What is a Hardware Wallet?

A hardware wallet is a dedicated piece of hardware that stores private keys inside an isolated Secure Element chip and signs transactions only after physical confirmation on the device. Leading brands include Ledger (Nano S Plus, Nano X, Stax), Trezor (Model One, Model T, Safe 5), Keystone, GridPlus Lattice, and Coldcard. Operationally: a companion app (Ledger Live, Trezor Suite) sends the unsigned transaction to the device; the device displays the recipient address and amount on its own screen; the user approves with physical buttons. Even a fully compromised host machine cannot exfiltrate the key. The 12- or 24-word seed phrase is generated on first setup, written to paper, and used to recover the wallet on a new device if the original is lost. When choosing hardware, prefer (1) open-source firmware where possible, (2) only authorized resellers to avoid supply-chain tampering, and (3) devices that require user-driven first-time setup — a pre-initialized device is a major warning sign. Bluetooth models (Nano X, Stax) are convenient but introduce BLE attack surface; high-value holders typically prefer cabled-only models.