Bitcoin Forum

If there's electrum for bitcoin as a cold wallet. What cold wallet would you guys recommend for hodling altcoins in the long run?

Electrum is not a cold wallet unless you use it on an airgapped device.

The wallet that I have used for altcoins which is open source is Unstoppable. You can use it on an airgapped device and have its watch-only wallet on an online device for transactions. The problem is that it is not supporting some altcoins.

Or you can buy a hardware wallet like Trezor.

I would highly appreciate if you're going to drop the link here for the "unstoppable" wallet and where can I buy a legit trezor wallet. I'm planning to diversify my portfolio since it's still a good time to bag some alts.

My first thought was I'm gonna hodl it on a certain exchange but it's still better if I hodl my own keys for better assurance, can't risk it nowadays, especially the SEC here in our country is very shitty.

For Unstoppable wallet: https://unstoppable.money/
You can buy Trezor directly from Trezor official website: https://trezor.io/

Yes, it is not worth it if you are not trading.

Sorry to draw your attention towards this wallet, unstoppable.money, this is my first of hearing this otherwise what I uses is trustwallet for altcoin or MEW at least I can import the private keys on any wallet app and perform transactions without having any issues, although I often put it on watch list, like when I create an address on MEW i will insert it on trustwallet as only watch, to monitor transactions and check token/coin that are increasing in price.

I prefer Unstoppable because it is an open source wallet. But what I do not like about it is that it is only available on mobile device. Trust wallet is completely close source. Some developers argued that Metamask may be able to control their users keys and addresses probably because it is a web wallet and the keys are stored somewhere online. I can not recommend both wallet.

I use trust wallet in holding my altcoins, it's not an open source wallet but since I started using the wallet, I have not experienced any issue with it and I don't allow the app to stay on my phone for security purpose, after creating the address, I back up my private keys and delete the app. When I buy any altcoins, I send it to the address and view the wallet on balance on block chain.

I see! Thank you for the break down, meaning I shouldn't be using MEW or trustwallet anymore?
For long now have been that two wallet but I found no problems using them, maybe could it be as results that I didn't have enough coin/token inside that is why I am not being targeted for hack or scam?
Sure, for long never had anyone talking about MEW, instead trustwallet is mostly valued and if not that you said they are all close source meaning  its a redflag?

We are beginning to deviate from the topic, the ops is asking for best cold wallet, and not wallet in that categories of trust Wallet, MEW and the rest of what have you, Trezo is fine enough, unless if you looking to store some altcoins also on the wallet.


Trust Wallet is the worst off for me since you can get your coins like USDT frozen on that wallet so for me it not secured and shouldn't be encouraged to be used for large storage.

There are more than one available wallet softwares for storing your bitcoins and Electrum is one of wallets.

There are wallets that allow users to store multiple cryptocurrencies, not only bitcoin and hardware wallets provide cold storage for you. They are also multiple cryptocurrency wallets too.

[LIST] Open Source Hardware Wallets (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288971.0)
[GUIDE] How to buy a Hardware Wallet the right way (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288201.0)

You must now which wallets are good to use, and how to buy a wallet rightly as well as backup your wallet properly too.
How to back up a seed phrase ? (https://blog.lopp.net/how-to-back-up-a-seed-phrase/)

Well I did not know of this cold storage wallet called Unstoppable. I do like it because it is open-sourced, non-custodial, and it does get audited.
But for me I do like a cold storage hardware wallet. And the 1 I do like to use the most is Trezor Safe 3.
https://trezor.io/trezor-safe-3

OP, Trezor would be my first suggestion and I'm not talking about the newer models. I'm talking about the FIRST and OLDEST model, the Trezor One.

Why?

Because its firmware is fully open source. I believe that the newer models have their firmware partially closed source. But do your own diligence and VERIFY.

What I meant is that the wallets are not recommended.

Being close source only means the developers can create a backdoor that users do not know about, unlike open source wallets that the public or other developers know their code.

