Arculus Review

If you want to level up your cryptocurrency security and store it in the most impenetrable place possible, you should use a hardware wallet. While it’s not among the best-known names in the industry, the Arculus hardware wallet is a solid offering worth knowing about when shopping for a new hardware wallet. 

The Arculus cold storage system combines the Arculus Wallet app and a separate physical key card to unlock and send your assets. Here’s a closer look at how the Arculus wallet works and if it’s worth the cost in this detailed Arculus wallet review.

About Arculus

Arculus relies on a mobile app and a physical metal card to enable secure cryptocurrency storage and transactions. You'll need that card to interact with your wallet beyond checking balances, which acts as an additional security and authentication tool to keep bad actors out of your digital assets.

The wallet works with dozens of the most popular cryptocurrencies but not the most extensive list of all hardware wallet providers. Nonetheless, for the average cryptocurrency investor looking to store their currency offline, requiring three security inputs to unlock, keep reading about how the Arculus wallet works.

Arculus Wallet Features

Here’s a review of Arculus wallet features important to most users:

Cryptocurrency and NFT Storage

First, the essential feature of the wallet is secure, offline cryptocurrency storage. The wallet software generates a new, secure cryptocurrency wallet address and private key, which is securely stored in the wallet software and is inaccessible to anyone without the three security measures required to log in.

You can use the app for many crypto and digital asset transactions, including interacting with Web3 applications. The Arculus card relies on an embedded 512kb chip, enabling the storage of many private keys.

Buy, Sell, and Swap Cryptocurrency

Arculus integrates with Simplex and Changelly.com as currency partners to buy, sell, and swap directly within the Arculus app. As with any other hardware wallet, you can also buy using other exchanges and send your crypto to your Arculus wallet for the long term.

Arculus doesn’t charge additional fees for cryptocurrency exchanges, but its partners do, so consider those before entering a transaction.

Three-Layer Security Solution

Sending cryptocurrency from the wallet requires three security measures, more than you’ll see from the typical crypto app and even most hardware wallets. To send assets from any Arculus wallet, you’ll need a biometric or password login to the app, a PIN to send, and the physical Arculus card.

The card employs NFC technology, the same used to tap-to-pay using your phone, smartwatch, or credit card at the checkout counter. But without your other login info, the card alone doesn’t allow sending crypto.

Works with Most Popular Currencies

The Arculus website explains that the card works with the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Compound, Dai, Ethereum, Chainlink, MANA (Decentraland), MATIC (Polygon), Sandbox, Shiba Inu, SUSHI, USD Coin, Pax Dollar, Tether USD, Wrapped Bitcoin, and XRP, among others.

In addition to currencies, you can store NFTs from Ethereum, Polygon, and other supported blockchains.

Arculus Pricing & Fees

Arculus is widely available online. It’s best to purchase from Arculus directly or an authorized retailer to ensure you don’t receive a device that’s been tampered with. You can buy from the Arculus website, Amazon, and other retailers.

At Amazon, the Arculus Key Card is currently listed for $99. If you buy from Arculus directly, you’ll pay the same $99 fee, plus tax, with free 2-day shipping in the United States.

Once you own an Arculus wallet, you don’t have to pay any ongoing fees to use it outside of regular blockchain transaction and exchange fees.

Arculus Alternatives

The most similar hardware cryptocurrency wallet solution to Arculus is the Tangem wallet. Tangem also relies on an NFC system, with a single card for each blockchain. With Tangem, you would use three cards to store Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, for example. Tangem costs $42 for two cards or $55 for three cards from the Tangem website.

The biggest hardware wallet companies are Ledger and Trezor, offering extremely high-quality hardware wallet and software solutions. Check out our Ledger and Trezor reviews to compare.

Safety & Security 

Arculus hardware wallets are all about safety and security. That’s the main reason to buy a hardware wallet for a hundred bucks rather than use a software wallet built into your phone or computer.

Arculus requires the three-step login process described above to send currency or NFTs from your wallet. When creating a new wallet, you’ll be given an opportunity to write down your seed phrase backup codes. You can use this to access your wallet if you ever lose your phone or Arculus card. Keep these extremely safe, as anyone with them can withdraw from your wallet.

As long as you keep your seed phrase and Arculus card secure, it’s an excellent solution for offline crypto storage.

Pros & Cons

The Bottom Line

The Arculus wallet is a great choice among hardware wallets. The features to tap a metal card on your phone to send cryptocurrency are fun, high-tech, and secure. If you’re up to the nearly $100 price tag, it could be a good choice for your cryptocurrency storage needs.