Bitcoin Forum

"Not your keys, not your coins" is what we would say. Take your bitcoins off exchanges so you can sleep peacefully at night. I know about software wallets like Electrum, but this is not about them; it's about hardware wallets, assuming they are my preference.

Does the price(how much it costs) of a Bitcoin hardware wallet determine how secure your bitcoins will be when you use them? Or, rather, as the main factor of being opened source, does the price to determine the security of my bitcoins when using a hardware wallet?

Not really, all the famous Bitcoin Hardware Wallets are safe to use, if it wasn't they wouldn't been selling them at any point. Open source hardware wallet is preferred as it allows users to find vulnerabilities and report it as soon as possible. In short, the cost of your bitcoin hardware wallet is not related to the security of your Bitcoins. It's personal preference in the end.

The cost does not matter, the reputation is what that is important. But hardware wallet are expensive. If you have large amount of bitcoin to hold, getting one is good.

It is good to use the open source hardware wallet, everything about bitcoin should be trustless and verifiable.

No, although personally i would be more cautious with hardware wallet which has extremely low price ($5 or less).


Also no. And while i find open source software or device usually more secure, don't automatically assume open source hardware wallet is secure.

It’s all about reputation of the hardware wallets but as we all know the higher they go in demand the more expensive they become, so most of the time the open source hardware wallets and reputable ones are expensive. But in terms of security I still think it is down to how you use them. All the reputable hardware wallets might almost immune to hack but once your maintenance culture or usage is kind of careless no kind  of hardware wallets you use that will stop you from getting your funds comprised.

So just get the reputable ones suggested by the forum that matches your price target and then exercise good maintenance culture

Not always true but it's true and you can not deny that a cost of a product, item is decided mainly by its quality and functionality. However this statement can be not correct with new products, new brands or old brands but with new upgrades like Ledger wallet with Ledger Recovery Service. It is not correct when people are FOMO with a new brand, new products.

Being open source, being old enough to be tested, reviewed by community, developers and users, being tested by hackers are important for quality and security of a wallet.

If a product is bad or an upgrade is bad, that brand will lose its value in the community and price will fall.

JUST don't buy used (second hand) hardware wallets from any brand. It is bad security.

The cost of a Bitcoin hardware wallet should not be used as a yardstick in judging how secured a wallet is. The fact that hardware wallet A is more expensive than hardware wallet B doesn't make wallet A more secured than wallet B. Whoever that has been harbouring such misconception should delete it. The most important factor that can be used to determine the security of a hardware wallet is the openness. An open source hardware wallet is more secured because if there is a bug in the code, there's a greater tendency of it being found and corrected on time before a hacker uses it to create havoc because there are lots of eyes looking into the source code.

Base on series of past stories that I have heard, I will gladly say that the price of a hardware wallet does not determined the security of a hardware Bitcoin wallet,  but the reputation of that wallet, online reviews and what a large population of people are saying about that exact same wallet you intend to buy, and also, where you buy a wallet from greatly determines how secure or less secure it could be, because I have heard series of complaint about people both on & off this forum who bought these "Hardware" wallets from a third-party website such as Amazon and got their funds stolen through hacking. Which is why its good that people buy these wallets from the official website of the company itself e.g Trezor or Nano-x Bitcoin hardware wallet.

Moreover, other features to look out for when trying to buy a hardware wallets include the; security features (which I just explained), Supported cryptcurrencies, compatibility, Backup and recovery options and last but not the least, buying from it's official website.

Just as a cheaper smartphone can work better than one at twice the price or you can survive in a 5k car while the other guy ends up dead there is really no specific rule that the price guarantees something.  A wallet can cost more if it offers more features but those features don't mean security as much as accessibility, a wallet with more altcoins supported won't matter for somebody who only owns BTC and the thing can go on and on!
Of course, a wallet costing more might mean the team has spent more time testing, better materials, and better eveythign but that's not a rule, see the $ 1,790 Balenciaga (https://www.balenciaga.com/en-us/trash-bag-large-pouch--white-716897210JA9065.html) trashcan pouch.

That being said, as ETFbitcoin mentioned I would stay away from very cheap wallets and of course, the ones given away for free by no-name manufacturers at conventions or web promos and competitions as there are high chances those have been tampered with and they are just fishing for victims. They can afford to give away a thousand if they manage to trick somebody who has a few BTC on them.

I don't think any hardware wallet company will sell their product at a low price if they have worked hard on it and invested in making user friendly. Of course, development needs investment, and this is where price should vary from wallet to wallet. Also, it does matter when it comes to building quality. Wallet developers had to work on their software and ensure no security issues. If some companies offer way cheaper than the standard price, you could have avoided them. Because to give you the inferior product, they also had to decrease their expense. You don't know where they reduced the costs. It might be on security improvement.