Yes, being close source is a red flag.

Any advice you receive, don't trust, let's verify it with other sources like this tool.
https://walletscrutiny.com/

A bad wallet is custodial, and close-source which is not recommended. You can use that website for checking reproducibility of a wallet. Type the wallet brand name and check its review.

Trust wallet https://walletscrutiny.com/?platform=allPlatforms&page=0&query-string=trust
MEW (I believe you implied My Ether Wallet)  https://walletscrutiny.com/?platform=allPlatforms&page=0&query-string=MyEtherWallet

Good link, forgot about this for a while. I think people need to do this more often. Cold wallets that are closed source, I just can't bring myself to trust.

But another important advice I think is people really need to test 1 or 2 cold wallets. You know if you're keeping a few hundred dollars of altcoins, and the cold wallet or cold technique is soooo hard to use, I think people are oversecuritizing.

Nothing wrong to keep even a simple wallet on a cold device to start with.

I’m using Trezor the first version to hold my altcoins but in terms of convenience I preferred ledger because they offer much user friendly UI on their ledger live app.

What I just don’t like about ledger is their recent recovery feature which means they have access to our hardware wallet.

Planning to upgrade mine to the latest version of Trezor this upcoming December.

Ledger is user-friendly, but they already had so many vulnerabilities in the past, exploits, and any attacks.
It also does not have open-source code, so we don't know whether the program itself is vulnerable to attacks or not.
If I remember correctly, they do have a cloud backup, and seed phrase generation is compromised due to autocorrect, which is connected to Google.

So, if you are going to hold a large amount of coins, I don't recommend using Ledger. Trezor is much safer than this.

I have both the Trezor and the Ledger hardware wallets, but because Pmalek firmly emphasized that Ledger's firmware is not open source, and that we would never know if their hardware wallets are actually safe until they show their firmware's code to the world, he said Ledger users are taking a massive risk.

My Ledger is still brand new/never used since November 30, 2024. I said I'll use it for small amounts of Bitcoin, but I never did.

 https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/6yxkca3aae7.jpeg

Ledger wallet is not open source and it has bad history of data breaches too. Trezor is a recommended wallet as it is open source.
[LIST] Open Source Hardware Wallets. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288971.0)

Ledger wallet also had its drama with Ledger Recover service launched years ago.
https://www.ledger.com/recover
Ledger Recovery - Send your (encrypted) recovery phrase to 3rd parties entities. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5452900)
Ledger Recover: What The Hell is Happening? With aantonop and lopp. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9scIevuymZM) Both Andreas Antonopoulos and Jameson Lopp did not support Ledger Recover product.

I still have a small selection of altcoins that I felt were worth keeping and stablecoins on my Ledger. I felt like it's better to move my bitcoin to other hardware wallets but I am ok to keep my alts on Ledger. The alternative coins I have are supported by my Trezor as well, but I have the Bitcoin-only firmware installed on it and want to keep it that way. Centralized stablecoins can be frozen by their issuers anyways, regardless of how and where you keep the keys.

Do you mean a hot wallet instead ? If yes, you can opt for Exodus which is a closed source wallet but fine for short term.
If you mean cold wallet only then I would suggest using a hardware wallet instead. You can opt for Trezor in that case.

Personally, I use both Trezor and Ledger. I have both altcoins in there, and I just HODL them and no problems yet. A hardware wallet is a worthwhile investment to ensure your assets are protected.

You can do swaps in their apps and it's quite convenient if you need to liquidate some of it.

BUT, like I posted before, although I might be wrong - Trezor's newer models have firmware that are merely partially open sourced. That means that you should "partially" trust their developers that they're honest.

The only model, that I believe is open source, although I might be wrong, is the Trezor One. Do your own diligence and buy the hardware wallet that you would truly use to avoid wasting money.

