Best Ethereum Wallets Of 2023

The Ethereum network now hosts over one million transactions daily, and with ETH serving as the primary gateway to DeFi and decentralized apps, a secure-yet-capable wallet becomes must-have equipment. We compare the best Ethereum wallets to discover which wallets deliver the features users demand.

The 6 Top Ethereum Wallets Of 2023

• MetaMask:Best Browser Ethereum Wallet
• Argent: Best ETH Wallet For dApp Integration
• Gnosis Safe: Best Multi-Sig Ethereum Wallet
• Ledger:Best ETH Hardware Wallet With Mobile Access
• Trezor: Best ETH Hardware Wallet Desktop App
• Coinbase:Best No-Frills ETH Software Wallet Solution

What Are Ethereum Wallets?

An Ethereum wallet provides a way to view, spend, receive, or send ETH assets on the blockchain. Your ETH, ETH-based (ERC-20) tokens, and NFTs don’t actually live in your wallet. Instead, they exist on the blockchain and your wallet holds the private keys that let you use the assets.

ETH wallets can be either hot wallets, in which the private keys are stored on a device that has accessed the internet, or cold wallets, such as hardware devices that do not connect to the internet.

Because ETH is widely used in DeFi and web3 applications, your Ethereum wallet offers a way to interact with ETH-enabled apps and decentralized finance platforms.

How Ethereum Wallets Work

In the prior section, we discussed how ETH wallets are really a gateway to assets held on the blockchain. Every wallet address uses a public address, which anyone can view on a tool like Etherscan. Blockchain assets aren’t a secret in most cases, although we may not know who owns the wallet address.

However, while anyone can see the assets held by an Ethereum address, only a wallet with the private keys can spend the assets or send the assets to another wallet.

When you use your wallet to send or receive, the transaction is sent to network validators to verify that the transaction conforms to the network protocol. Moving assets around on the Ethereum blockchain has a cost, though. So as you send funds to or from your wallet address, expect to pay a fee that varies depending on network congestion.

An ETH address is just a location on the Ethereum blockchain, like your address at your home.

But instead of123 Main Street, ETH addresses look like this:

0x9881E02662b26885c4A3B2bB79b71770dB127eA9

Not exactly user-friendly, but the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) aims to give ETH wallets a human-readable identity.

With many wallets, you can name your ETH address in your wallet itself, but that’s only a local change visible to you. With ENS, you can create an alias for your wallet address, so others can send money to your easy-to-remember address.

The Coinbase wallet supports ENS natively but uses Coinbase’s domain name system. For example, your wallet name would follow the following format:

username.cb.id

MetaMask, another popular wallet, supports ENS but does not offer a built-in naming mechanism like the Coinbase wallet. You’ll need to get your own .eth name.

To add ENS support to MetaMask, click on assets in the Chrome extension and then search for Ethereum Name Service.

Then, you can visit the ENS dApp to choose your name.

Similar to a website domain name, you register your ENS name for a year, paying Ethereum gas fees to complete the transaction.

And once you complete the transaction, set up a reverse record within the ENS dApp that points your ENS name to your ETH wallet address.

Expect the entire process to take up to30 minutes due to the number of validations required to confirm the transaction.

Hardware Ethereum Wallets Vs. Software Ethereum Wallets

Earlier, we discussed hot wallets vs. cold wallets, which speaks to the primary difference between hardware wallets (cold) and software wallets (usually hot).

Hardware wallets provide authorization using a device that isn’t connected directly to the internet. This structure keeps your private keys used to send or spend ETH secure.

While hardware wallets offer better security in most cases, they can be less convenient. Support for mobile devices is less common, meaning you’ll need to connect to a laptop or desktop in most situations.

As a solution, some choose to use both types of wallets, but for different activities. For example, you might choose to protect your larger ETH balances with a hardware wallet while using a software wallet for smaller balances and frequent transactions.

Tokens You Can Store In Ethereum Wallets

Many wallets are designed to work with only one type of cryptocurrency or tokens based on that crypto. For instance, ETH wallets typically work with ETH itself as well as ERC-20 tokens and ETH-minted NFTs.

Because wallets are purpose-built, sending crypto to an unsupported wallet from another chain can be disastrous. As an example, you can’t send Bitcoin directly to an ETH wallet. Some wallets might let you try, although you’ll lose your Bitcoin in the process.

Most ETH wallets can support a wide variety of ERC-20 tokens, typically including:

• BUSD
• MATIC
• DAI
• SHIB
• UNI
• WBTC
• LINK
• APE

Pros And Cons Of Ethereum Wallets

Ethereum Wallets Vs. Bitcoin Wallets

A subset of ETH wallets can support both Ethereum and Bitcoin. But under the hood, these wallets are really multiple wallets, keeping distinct assets in separate wallets. As an example, Ledger devices support both ETH and BTC, but each asset requires a separate app installed on the device to ensure your ETH and BTC have a safe home. As an alternative, you can choose a dedicated Bitcoin wallet to provide more security by compartmentalization.

Currently, Bitcoin doesn’t support NFTs, pointing to one big difference between Ethereum wallets that support NFTs and Bitcoin wallets that do not.

Ethereum Wallets Vs. Solana Wallets

Similar to Bitcoin wallets vs. Ethereum wallets, some users need support for Solana. You can choose a multi-chain wallet that supports both, but your use case may benefit from using two separate wallets.

Solana does support NFTs, but a Solana wallet can’t hold ETH-minted NFTs. You’ll need a separate wallet for each, or a multi-use wallet that supports both networks.

How To Choose The Best Ethereum Wallet

Your use case should drive your choice of wallet, and the right answer might be that you need to use multiple wallets.

Here are some considerations to weigh when choosing an ETH wallet:

• Two-Factor Authentication: Wallets with 2FA add an extra step, but can keep hackers at bay by requiring input authorization from a device in your possession.
• Wallet-Connect Support: Wallet-connect is a well-supported protocol for connecting wallets to platforms and dApps. However, many platforms also support the popular MetaMask and Coinbase wallets.
• ENS Support: Choose a wallet with ENS support if you need to use a human-readable name for your wallet.
• Token Importing: Wallets like MetaMask shine when you encounter a less common token, offering to import the token so you can see and spend your balance.
• Staking: Many wallets offer staking, a way to earn yield from your ETH or tokens, but not all wallets offer support.
• Hardware Wallet Support: Software wallets such as MetaMask and Coinbase wallet can pair with hardware wallets like Ledger.
• Swaps: ETH life is easier if your wallet supports swaps natively, but in many cases, you can still make swaps through a platform like Uniswap.
• Multi-Sig: A wallet that supports multiple signatures adds a difficult-to-crack layer of security for wallets with larger balances.

Final Thoughts On Ethereum Wallets

Many in the ETH community try several wallets before choosing one that meets their needs. Consider how you’ll use your wallet when making a choice. The most popular wallet might not be a fit. But also weigh your security needs. It may make sense to use multiple wallets, each for a different purpose. You might employ a high-security strategy for larger balances while opting for a more convenient wallet for day-to-day use.

Frequently Asked Questions