Best Ethereum Wallets: Top 10 Options for Secure ETH Storage!

There's no denying that Ethereum has emerged as a tour de force in the crypto space. Thanks to its smart contract functionality, the blockchain has left competitors in the dust. If you're looking to take part in the Ethereum ecosystem, you'll need a secure crypto wallet.

Whether you're a crypto newbie or a crypto degen, choosing the right Ethereum wallet is a crucial decision. Regardless of your level of involvement in the crypto sphere, crypto wallets have become a necessary tool for anyone participating in the blockchain ecosystem.

From hardware wallets to desktop wallets and mobile wallets, there's no shortage of solutions to safely hold digital tokens. In the end, however, the "right" wallet comes down to your ETH holdings and the level of security and convenience you’re looking for.

In this article, we'll explore the best Ethereum wallets that check most, if not all, of the marks.

How to Choose the Best Ethereum Wallet

Not all cryptocurrency wallets are created equal. The hallmarks of the best crypto wallets include:

• Private keys: Wallets that put you in the driver's seat. On the flip side, you're responsible for any loss of funds or mismanagement of keys that may incur.
• Ease of use: A user interface that's easy on the eyes and a breeze to navigate.
• Development community: An active development community means better support, frequent updates, and the quick patching of any security vulnerabilities.
• Backup and recovery: Being able to set up backup and restore features. This typically involves writing down a seed phrase and keeping it somewhere secure.
• Reputation: A wallet's reputation is an important thing to consider. You can read reviews online to get a sense of the wallet's track record.

With Ethereum wallets, however, you'll need something that does more.

• Wallets that provide a gateway to interact with decentralized applications (DApps) and decentralized exchanges (DExes)
• The ability to stake your ETH
• DeFi capabilities
• NFT support

For more on protecting your digital tokens, check out our crypto safety guide.

Top 10 Ethereum Wallets

The type of wallet you choose determines its specific features and the level of security it provides. It's important that you choose a wallet that aligns with your security needs and use case.

This list of top 10 Ethereum wallets isn't ranked from best to worst or vice-versa. Rather, the idea is to provide you with options and give you a brief overview of their features so you can make the decision yourself.

With that said, let's dive in!

MetaMask

MetaMask is a leading self-custodial wallet with over 30 million users. It has a few tricks up its sleeves:

• MetaMask Portfolio: Your portal to the world of Web3. MetaMask Portfolio allows you to track, buy, swap, bridge, and stake digital assets.
• Swap tokens: Don't want to use MetaMask Portfolio yet? You can swap tokens directly from the MetaMask browser extension and mobile wallets. The company charges a service fee of 0.875% for this service.
• Buy crypto: The MetaMask browser extensions and mobile apps show the best quotes based on your region, your preferred payment method, the token you want to buy, and the providers that are available to you.
• Integration with hardware wallets: MetaMask currently supports Trezor, Ledger, Lattice, Keystone, and AirGap Vault on extension, and its mobile apps support Keystone.

Once you install MetaMask, the 12-word secret recovery phrase, passwords, and private keys are in an encrypted format stored locally on the device where it's installed. However, it's best to write it down and store it safely somewhere so recovery of the wallet is possible should your device become broken or lost.

Interested to know more about MetaMask? Head over to our in-depth review.

ELLIPAL

ELLIPAL is an air-gapped cold wallet, which means it's isolated from the internet. This ensures it remains protected from unauthorized access, cyber hacks, malware and any other online threats. It lets you send, receive, buy, swap and stake your tokens. The wallet supports 2-factor authentication for an added level of security. On top of that, if any tampering is detected, the wallet has a self-destruct feature.

ELLIPAL offers two wallets: We have a review on the Titan and the Titan Mini if you want to learn more about these leading air-gapped wallets.

Trezor

Tezor has been in the crypto business for 10 years, and it's trusted by over 1 million people. In addition to the usual bells and whistles of a crypto wallet, Tezor can also integrate with wallets such as Electrum, Exodus, MetMask, MyEtherWallet and MyCrypto. In addition, Trezor hardware wallets use open-source designs so security experts and researchers can audit every aspect of the wallet themselves.

For the privacy-minded, Tezor's Coinjoin feature lets you protect your identity with transaction anonymization. The app lets you send and receive coins, track your portfolio, trade crypto assets or pay for daily essentials. 

We've covered much more on Trezor's two wallets — Model T and Model One — in our reviews.

Exodus

Exodus wallet supports over 50 networks and you can swap between thousands of assets. You can connect to over 12 networks, including Ethereum, and Exodus also allow you to manage multiple portfolios, stake and buy crypto, view your NFTs and explore Web3.