Of course I wouldn't be that naive to start trusting whatever that is being posted over here, and sincerely I must first carry out my investigation to check their review and how often and frequent people has used them, most times people who faces difficulties do give out their review on their experiences on those wallets.
Thank you for the site.

A lot of altcoin wallets could be recommended based on different criteria and again user preferences, examples include;

1. Ledger Nano X

Why it stands out:  it's widely recommended as the best overall hardware wallet, due to the fact that it supports Bluetooth , an approved Secure Element (CC EAL5+), and compatibility with over 5,500 assets, which includes altcoins and NFTs.does that through Ledger Live app. It's best for those who seek good security and user friendly operations

Shortcoming: Bluetooth may bring about a theoretical risk, albeit limited.


2. Trezor Model T (also Trezor Safe 5)

It's Fully open-source firmware, a touchscreen interface, Shamir backup support, and transparent security framework. It's also good for security conscious and users that appreciate technicality.

Drawback: it's expensive than most other models plus no wireless features.

3. ELLIPAL Titan 2.0

It's fully air-gapped having no USB, Bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi. But operates with QR codes for transactions and works with over 10,000 cryptocurrencies. The network is not exposed, plus the security is secure.

Drawback: less convenient as a result of the QR-based process.


4. NGRAVE ZERO

It's also Air-gapped with an EAL7+ secure chip (a higher security rating than most hardware wallets) and works with about 5,000  different coins.its highly recommended due to Maximum security features provided for high-value portfolios.

Drawback: it's likely one of the most expensive and priced to be around $398.


5. SafePal S1 / X1

It's interesting because it is not expensive, air-gapped (QR code), supports DeFi, NFTs, plus a hundred of blockchains. It's cheap and also needed for users who also want mobile/DeFi integrations

Drawback: The source is closed plus some members of the community don't trust it completely.


6. Tangem Wallet (smartcard)

It's Supports 14,000+ assets with EAL6+ security and is nice for users who like simple interphase and its portable

Drawback: Lacks visibility of private keys; risk if the company or app becomes unavailable.


7. Cypherock X1 / Keystone 3 Pro / Ledger Stax

Cypherock X1: It support over  9,000+ coins.

Keystone 3 Pro: Offers triple secure chips with air-gapped via QR codes.

Ledger Stax: it has touchscreen with curved E Ink display, Bluetooth, Qi charging.


PUBLIC INSIGHTS

From a Reddit user familiar with Ledger Nano X:

> “The Ledger Nano X remains the gold standard for cryptocurrency storage in 2025... Certified secure element chip (EAL5+), Bluetooth capability for mobile management, support for 5,500+ cryptocurrencies, robust companion app (Ledger Live).”

Another user commented about SafePal S1:

> It's cheap, easy to use, air-gapped, supports altcoins… Cons: closed source.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

Best overall balance: Ledger Nano X is preferred for its breadth of asset support, security, ease of use, and mobile compatibility.

Ultimate security: Choose ELLIPAL Titan 2.0 or NGRAVE ZERO for air-gapped protections.

Open source advocate: Trezor Model T provides transparency and oversees.

Best value: SafePal S1 offers solid functionality at a price-friendly level—just weigh the trust considerations.

Portability & simplicity: The Tangem Wallet stands out for its innovative card-like design.


Final Thoughts

Also the “best” depends on your priorities:

>Want flexibility and peace of mind? Go Ledger.

>Prioritize trust and visibility? Try Trezor.

>Security above all else? Look into air-gapped options like ELLIPAL or NGRAVE.

>On a budget? SafePal could be a practical pick.

>Love simplicity on the go? Tangem delivers.

Yes, it's better because it will all depend on personal use, whether it's convenient to use an open-source wallet or a closed-source wallet.

Then see how the feedback and recommendations from people who have used it are.
Ledger and Trezor are the top hardware wallets right now and have a lot of users,
but I've been using Safepal S1 since it was first released as my first hardware wallet, and I'm pretty satisfied with its security until now.

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2025/09/09/UnK0MP.jpeg