What are the best wallets for Cardano (ADA)

You can stumble upon many wallets out there. But the ultimate Ada wallet needs to include many significant features that will allow you not just to store, but exchange, trade, and stake coins. Security means the world to serious cryptopreneurs as well! So, if you need to know literally everything about wallets, you’re in the right place. Keep on reading and you’ll get to know:

• the types of wallets
• what makes each type different from another
• what’s the best option for your situation
• pros and cons
• our best pick of wallets

Without further ado, let’s get started!

What is Cardano?

One of Ethereum’s creators, Charles Hoskinson, wanted to address the limitations of this platform. Thus, in 2015 he began elaborating a new one and in 2017 launched a novel network called Cardano. He dubbed it a third-gen platform over Ethereum’s second-gen credentials. Just like Ethereum, this one is also used for smart contracts and aims to form an interdependent and open, public system. Also, the blockchain-based platform is designed to deliver banking services to the unbanked part of the world. 

Growing costs, energy use, slow transactions do not allow Ethereum to shine to its full extent. That’s what Cardano addresses mainly by applying proof-of-stake protocol that enables better scalability, sustainability, and interoperability. 

The good news about the project and the token is that every single development phase is based on research. It also includes peer-estimated insights and evidence-oriented ways to develop the application of the blockchain network and the Ada coin in the future. 

For now, 71.59% of Cardano’s digital currency is staked in 2.626 working pools. The total worth makes up about $31.4 billion.

For your information, Ada took the name of Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and countess from the nineteenth century. He was recognized as a pioneer in programming at a time.

So, now you know that Ada comes from a pretty solid and ambitious project. Will it have success in the long term? Make sure you do your research to find out as well as get to know if it’s a good investment. But if you already own Ada coins, let’s see what makes the best Cardano wallet.

Cardano Hardware Wallets

A hardware wallet is the first type of Ada wallet we’re going to address here. Experts say it’s the most ultimate way to keep the coins secure. These are physical devices that contain your private keys. This makes all the transaction-related processes unhackable as they run on a device itself, not on a PC or mobile device, and are never exposed. 

The thing is all computers and phones might be compromised by hacking or malware. The exchanges are not an exception. Transferring funds to a hardware type is definitely the most secure way ever to keep Ada or any other crypto for the long term. 

Obviously, you have to make an investment to get a hardware wallet. But it’s worth it. You’ll always keep a piece of mind making sure that your digital assets are safe. If you cannot purchase it, reconsider your decision to invest in crypto trading. 

Usually, hardware wallets are super user-friendly. Keep on reading as we will proceed with the Cardano developers’ official software wallets and end with multi-currency ones.

When users turn to this type and in the meantime have it integrated with Daedalus and Yoroi wallets (native Cardano wallets), they can share their public Cardano wallet address issued from the open-access key to get Ada.

But to transfer or stake it, the transaction has to be approved on a physical device where it is validated by pressing buttons or using the touch screen. Thus, exploiting a private key is never divulgated to others. Therefore, hardware wallets are the best possible way to store digital assets safely.

What about Cardano staking? 

We’ll highlight the most well-known wallets for Cardano out there. Meet Daedalus and Yoroi, the best options for Cardano staking. The first one is for desktops, while the second one is for iOS and Android and also comes as a browser extension wallet. 

Also, you can use it to manage the token. Additionally, there’s a huge list of pools you can designate Ada to and their functionality. 

If you’re up to web wallets, then AdaLite is just the thing. At present, many multi currency wallets allow Cardano staking, including the assessed yearly returns.

Where to store Cardano, besides a Cardano hardware wallet?

Before diving deeper into other types, let’s find out what makes an excellent. There are a few core features you should filter through to pick the best option. Here they are:

• the number of currencies available. When surveying options, get to know first if the wallet works with the crypto you’re about to store. In fact, you can find just a few alternatives out there if you’re after a good Ada wallet.
• Team’s responsiveness. When it comes down to financial operations, technical issues happen. And the team’s support means the world at this time. Make sure you’ll get proper assistance. 
• Work in progress. Investigate a bit if the project is not abandoned and the team works on upgrades and releases new solutions and improvements. 
• User-friendly and intuitive interface. An interface should be that easy so that users might use it on the go, when commuting, and so on. It should be easy to understand and manage. 
• Secure and protected. Get to know what happens with your private keys, if there is a 2-factor verification and a backup option. What other security options are there?

