Best open source hardware wallets for BTC?

[Abiky]

Does anyone know of any good hardware wallets that are open source? I've been using a Ledger Nano for years but not being open source is a deal breaker for me. With the Ledger Recover feature meant to help restore people's private keys/seeds by complying with KYC, the hardware wallet could be compromised as we know it. If it's not open source, it cannot be trusted.

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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[Charles-Tim]

You can see the list of open source hardware wallet here: Open source hardware wallet

I will recommend passport.

Some people also recommend Keystone.

I would have recommended Trezor but the recent coinjoin with the help of Wasabi makes coinjoin to be censored and no privacy anymore as the transactions are monitored by Chainanlysis.

As for Ledger Nano wallet, it has been on of the worst wallets that I can not recommend anyone. I do not recommend the wallet before because they were careless with customers data and also the secure element in all their wallets are all close source.

[Nwada001]

Well, in search of the best hardware wallet to use since ledger has broken their users trust, try using either a desktop or mobile Electrum wallet for the main time and move all your funds from that of ledger to your newly acquired Bitcoin wallet. Before it becomes too late, when the ledge is either hit with a security bridge or any funny news from the SEC,

[Charles-Tim]

Well, in search of the best hardware wallet to use since ledger has broken their users trust, try using either a desktop or mobile Electrum wallet for the main time and move all your funds from that of ledger to your newly acquired Bitcoin wallet. Before it becomes too late, when the ledge is either hit with a security bridge or any funny news from the SEC,

There is nothing to late. Going for online wallet is not a good idea. He can just wait and buy new better hardware wallet instead before dumping the no privacy and no full control Ledger wallet.

If in haste, there are options he can go for if he has good knowledge about bitcoin wallet. Going for other cold wallets like paper wallet or wallet on airgapped devices is better.

[BitMaxz]

That's the bad part of using Ledger Nano they don't have open-source code for their hardware wallets and we do not know what's behind the program of their device.

Why not use Trezor instead which is open-source I do not know if it's the best one but Trezor is already a popular wallet that supports multiple cryptocurrencies.

Or if you just want to store Bitcoin only then a Cold card might be optional.

[leonair]

Does anyone know of any good hardware wallets that are open source? I've been using a Ledger Nano for years but not being open source is a deal breaker for me. With the Ledger Recover feature meant to help restore people's private keys/seeds by complying with KYC, the hardware wallet could be compromised as we know it. If it's not open source, it cannot be trusted.

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Ledger is a good hardware wallet.  But if you are looking for another open source hardware wallet and want to switch there then you can choose Trezor as we know it as a good hardware wallet. Charles-Tim has already linked a list here that lists several open source wallets. You can choose your preferred wallet from there but as per my personal advice I think it would be better to use Trezor. I have nothing more to say than that

[Upgrade00]

Ledger is a good hardware wallet.

But it's not. With the whole obscurity about how they encryp your seedphrase to be able to recover your private keys should you get a new ledger device, it's best to go for the better, more transparent alternatives.

This is also not the first time ledger wallet has come under scrutiny, there have bee data breaches in the past that exposed its users to personalized scams. They also did not reveal the hack early enough but waited about a month before reporting on the hack, not giving their users a heads up to change their personal details on other platforms.

[Abiky]

You can see the list of open source hardware wallet here: Open source hardware wallet

I will recommend passport.

Some people also recommend Keystone.

I would have recommended Trezor but the recent coinjoin with the help of Wasabi makes coinjoin to be censored and no privacy anymore as the transactions are monitored by Chainanlysis.

As for Ledger Nano wallet, it has been on of the worst wallets that I can not recommend anyone. I do not recommend the wallet before because they were careless with customers data and also the secure element in all their wallets are all close source.

Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. This is just what I've needed. You can never trust a company (Ledger) that could easily side with the government for unknown reasons. The private key/seed recovery service tells us the company is already compromised. Why not educate people on how to protect their keys instead? It goes against their claims that they cannot access or know your keys.

