Crypto wallets are becoming even more crucial in the lives of present day Web3 users. They serve the role of a bank and a storage mechanism that safeguards against theft. Crypto thefts are now an everyday staple with millions of dollars worth of digital assets falling into the wrong hands.
For context, Immunefi Research shows that over $1.2 billion has been lost to hacks and rug pulls in 2024 alone. $269.4 million have been stolen in July alone. This paints a dreary picture for users who don’t take their crypto security seriously.
To help you forestall any potential losses, we’ve compiled five of the best crypto wallets for storing your ADA tokens even as we continue hodling in this bearish season.
1. Daedalus Wallet
Daedalus is a desktop wallet that is officially recognized by Cardano. It is a product of IOHK, the technology company behind the Cardano blockchain. It is an open-source software that can be used on operating systems like Windows, MacOs and Linux. As a desktop wallet, it is not available on mobile Android or iOS devices.
Being full-node software, Daedalus downloads a full copy of the Cardano blockchain to your computer, so it individually validates every transaction in the system. This makes it one of the most secure methods to store ADA—since one is not relying on some other entity to validate one's own transactions.
It is also a non-custodial wallet, meaning Daedalus enables users to be in total charge of their private keys, making it impossible for anyone apart from you to have access to your funds. It also supports multiple wallets, which means a user is able to create and manage several ADA wallets from a single interface.
Another of its attractive features is that it supports native Cardano tokens and NFTs. As Cardano progresses and more projects are launched on it, Daedalus won't restrict you to ADA - making it a capable choice for those with interests across the expansive Cardano ecosystem. The wallet also allows you to stake your ADA by delegating your tokens to a stake pool.
The only downside with Daedalus is that it takes quite a lot of space and is computationally heavy, simply because it's a full-node wallet. This might be a downside to people who have few resources. But for people who put security and control first, this is one of the best options.
1. Yoroi Wallet
The Yoroi Wallet has been a very popular choice among Cardano users and specifically among those who find Daedalus's full-node approach to be a bit draining. It has been developed by EMURGO, one of the founding entities of Cardano. The wallet is lightweight and easy to use for everyday purposes.
Unlike Daedalus which is a desktop wallet, Yoroi is a light wallet, meaning it doesn't download the whole blockchain to your device. Therefore, setup is way faster, and well-suited for mobile devices. It is available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and it also has apps for iOS and Android.
Yoroi is also a non-custodial wallet; hence, users fully control the private keys. To this end, no person other than you will have access to your funds. It also supports multi-accounts, which means a user can create and manage different wallets within one interface.
On top of storing ADA, Yoroi will also support all the native tokens and NFTs that get launched on Cardano. Users can also delegate ADA tokens to a stake pool on Yoroi. It supports multiple blockchains as well so you can also manage assets from blockchains other than Cardano.
Another big highlight for Yoroi is its native integration with hardware wallets like Ledger. It enables one to host one's private keys natively on a hardware device for the highest level of security while still using its convenient user interface.
1. Ledger Wallet
For those who want security above every other feature, the best choice is a hardware wallet—for instance, Ledger Nano S or Ledger Nano X. Ledger can be considered one of the most trusted names in the field of hardware wallets due to its highly secure devices and compatibility with a huge number of cryptocurrencies.
In this regard, the Nano S and X from Ledger store your private keys on the device itself, not anywhere online. Therefore, chances of it being stolen by hackers are highly reduced. Where the two differ is that the Nano X comes with added Bluetooth connectivity and greater storage that allows users to run multiple apps at a time.
It supports over 5,500 different cryptocurrencies, including ADA. To be able to use a Ledger device for storing Cardano's ADA, you will need to pair it with a software wallet like Yoroi or Daedalus. In this way, you can manage your ADA tokens while your private keys are kept secure on the hardware device.
Although ledger devices are not natively compatible with NFTs, one can still store an NFT on the blockchain and view it via compatible third-party applications. This will make a ledger wallet into a versatile option for one seeking to hold crypto and NFTs safely.
One of the major strengths of Ledger is its ongoing support and huge community. Providing users with frequent firmware updates and a thorough support center, Ledger ensures that they are always running with the latest security features and somebody to turn to if something goes wrong.
1. Nami
Although Nami is a rather new addition to the Cardano ecosystem, it’s already quite popular due to its simplicity and many features. It is a browser-based crypto wallet, designed particularly for the Cardano blockchain. As a result, it stores only ADA and other local tokens and NFTs of Cardano.
Nami is non-custodial and is very easy to use, even for a person entering into the Cardano space or even into cryptocurrency at large.
It is set to support a wide range of assets under the Cardano ecosystem. For instance, it easily supports Cardano dApps, which in turn will allow you to access DeFi platforms or NFT marketplaces and other services in a fully decentralized way, all from the wallet. With Nami, you can stake ADA and other Cardano tokens by delegating to a Cardano stake pool right from your wallet as well, and you can do that across multiple pools.
Nami also provides an enhanced security level with hardware wallet integration. With the hardware wallet integration, Nami lets you plug in a Ledger or Trezor to manage your assets safely. This means the signing private keys never leave the hardware wallet, which enables protection from a higher level against online threats through events such as hacking and phishing.
While it cannot support assets from multiple blockchains, Nami proves to be a very useful wallet that offers a structured and focused experience to Cardano users, making this wallet a really good choice for users who have invested mainly in the Cardano ecosystem.
1. Eternl
Eternl is one of the most popular Cardano software wallets on social media (especially Reddit) due to the large number of features inside and its support for a large range of Cardano-based assets. It is also a light wallet and can be portrayed both as a web extension and mobile application.
Like Yoroi, Eternl is a non-custodial light wallet. It is Cardano-specific as it supports native assets.
Eternal also comes with the capacity to participate in staking pools from the wallet, enabling users to earn rewards from contributing to network security. This makes it a highly useful tool for anyone surfing the Cardano ecosystem.
The motivation behind the development of Eternl is to establish itself as one of the top Cardano wallets by introducing features based on requests and feedback from the community of users. Hence, it adopts regular updates and an open line of communication with users to ensure that the wallet evolves with the needs of the Cardano community.
Conclusion
Crypto losses are not ending anytime soon and it means the onus is on everyday users to properly store their digital assets. We have explored five of the best options to safely store Cardano ADA tokens for future use.
We recommend testing out each one of them before making a choice on the best digital asset wallet to store your tokens in.
Comments