In a world of customer support where chatbots have taken over, Exodus offers 24/7 human support to answer any questions you may have. In addition, you can also combine your Exodus wallet with Trezor hardware wallets. This partnership supports over 170 Trezor-supported crypto assets

Unlike Trezor, however, Exodus doesn't have open-source software, and it doesn't support 2FA either.

Our full Exodus Wallet review covers everything you need to know.

Trust Wallet

More than 60 million people use Trust Wallet. Here's a snapshot:

• Wide support: Trust Wallet supports over 70 blockchains and more than 9 million assets. 
• Browser for DApps: Trust Wallet has a built-in browser for DApps to help you explore the world of Web3. This isn't available on the iOS app, however.
• NFTs: Trust Wallet offers you an easy way to keep all your ERC721 and ERC1155 crypto NFTs and game assets in one place.
• Staking: While Ethereum staking isn't supported, you can stake coins such as BNB and Tron. APR can reach as high as 11%.
• Ledger support: The Trust Wallet browser extension supports Ledger hardware support, allowing everyone who uses Trust Wallet to enjoy the benefits of hot and cold wallets.

As a non-custodial wallet, you control your private keys and digital assets, but as an additional layer of security, you can enable touch ID or face ID on your wallet app. However, as a hot wallet i.e. internet-enabled, there's still a risk of unathuroized access due to exploits and phishing attacks.

Head over to our full Trust Wallet review if you'd like to more about this wallet.

NGRAVE

The NGRAVE Zero hardware wallet is EAL7 certified, which is the highest level of security in the blockchain and financial industry. It also boasts anti-tampering protection against physical attacks. The ZERO is fully air-gapped, meaning it does not rely on USB or any network connection capability such as WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC or 4G to initiate transactions.

NGRAVE is also looking to roll out a few other features in the future that are currently in the R&D phase:

• MetaMask integration: This will let users manage their smart contracts (for staking or farming, for example) and DApps, but only for coins and chains supported by NGRAVE and Metamask. The integration will support both the MetaMask browser extension and the mobile app.
• BTC multisig: You will be able to use NGRAVE's ZERO hardware wallet as a co-signer.
• Fiat on-ramp: This feature will enable you to buy and sell crypto directly from NGRAVE's mobile app.
• SOL-based NFT support: NGRAVE recently rolled out support for Ethereum-based NFTs, but it plans to extend that to the Solana blockchain as well.

Everything you need to know about the NGRAVE Zero, its sole wallet offering, is covered in our full NGRAVE review.

BC Vault

BC Vault bills itself as the first seedless cold storage solution on the market that makes it immune to seed phrase hacks. In fact, BC Vault is so confident in its security that each wallet comes pre-loaded with one BTC. If you're able to break the encryption, it's yours to keep.

You can buy and exchange crypto via third-party integrations, and the wallet has multichain support. Web3 enthusiasts can use WalletConnect, an open protocol to communicate securely between DApps and wallets, to connect to DApps with BC Vault. The hardware wallet can also be used as a U2F authentication token. In addition, BC VAULT gives you the possibility to store up to 2,000 different anonymous Vaults, each encrypted with a different passcode and pin, making this the only device on the market that can be shared between different users.

Find out why we called BC Vault “a revolution in cold storage” in our BC Vault review.

Rabby

Rabby is designed for multi-chain scenarios and it associates corresponding chain settings for each DeFi DApp. When you visit a DeFi DApp for the first time, Rabby will automatically choose the corresponding chain for this site based on our database.

Turning to security, Rabby's software is open source and has already been audited by a professional security audit company. In addition, it sends every transaction into a security engine for screening before you sign it to help you identify any hidden risks. Rabby will alert you if it finds potential vulnerabilities. Your private keys are stored on the front-end side only and can be exported by you at any time, which is entirely independent of Rabby’s back-end services.

Rabby also supports multiple signing methods:

• Hardware wallets: Ledger, Trezor, GridPlus, OneKey, Keystone, BitBox02, CoolWallet, and AirGap Vault
• Mobile wallets: MetaMask Mobile, Trust Wallet, imToken, TokenPocket, Math Wallet, Defiant, and all other wallets compatible with WalletConnect
• Institutional wallets: Gnosis Safe, FireBlocks, Amber, Cobo Wallet, and Jade Wallet

Rabby wallet is often considered an alternative to MetaMask that focuses on security and transaction verification to help keep the user protected against interaction with malicious smart contracts.

MyEtherWallet

MyEtherWallet is an open-source wallet that allows you to harness the full power of the Ethereum ecosystem.