The hardware wallet is closed source (AFAIK) so there's no way to know how your keys are stored/encrypted on the device. I really hope open source alternatives win for the good of the crypto/Blockchain industry. Who knows if Ledger is bound to die soon? Just my opinion

[LSDadventure]

The hardware wallet is closed source (AFAIK) so there's no way to know how your keys are stored/encrypted on the device. I really hope open source alternatives win for the good of the crypto/Blockchain industry.

Who need a closed source hardware wallet?

I can use an open source non custodial wallet like Electrum wallet, and set up a multisig wallet with Electrum or a cold wallet with Electrum. It is safer than using a closed source hardware wallet.

Who knows if Ledger is bound to die soon? Just my opinion

They are losing customers. Closed source, and their Ledger Recovery Service broke basics of a good wallet.

[Z390]

The hardware wallet is closed source (AFAIK) so there's no way to know how your keys are stored/encrypted on the device. I really hope open source alternatives win for the good of the crypto/Blockchain industry.

Who need a closed source hardware wallet?

I can use an open source non custodial wallet like Electrum wallet, and set up a multisig wallet with Electrum or a cold wallet with Electrum. It is safer than using a closed source hardware wallet.

Who knows if Ledger is bound to die soon? Just my opinion

They are losing customers. Closed source, and their Ledger Recovery Service broke basics of a good wallet.

You are speaking fact here but do you know that the Electrum wallet stays online most times because you are running on your smartphone with a 24/7 internet connection? This is where hardware wallets beat got wallets, staying offline is what hardware is good at and this makes them the best type of crypto wallet, but Electrum as a open source wallet is better than hardware wallets that are closed source, your point is valid.

[Stalker22]

You are speaking fact here but do you know that the Electrum wallet stays online most times because you are running on your smartphone with a 24/7 internet connection? This is where hardware wallets beat got wallets, staying offline is what hardware is good at and this makes them the best type of crypto wallet, but Electrum as a open source wallet is better than hardware wallets that are closed source, your point is valid.

I did not see anyone talking about the Electrum mobile app for smartphones.

Electrum mobile is great if you want to make frequent transactions or payments, but if safety is your primary concern I recommend using Electrum on an offline computer. If you need to make transactions, you can always use Electrum on a smartphone or online computer in watch-only mode.

I am not saying you should not use a good open-source hardware wallet, but if one is too expensive for your budget there are other options that can be almost as secure (if not more so).

[joniboini]

They are losing customers. Closed source, and their Ledger Recovery Service broke basics of a good wallet.

I heard they plan to make more of their code open-source in the future. I guess that's inevitable unless they want to go out of business after their last recovery fiasco. Kinda weird that it needs to go this far before they even consider asking themselves whether they are doing a smart thing or not.

You are speaking fact here but do you know that the Electrum wallet stays online most times because you are running on your smartphone with a 24/7 internet connection?

I believe he refers to using Electrum with a cold storage setup., not a phone/a hot wallet. You can also force yourself to use a phone and never turn on the internet I guess, but why not use other devices at that point? Anyone who uses their phone to manage their crypto should realize the risk in the first place. CMIIW.

[Gladitorcomeback]

Does anyone know of any good hardware wallets that are open source?

I didn't used open source hardware hardware wallet yet and those who already used these wallets can give better answer. I am using safepal hardware wallet because i am holding new Altcoins chains also and Safepal is suitable for me but this wallet is not open sourced and also multi coins hardware wallet is not best option to store btc.

However i searched on google and found that trezor and keystone are recommended by many users.  Trezor are most demanded wallet and i saw many users are reviewing positive about this wallet. ledger nano are now changing and it's becoming more centralized which is against the reason users want to choose hardware wallet


I asked ChatGpt about best open source btc hardware wallet and here is answer

As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, there are several open-source hardware wallets available for storing Bitcoin (BTC). However, it's important to note that the landscape of hardware wallets can change over time, so it's recommended to conduct your own research and verify the latest information before making a decision.

One popular open-source hardware wallet for Bitcoin is the Trezor Model T. Trezor is a well-established brand known for its security features and user-friendly interface. The Trezor Model T supports multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, and offers features like a touch screen, passphrase encryption, and a secure recovery process.

Another option is the Coldcard Wallet, developed by Coinkite. It is designed specifically for Bitcoin and offers advanced security features such as multi-signature support, hardware-based entropy, and air-gapped signing. The Coldcard Wallet is open source, and its firmware is available on GitHub, allowing the community to verify and audit the code.