The price of a hardware wallet does not determine its security, the security of your hardware wallet is determined on where it was purchased, who are the manufacturers, community recommendation and your own operational security. You can buy a hardware wallet for either $20 or $70 and yet it has things that can steal your crypto in it, because you bought it in the wrong place.

Don't be tricked into a buying a hardware wallet that you know nothing about because it is cheap, and don't buy any hardware wallet and think it is safe only because it is expensive, do your own research and check everything before buying, that's the only way to be safe.

It also depends on the user in my opinion in using it. It is common for us to hear about this in the discussion room about security.
Hardware is known to be safer as a wallet for storing assets, but if we can take good care of it, using software like Electrum can work too.
Usually the price level is also related to quality.

This thing kindly categorize with the Supply and demand the number of demand it is the shortage the supply so the price gets expensive additional on it is the scalpers or the hoarders when they see the potential of this to get a good additional profit in getting a lot of if so they grab the opportunity, this thing happens before the Axie infinity supports the use of the hardware wallet Trezor and that time tons of players want to have this because its one of the issue is the hacking of the wallets so the number of request for their product is in demand. In the end its a win win situation to you if you have this make sure its your coins because you have the private keys.

It's far beyond that; to some extent, we all believe things that are considered original are always more expensive than those thatare not up to their standard.

To me, price doesn't really matter; what matters is the wallet's features and its security measures. If the hardware wallet is open source and it's been verified that there is no vulnerability detected that could be used to hack the wallet, nothing like data backing up to the wallet developer's database, then to me, it's all good.

The rest of the security is now based on how you handle the wallet; that is what will make your security stronger. The top security is now left for the user of the wallet; if the person is careless with the wallet, then even the most expensive wallet funds can still be stolen from it. But if our backup phrase can be stored and protected effectively, and the hardware wallet is also not connected to any infected device, then everything will be considered safe to some extent.

I believe that the cost of a hardware wallet is determined by its popularity. We are all aware that when demand is high and supply is limited, the price of a product rises. So my response to the Ops question is "it depends." By the way, hardware wallets are far better to software wallets since software wallets, even though being open source, are still vulnerable to viruses or hacker assaults. That is why most cryptocurrency users advocate hardware wallets if you intend to retain a large amount of assets for an extended period of time.

It's not about the price, but it's about the project.

If you worried the hardware wallet might be scam or not trustworthy, you should create your own cold storage using old or cheap PC and use an open source non custodial wallet.

Not really, ledger is one of the most famous hardware wallet aside than Trezor and Ledger recently update about share encrypted recovery phrase to third parties (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5452900.0) which is nothing safe because there's a chance your recovery phrase could be compromised by hacker.

Actually the price of a Bitcoin hardware wallet does not determine the guarantee that your bitcoin assets remain safe from any risk, usually they consider the "open source" factor from leading hardware wallet manufacturers, but there are some other things you should review before using a particular brand of hardware wallet, like the feature of using a secure chip to protect your private keys, strong encryption but maybe not everyone has the ability to analyze wallet security to that extent.

It's simple, you just have to choose a hardware wallet from a leading manufacturer with a trusted reputation based on ratings on the Bitcointalk forum as the largest crypto discussion community will recommend you to choose the right hardware wallet, and still prioritize buying hardware wallets from official stores.

Op this would have been dropped in this Board (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=261.0), for my own understanding, Hardware Wallet price can not determine the security of your bitcoin but even at that you have to buy recommended once so that there will be no hacking stories. Don't buy any one you see in the market but the ones recommended here in the forum. And you can check the ones people are using in the above link or whenever you are ready you can ask here for the best one to acquire.

It seems that all people who give opinions about whether the price determines a hardware wallet security, the answer is no, and I agree on it.
But if indeed about the price it changes with the number of requests from the market, of course, before the number of requests from the market, it will be tested first by the institution/someone who understands in the security of the device's wallet itself.
Previously, the prices of hardware wallets that were available today that have expensive prices, previously did not have prices like now. Basically it has been tested, making people believe and demand increase which makes prices also rise.
Even so I will be very careful with a cheap hardware wallet.

Most times the security of our wallets lays in our hands there are some things we needs to avoid, and secondly the price of the wallet doesn't determines the security of your wallet rather how secure you yourself is because, when your device is being compromised you don't expect your funds to be secure.. You need to take some precaution for you to last long with your wallet.

Wallet is wallet, be it HW or not the security of your wallet definitely comes from our end if you can't control and secure your HW very well then you can still lost your funds. For wallet with keys phrase and private keys are often being controlled by the end user which is you that holds the keys saved in private and secret place where only you have the access to copy or to use it.