• Send ERC-20 tokens and NFTs: You can send funds to anyone, and view and manage all of your collectables and domains in MEW’s NFT manager.
• Works with other chains: MEW supports additional Ethereum-compatible networks including Ethereum Classic, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon.
• Swap: MEW has partnered with 1inch, DEX AG, Changelly, Bity, and Simplex for crypto purchases and swaps. It works with decentralized exchange aggregators 1inch and DEX.AG to find the best price on your token swap.
• DApps centre: MEW has partnerships with Aave, MakerDAO ENS and Unstoppable Domains. The company said it is constantly on the lookout for more DApps to partner with.

In addition, you can interact with any smart contract on Ethereum. MEW also has affiliate relationships with a number of hardware wallets including Ledger and Trezor, among others.  

Phantom Wallet

Phantom may have started as a Solana wallet, but it has since branched out to add support for Ethereum and Polygon networks as well. With Phantom, you can:

• Manage your crypto and NFTs
• Stake Solana
• Swap tokens
• Access DeFi applications

With integrated MoonPay and Coinbase Pay, users can purchase or transfer ETH, MATIC and SOL directly from their wallet. You can also connect your Ledger Nano hardware wallet with Phantom. However, this feature is only available on Chrome, Brave and Microsoft Edge web browsers.

Our full Phantom Wallet review covers this and much more!

Best Wallets for Ethereum NFTs

When it comes to NFTs, Ethereum is the uncontested king. According to CoinGecko, the blockchain had a market share of 84.0% and a trading volume of $840 million in June 2023. This underscores the importance of having a dedicated wallet for Ethereum NFTs.

Here are our top 5 Ethereum wallets for NFTs!

• MetaMask: It's impossible to talk about crypto wallets and not include MetaMask in the discussion. The MetaMask wallet helps you easily manage, store and transfer your NFTs. For budding blockchain developers out there, the wallet is easy to interact with when building smart contracts for NFTs.
• Trust Wallet: Trust Wallet provides an easy way to store and access all your crypto collectables. It boasts a user-friendly mobile app, you can buy and sell NFTs directly on several marketplaces, and you can easily access DApps to stake your NFTs.
• Ledger: This is a hardware wallet that lets you automatically display your Ethereum blockchain-based NFTs on the Ledger Live mobile app. The company's NFT partners include Rainbow me and Poap, with Rarible coming soon.
• Zengo: A self-custodial crypto wallet with no seed phrase vulnerability, Zengo has over 9000,000 users. Zengo’s NFT wallet app lets you view your NFT collection without leaving the app, and it supports both Ethereum and Polygon. Using WalletConnnect, you can purchase, sell and trade NFTs.
• Enjin: This mobile wallet provides an end-to-end solution needed to launch NFT projects. It lets you create, distribute, and integrate NFTs via a simple interface. It has been installed by over 2.3 million users.

Best Ethereum Wallets for DeFi

Ethereum's DApps landscape is diverse, running the gamut from decentralized exchanges to gaming platforms. But the top-10 DApps on Ethereum are mostly DeFi, which serves as an alternative to the current financial system.

If you're in the market for a long-term solution, Trezor, BC Vault, Ledger and ELLIPAL would be good choices as they're hardware wallets, resulting in a higher level of security than software wallets. These wallets securely keep your private keys in cold storage, meaning they are not connected to the internet. So, if you aren't looking to cash out on that crypto nest egg anytime soon, this would be the way to go.

With regards to DeFi specifically, MetaMask is an accessible entry point to connect to the world of DeFi. It lets you swap crypto, utilizing data from decentralized exchanges and market makers to ensure you get the best prices. Looking to earn yield on your crypto? MetaMask lets you stake ETH and MATIC.

If convenience is your thing, Wallet Connect's integration with Trust Wallet and other wallets brings a host of quality-of-life improvements for DeFi. You can subscribe to push notifications directly from your favourite DApps.

Ethereum Staking Support

There aren't a whole lot of wallets offering Ethereum staking support. That said, MyEtherWallet opened support for ETH staking, offering:

• Full validator staking of 32 ETH is supported via Staked.us
• Liquid staking through StakeWise and Lido

In addition, Exodus also allows you to connect to Lido with Exodus Web3 wallet or its mobile app to stake ETH. Another wallet offering Ethereum staking support is MetaMask, which lets you stake ETH via Lido and Rocket Pool.

Best Ethereum Wallets: Closing Thoughts

Choosing the right Ethereum wallet can make a difference in the limitations and functionalities available to the user. The best wallets combine security, ease of use, developer support, and a good reputation to offer a well-rounded product. However, with regards to Ethereum specifically, you may wanna be on the lookout for wallets that also provide additional features like DApp and DeFi capabilities, NFT support, and even Ethereum staking.