How to store Ada coin safely? Have a look at the following tips:

• Offline is the best option ever. It removes any hacking threats from the equation, which makes it way secure than any other wallet type. It especially makes sense if your holdings are significant and you want to make sure that nothing threatens their safety.
• Find out if security features prevail. Does the wallet has a 2-factor authentication? Does it have encryption or some other extra security feature? Are there security protocols? 
• Backup is a must here. This should be regularly updated and allows you to check out holdings whenever you want.
• Warning! Scam wallets! Investigate if the wallet you stumbled upon does not belong to a scam one. There have been recently a lot of scam ones! Thus, check closely with a provider.

Now, let’s address other types of wallets.

Cardano Desktop Wallet

Typically, it’s software installable and usable on a PC. Free of charge. This type belongs to the hot wallets group. What does it mean? You cannot access them without the Internet. These are mobile apps, exchanges, browser-based wallets. Besides, most of them simply represent graphically Cardano cold storage, meaning it simply shows what you hold in your actual cold wallet. 

Also, the desktop type is super convenient. You can keep track of crypto assets, send or transfer them, or participate in trading and staking. Also, you can appreciate other features like security adjustments, proper conversions, etc. 

However, there are certain things you should factor in when picking this type. First of all, you might face security issues. Such wallets can be compromised by hackers. Second, as the industry is becoming mainstream, a lot of scammers and fake products come up. That’s why when selecting the best wallet for Cardano, check for solid security features. 

Last but not least, make sure the software is constantly updated. Crypto wallets with customer support work better and apply safety protocols that will protect your holdings against cyber attacks. 

Cardano Mobile Wallet

There’s no big difference here from a Cardano desktop wallet. Mobile wallets are made for iOS and Android devices. They allow transferring or receiving Ada through QR codes. Thus, you’ll need a QP Code scanner. Scanners generate and scan QRs for token transfers. 

Mobile type allows trading and depositing funds from credit or debit cards. Some of them function by the principle of scalping and frequency trading to protect assets and data. As for security, many apply encryption to prevent DDOS attacks. Besides, you can always check for real-time balance and transactions logs. 

Cardano Web Wallet

If you’re surveying where to store Ada coin and stop on this type, think twice. It’s the least secure option because it is browser-based. There’s no need to download or set up something. Some wallets are hybrid, meaning they are all – desktop, mobile, browser, wallet. 

We’ve already mentioned Adalite. It was created by Cardano partners and is not that safe as Daedalus. Yet, it is compatible and enables the integration with many hardware wallets. Cardano staking is possible here as well. 

Cardano Exchange Wallet

When purchasing the token on an exchange, they offer you an exchange account and a hot wallet connected to it to store your holdings. This way, you can check quickly them or even place an order immediately. 

Another side of it is that these wallets belong to exchanges, not to you. Thus, holdings cannot be that protected as they are in offline wallets. Besides, hacking attacks and theft within the exchange are more possible here. 

So, if storing your digital assets safely for a significant period of time is your priority, it’s highly preferable to dislocate them away from an exchange to a reliable wallet.

What’s Cardano Paper Wallet?

This type is an offline option for storing coins. There’s no real-life representation of them. As previously mentioned, hot wallets are connected to the Web and usually come as programs that are used to keep digital assets. They allow streamlining updates within a blockchain ledger, especially when it’s about transactions’ quality. 

Paper ones are way different. First of all, they do not work with the Internet, which makes them strongly secure. However, many cryptopreneurs are convinced that the possibility of the wallet being lost, misread, or damaged outweighs the advantages of solid security.

And yes, they do not store coins physically, but the paper nature of these wallets rather comes down to the way of accessing the holdings. 