While these are popular choices, it's essential to consider your own requirements, security preferences, and any additional features you may need before selecting a hardware wallet. Additionally, it's always a good practice to check for the latest information and reviews to ensure you make an informed decision based on the most up-to-date knowledge available.

[Jason Brendon]

Trezor, paper wallet, i love paper wallet. When needed, use Electrum to spend from the paper wallet.

[Abiky]

Who need a closed source hardware wallet?

I can use an open source non custodial wallet like Electrum wallet, and set up a multisig wallet with Electrum or a cold wallet with Electrum. It is safer than using a closed source hardware wallet.

Electrum is nice. But it's not as convenient as a hardware wallet per se. Since it's a software wallet, you can risk losing your BTC if the hacker gets access to your device. With a hardware wallet, they'd need to get physical access to the wallet and enter a PIN to steal all of your coins. Electrum allows you to create a cold storage wallet, but I'd certainly won't be using that to make day-to-day payments with BTC. That's why I prefer hardware wallets, even though some are expensive.

The list of open source hardware wallets seems to be growing each day, so only time will tell us if Ledger will become history. Bitcoin is all about self-custody, so who needs to trust a company for securing your keys?

[ImThour]

I would let you go through this link and choose your own wallet for Bitcoin: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
It will make you go through some steps and you will be educated enough to select the wallet which is best for you.

Some people mentioned Electrum, it's a software wallet and not a real hardware wallet.

[mendace]

I can advise you to seriously consider Blockstream's Jade hardware wallet as it has all the code clearly visible on Github and a very low cost of around $70 or so.  And that's not all, you can also compile this wallet on an esp32 card such as the lygo or stick c plus and reduce costs to just a few tens of dollars.  Furthermore, I had already talked about this choice in the thread opened a few weeks ago. 
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5450647.msg62169741#msg62169741

While if you ask me which is the best software, my choice falls on Electrum.

[jossiel]

Ledger is a good hardware wallet. 

It used to be. I still have it and I have a choice to find another one and these concerns really are valid. Although the recover feature is an opt-in, we don't like it to be like that.

I can advise you to seriously consider Blockstream's Jade hardware wallet as it has all the code clearly visible on Github and a very low cost of around $70 or so. 

I'm torn between this and Trezor. I am using their blockstream green wallet software and also saw their other product which is the hardware wallet. But I think, there's more confidence in the usage of Trezor as it's the other hardware wallet that's next or now over than the Ledger hardware wallets.

While if you ask me which is the best software, my choice falls on Electrum.

Yeah, it's an open source and one of the best wallets but it's not a hardware wallet.

[ilovealtcoins]

Some are using trezor and they say it is open source and cheaper than Ledger. In my opinion, I don't think anything is 100% secure, and Ledger is an example. We trusted them for years until they announced their damn service. The best way is that you divide your assets into parts and store them in different wallets, I think only then will our assets be more secure.

[joniboini]

Since it's a software wallet, you can risk losing your BTC if the hacker gets access to your device. With a hardware wallet, they'd need to get physical access to the wallet and enter a PIN to steal all of your coins. Electrum allows you to create a cold storage wallet, but I'd certainly won't be using that to make day-to-day payments with BTC. That's why I prefer hardware wallets, even though some are expensive.

I believe you can also install Electrum on a live USB if you don't want to expose your wallet continuously to the internet. For example, buying a mini-PC dedicated to running a live USB with Electrum, or just an air-gapped device in general.

Some are using trezor and they say it is open source and cheaper than Ledger. In my opinion, I don't think anything is 100% secure, and Ledger is an example. We trusted them for years until they announced their damn service. The best way is that you divide your assets into parts and store them in different wallets, I think only then will our assets be more secure.

I don't think they expect Trezor or other open-source hardware wallets to be immune from exploits or bugs in the first place. However, it is certainly better compared to using Ledger after their latest fiasco. You can simply build your own device and verify the firmware/etc since it is open source. Using multiple wallets increases the burden of making backups. Sure you can do it, but if you use closed-source software then I don't see it as a significantly better option. CMIIW.