Sometimes what we think are original and expensive are mostly easier to have fault and get damaged so in my opinion, if you get a HW and you didn't protects it carefully there is every tendency the entire HW could get stolen and you know what that means to you, this simply shows that your coin are gone.

What I derived mostly from some post over here in this forum, is for you to first secure your wallet that should be your first priority despite having all forms of wallet but if not properly taken care of there are still chances for you to misplace your funds. 

If I should understand you clearly, I would rephrase your words to be, will my coins be more secured if I use a more expensive hardware wallet?

If it depends on the expensive cost of acquiring a hardware wallet to get a guarantee of security, I wouldn't think twice if I can afford irrespective of the cost.
The more cheaper plans or hardware wallet can do good too, if you can remember to always adhere to keeping your keys safe and taking into cognisance other security protocols.

The cost of your bitcoin wallet does give you peace of mind. As we all know popular hardware wallets are often too pricey compared to a unknown or less popular company. It is always the fact that if you want best, you have to pay best.

Some schools of thought will say that Bitcoin's security is determined by the higher the cost, the more secure. I do not agree with the school of thought totally but Before buying a hardware wallet to keep huge amounts in it for a long time transaction, it is very good to check the vulnerability.its good to play safe

The price of a wallet might not determine how secure it will be. It is like assuming that because you bought an expensive car, it is safe from accident or theft. The user of such a wallet has the responsibility of ensuring that he abides by the safety rules of the wallet. It is also possible that the manufacturer of a reliable hardware wallet might be doing promotional or discounted sales which could lead to buying a good wallet at a cheap or discounted price.

It is generally believed that expensive items or reliable manufacturers are the sure ways of identifying a good product but that might not be the case at all times. It is also good to follow up on information about the wallet you use because these wallet developers can come up with an unreliable update or change their terms of service. An example is the new Ledger Recover seed phrase recovery service option by Ledger Wallet.

I respect your opinion in this matter. Price alone does not determine the security of your assets. Security is a multifaceted concept influenced by various factors. While a higher price may indicate the value or perceived value of an asset, it does not guarantee its security. Asset security depends on factors such as the underlying technology, encryption protocols, regulatory compliance, access controls, , and the overall robustness of the system protecting the asset. Additionally, external factors like market conditions, economic stability, geopolitical events, and technological advancements can impact asset security. It is crucial to consider a comprehensive approach that encompasses both the intrinsic qualities of an asset and the broader context in which it operates to assess its security.

I am not sure I would ever buy a $5 hardware wallet, so in a certain way the price plays a role. Anyway if you take a closer look many hardware wallet work in a very similar way, oftentimes some are more expensive than others just because they spend more money in advertisements and marketing, so somehow they need to get that money back, and how do they do that? Increasing the prices of course.

Your operational security would count for nothing if you buy a fake hardware wallet that has a malicious code in it to steal funds once it is deposited, that's because funds would be immediately moved into the scammers address once you deposit into it, so the security of funds starts with the wallet you use or buy. I believe that's why op has asked this question, the price of the hardware wallet may not be a good way to be certain of how secure it is, so it is better to research about the manufacturers and check if it is recommended by the community before using it.

You can secure your coins with a free "Paper wallet" with almost better security, IF you know how to do it securely. (Air-gapped computer) ....so it is not even necessary to buy expensive hardware wallets.

It just depends on your needs and how regularly you use your coins. Hardware wallets are convenient for people who wants to regularly use their coins, with very good security. (Trezor and Ledger are your best bet)  :D

Expensive doesnt necessarily equate to more secure, and we cannot overemphasize this enough. Responsibility, as you correctly pointed out, lies with the user to enforce wallet safety. However, the influence of the manufacturer cannot be discounted. Wallets produced by reliable and reputable manufacturers often come with layers of security that provide a certain level of assurance.

Nevertheless, vigilance must be upheld in every aspect, including software updates and alterations to the terms of service. Ledger' recent seed phrase recovery option, for instance, might require a closer look for potential vulnerabilities.

Bitcoin, being the gold standard of cryptocurrencies, deserves nothing less than the highest security measures. Ensuring the robustness of wallet security, regardless of the price, is integral to sustaining Bitcoin' value and integrity.

The price of the wallet has nothing to do with security, the high cost of hardware wallets does not make bitcoin safer, what is important is trust so people are looking for popular wallets that have a great deal of trust.

It is not important that the wallet be more expensive in order to be more secure, but this is a psychological state in people where they always believe that the most expensive things are the best, but in my opinion this is not necessary.

Take the Ledger wallet, for example. It was the most expensive and favorite of everyone until recently, as everyone thought it was the best, but negative news about privacy and security began to appear, and Ledger's popularity declined.