The paper type was popular in the early era of BTC. Nowadays, traders look for other options. In a nutshell, it’s a printed piece of paper that carries QR codes and keys. The latter are designed to help crypto transactions. 

Cardano allows users to create paper wallets. For example, they can create a paper wallet offline with the Yoroi Chrome extension. To do this, it’s necessary to install the Cardano extension in a browser. Or, a native Cardano desktop wallet Daedalus suggests generating this type just straight from the app.

Review: Best Cardano Wallets

• Ledger Nano S: this belongs to a hardware group. Users will love its opportunities: 27 coins and more than 1100 cryptos. They can run multiple assets, along with Cardano. It is perfectly compatible with its official wallets. 

The access to a private key suggests a pin code and is shielded with a secure chip. Should it be stolen, there’s a recovery sentence recovering accounts and configuration. You’ll find 2 buttons there, and that’s enough for all the operations. The interface and display screen intuitive are user-friendly. 

A nice fact is that it applies the BOLOS OS built by Ledger. It forms a customized chield around every program on the device and thus protects all sensitive data. All operations are approved inside on a device with a private key that is never exposed. 

• Guarda Wallet: serve as a non-custodial, hybrid wallet. Owners can do anything they want with Ada and with more than forty cryptos. The company does not save personal data or private keys. The good news is that you receive an encrypted backup to retain on the device. You can use it to recover and enter smoothly the wallet from any device connected to the Web. 

It is hybrid (desktop, for smartphones, Chrome extension), and also has a very innovative and user-friendly Web Wallet. Guarda contains a built-in exchange allowing swap coins inside it. The desktop and web versions allow staking the token. 

• Daedalus Wallet (desktop wallet): an authorized wallet by Cardano, with security characteristics, under the great supervision of the development team. It’s just about Ada and no other crypto. 

The wallet is involved directly in the network. Users can run any number of wallets and arrange holdings as they want. Private keys that are protected by advanced cryptography are only known to the owner. An additional layer of protection suggests the attachment of spending passwords and seeds to all the accounts. 

The team claims that in the near future other non-related developers will be able to create new apps for improved functionality. This includes initiating persistent payments or exchanging cryptos.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, there’s no app yet and at present, you can just hold Ada.

• Yoroi Wallet (web light wallet): coming as the Chrome extension, it delivers a simple, quick, and reliable way to keep tabs on holdings. As it’s light, there’s no need to download the whole blockchain to a PC to get transactions immediately. 

You don’t have to pay for this wallet and you can access it openly. It keeps your private key on your PC. The key is protected with encryption and a password. The team claims no one knows it as it’s never shared with the servers or partners. 

A great advantage of it is fast and smooth management of the token, HD wallet created by Emurgo. The downside here is the risks of problems and bugs with novel wallets. The team promises that iOS and Android apps are to be released soon.

• Infinito Wallet (mobile wallet): free of charge, a worldwide mobile wallet for iOS and Android devices. It allows holding the top cryptos existing in the market. In September 2018, it included Ada.

You can access easily your holdings. The interface is super easy to understand (by the way it’s in 12 languages), and the wallet suggests Touch ID support for extra protection. Infinito keeps personal keys on the device, herewith, the keys and passphrase are encrypted. 

Summary

To sum up, here are must-knows about storing Cardano:

• The combo of security and sufficient convenience – hardware group
• Instant access on the move – mobile wallet for insignificant accounts
• To access from a desktop but with app-like user-friendliness, pick the official  Daedalus and Exodus. Daedalus is also good for generating a free paper wallet
• AdaLite – a web type for small accounts of Ada, the most convenient but less safe 
• Paper wallets are super secure but least convenient
• The hardware type is paid, while a paper one is free.

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that the content of this article is not financial or investing advice. The information provided is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as direct recommendations for trading or investment. Any article reader or website visitor should consider multiple viewpoints and become familiar with all local regulations before cryptocurrency investment. We do not make any warranties about reliability and accuracy of this information.