Trezor Wallet Review: One Of The Best Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallets

One of the most important practices for cryptocurrency investors is to improve their security. This is because many cryptocurrency exchanges aren’t insured against loss. And, even if your exchange is insured, you need to protect yourself against hackers and losing access to your funds.

Using your own cryptocurrency wallet is therefore a must for serious investors. And, out of all the cryptocurrency wallets on the market, the Trezor hardware wallet is one of the most popular choices.

But Trezor is one of many cryptocurrency wallets on the market. And it’s important for investors to understand how Trezor works and why using a wallet is important so they can safely buy and hold cryptocurrency.

Pros And Cons

What Is A Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet?

A cryptocurrency hardware wallet is a physical device you use to store your cryptocurrency. Hardware wallets store your private keys. Your keys never leave the physical device so there’s no risk of a hacker stealing your funds from an online account.

Hardware wallets are an excellent middle-ground in the world of cryptocurrency wallets. For starters, a hardware wallet is much more secure than holding your cryptocurrency on an exchange like Coinbase where you don’t actually own your wallet key.

Furthermore, hardware wallets like Trezor still let you manage your crypto and move funds around, making it more flexible than keeping all of your cryptocurrency offline in cold storage on a paper wallet.

Using your own wallet might seem like overkill, but it’s one of the most meaningful actions investors can take to protect their holdings. Popular cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini are generally secure, but hacks can occur. Furthermore, if you lose access to your account and someone steals your funds, it’s highly unlikely you can actually get your crypto back after you file a complaint against your exchange.

What Is Trezor?

Trezor is a cryptocurrency hardware wallet that launched in 2014. Originally, Trezor was meant to help people securely store their Bitcoin in an offline, secure manner.

Trezor has since grown into one of the leading hardware wallets on the market alongside competitors like Ledger. With Trezor, you can securely store over 1,000 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. You can also store passwords, multiple wallet keys, and use a browser-based interface known as the Trezor Suite to quickly manage your cryptocurrencies.

What Does It Offer?

Trezor has two hardware wallets: the original Trezor One wallet and the Trezor Model T, which was released in 2018. Additionally, the Trezor ecosystem has several features that make it a secure, beginner-friendly hardware wallet for investors.

Trezor Model One

Trezor One is the original Trezor wallet and supports storage for over 1,000 coins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and even altcoins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

Trezor One costs $63 USD, and the device has a small OLED screen that displays transaction details.

The wallet works with major operating systems, including Windows 10 or newer, Mac, and Linux. For mobile access, Trezor One works with Android devices and support for iOS and Windows phones is coming.

Trezor Model T

The Trezor Model T is the newest hardware wallet from Trezor that’s essentially a souped-up version of Trezor One.

Like Trezor One, the Model T supports storage for over 1,000 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. You get all of the features from Trezor One, and the hardware wallet also has a larger LCD screen.

The main difference between the Trezor Model One and Model T is additional security features. Notable Trezor Model T perks include:

The Trezor Model T costs $221 USD. Beginner cryptocurrency investors can likely stick with the Trezor One wallet to keep costs down. But if you want even more security, the Trezor Model T is the right choice.

Trezor Suite

One advantage to using Trezor over completely offline cold storage is that you can manage your funds from your computer in a matter of minutes.

To use Trezor’s online wallet, you connect your hardware wallet to Trezor’s desktop application or through its web interface. Once you connect your device, you can view your wallet funds, send and receive cryptocurrency, and check previous transaction history.

Sending funds is also speedy. All you have to do is enter the recipient’s wallet address and the type and amount of cryptocurrency you’re sending. Trezor then displays the fees you pay before you confirm the transaction.

You can also buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum with Trezor using your credit card or through a SEPA bank transfer. The Trezor Suite has a “Buy” tab where you can find third-party providers like Simplex and BTC Direct to purchase BTC from.

The buy feature is nice if you’re mostly investing in Bitcoin or a few of the supported coin types. But if you want to buy a wider variety of cryptocurrencies, you should use an exchange like Coinbase or Gemini and then transfer your crypto to Trezor.

The Trezor Suite also has other features like a portfolio tracker, and you can add multiple accounts and track performance by coin type.

Backups

One risk of using a hardware wallet is that if you lose or accidentally destroy your wallet, you'll lose access to your funds. However, Trezor mitigates this risk with its backup system.

Once you set up your Trezor device, Trezor displays a set of words known as your recovery seed. This jumble of words is what you enter to recover access to your funds if you lose access to your physical wallet. To backup your device, you simply write down the string of words in your recovery key and store it somewhere safe.

The Trezor Model T also offers Shamir backups, which involves creating multiple recovery seeds so you have more security for your backups.

Security Settings

As mentioned, Trezor has numerous security features to reduce the risk of someone hacking your wallet. Furthermore, with its backup system, you should never lose access to your funds if you take proper security measures and record your backup information.

Trezor also has other security features. This includes features like firmware verification that warns you if foreign firmware is trying to run. The hardware also uses BIP39 passphrases which aren’t stored locally on your device or saved.

Similarly, Trezor lets you create a pin code that’s up to 9 digits long that you must enter to confirm actions. Wait times to re-enter your pin if you make a mistake doubles when you make an error, and Trezor wipes itself after 16 incorrect guesses. So hackers won't be able to brute-force their way into your hardware wallet.

Customer Service

Trezor offers two main customer service features for users: a support help center and an email customer support contact form.

The help center contains resources to help with issues like technical problems, shipping, and general questions you might have. Trezor also has a community forum that’s quite active. Furthermore, the Trezor Wiki has in-depth guides that help you manage your hardware wallet and make the most out of available features.

Trezor also has its own community on Reddit where it shares updates about the platform and helps users with their questions. However, earlier this year, Trezor announced that it’s experiencing longer customer support wait times due to the surge in crypto interest. Many users expressed frustration at waiting weeks for orders to arrive or for customer support to respond to support tickets.

Overall, Trezor has adequate customer support. But don’t expect responses any sooner than a few business days, live chat support, or phone support from Trezor.

How To Use Trezor

Setting up a new Trezor hardware wallet is very speedy and straightforward. Your wallet comes with a connector cable that you plug into your Trezor and computer. From there, you follow several steps to set up your Trezor:

Trezor has a setup guide on its website. You can also install Trezor Bridge which is software that helps your device communicate with supported browsers.

How Does Trezor Compare?

Trezor is one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets out there, but it’s not your only choice. Other wallets come in at cheaper price points and also offer features that Trezor’s lacking.

Here’s how Trezor compares to some of its main competitors.

Ledger is a more affordable hardware wallet than Trezor. You can also earn crypto rewards by staking your cryptocurrency while still holding it in your Ledger wallet, which is a significant advantage.

As for Exodus, the free software is actually compatible with Trezor. This means you can manage and exchange cryptocurrency from your Trezor Model T in Exodus. Exodus also has features like a sleek portfolio tracker, mobile and desktop app, and 24/7 support, making it a nice addition to your Trezor experience.

Is It Worth It?

Anyone seriously investing in cryptocurrency needs to use their own wallet. A hardware wallet is one of the simplest, most cost-effective ways to protect your digital assets. In short, if you don’t want to risk losing your cryptocurrency to hackers or lost account access, you need a wallet.

Trezor is beginner-friendly and the Trezor One is an excellent choice for brand new investors who don’t have a large portfolio. But Ii you have a larger portfolio or want to try integrations like Exodus, the Trezor Model T is a better choice.

Trezor Features