it easier than ever to interact with DeFi. With Argent, you get access to dApps and DeFi in just a few taps.
This smart contract wallet has a really high level of security, utilizing features such as remote locking and biometrics to keep user funds safe. Argent also lets users stake their assets for 20%+ interest with Yearn, Aave, and Compound.
Jaxx
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Desktop, Mobile)
Jaxx Liberty is one of the best Ethereum wallets on the market. It has everything a crypto user might need: a high level of security, an excellent support team, an intuitive and user-friendly interface, and much, much more.
This cross-platform Ethereum wallet is excellent for people who want to have everything at once. In a single app, Jaxx provides users with crypto news, price updates, crypto exchanges, and, of course, a secure and reliable way to store dozens of cryptocurrencies.
What sets the Jaxx wallet apart from other mobile wallets is that it gives users access to an easy-to-use block explorer, allowing you to check balances and transaction data across multiple blockchains with no hassle.
Guarda Wallet
Price: Free
Type: Hot wallet (Web, Desktop, Mobile)
Guarda Wallet, a secure non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet that supports over 50 blockchains, is one of the best Ethereum wallets on the market. In addition to the usual features like in-app purchases and exchanges, Guarda also enables its users to stake their favorite coins and tokens, including Ethereum. At the time of writing, their APY for ETH was 4%.
Guarda is available on more operating systems than most other wallets: it has apps for Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, and more.
FAQ
What is the best Ethereum wallet?
Which Ethereum wallet will suit you best depends on your needs and preferences. If you’d like to pick an easy-to-use wallet that supports a wide range of features, then a hot wallet like Metamask, Atomic Wallet, or Exodus might be the best choice.
What is the safest Ethereum wallet?
The safest wallets will always be those disconnected from the Internet, so hardware ones. If you are looking for a safe Ethereum wallet, then a cold wallet like Trezor or Ledger would be a good choice.
Are Ethereum wallets free?
Software wallets are usually free — that includes mobile, desktop, and web wallets. Hardware Ethereum wallets, on the other hand, usually cost around $100.
Is there an official ETH wallet?
No, there’s no such thing as an official Ethereum wallet.
What is the best mobile wallet for Ethereum?
Some of the top Ethereum wallets available as mobile apps are MyEtherWallet, Metamask, and Exodus.
How do I get an Ethereum wallet?
Creating an Ethereum wallet is easy! In most cases, you will just have to download an app (if it’s a mobile or a desktop wallet), an extension (if you want to use a web wallet), or buy it (if it’s a hardware wallet). Once that’s done, just follow the instructions provided by that wallet.
What are the best ERC-20 wallets?
There are multiple wallets that can be on the list of good storage options for ERC-20 tokens. MetaMask, MEW, and Trezor hardware wallets are all good choices both for PC, Android, and iOS users.
How do I create an Ethereum wallet?
It’s easy! These days, you just need to download an app like MetaMask, and it will guide you through the wallet creation process.
What is the best Ethereum wallet for NFTs?
Argent, Trezor, and Exodus are all ETH wallets that are great for storing your NFTs.
Disclaimer: Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.
