8 Safest, Most-Trusted Ethereum Wallets of 2017

As anyone who is even vaguely aware of the ins and outs of cryptocurrency will tell you, it is of prime importance to make sure that you have sufficient knowledge of the safest, most-trusted Ethereum wallets of 2017.

The cryptocurrency revolution is well and truly underway. Despite its relatively recent launch Ethereum has managed to make quite a mark in the cryptocurrency community and has gained mainstream appeal to the point that many big businesses are already recognizing Ethereum as legitimate. Don’t believe us? You can browse through our list of the 10 Companies and Businesses That Accept Ethereum to find out more about the scale of this new technological shift.

Due to the fact that it has been a little more than a couple of years since the launch of Ethereum, there are only a few options for safe and secure Ethereum wallets in the market. To further compound problems, there are many hackers on the prowl who are always on the lookout for the slightest weakness through which they can deploy attacks and hack wallets. In case you are wondering about best Ethereum wallet android applications, check out what Redditors have to say on the subject. The same goes in case you want to know what’s the best Ethereum wallet for iOS.

Our ranked list is an amalgamation talking to practitioners within the cryptocurrency sphere, opinions of the thought leaders in cryptocurrency fraternity and opinions gathered through social media sites like Reddit and Quora. We have also taken into account reports of the various options in our list being compromised in some form, in articles found on Medium which has led to the disqualification of wallets such as Mist. We also surveyed the latest insider news through articles which reveal the latest news about wallet hacks. You can even subscribe to one such list here to stay up-to-date with the latest news on wallet security. Additionally, we have also added greater variety in our list by allocating two spots for hardware wallets, five spots for online options and 1 for paper wallets. Despite the difficulty associated with reaching a general consensus within a young eco-system where opinions are often greatly divided and hard data is very hard to come by, we have managed to compile the following list of the most safest, most-trusted Ethereum wallets of 2017, based on the general preferences within the online community.

8. MetaMask

MetaMask is a chrome extension that gives users the option to link up to their Ethereum wallet. The big pros are that it is relatively secure, despite it being an online wallet, compared to other options in the market, but some users feel that its user interface is a bit arcane and one needs sufficient knowledge of the technology to make it work smoothly. Users are also quick to complain about the manual control required to execute a few operations.

7. Jaxx

A generally agreed upon rule of thumb within the cryptocurrency space is that wallets that are accessible online, either through a browser or through a mobile wallet, are deemed less safe than the option of a hardware or paper wallet. But despite this caveat, Jaxx is still regarded as one of the safer Ethereum online wallets in the market. They have an accessible-to-all; free-to-audit code and all your keys stay on your server.

6. KeepKey

The great thing about KeepKey, the number 6 on our list of safest, most-trusted Ethereum wallets of 2017, is that it stores Ether offline on a secure electronic chip. It’s a hardware wallet which uses technology that provides users with advanced security against virtual, and of course, physical theft.

5. Exodus

Number 5 on our Ethereum wallet review list is Exodus. Exodus is a software wallet which you can download from their website. It is touted as being safer than most online wallets such as Jaxx. The additional benefit is the incredibly simple user interface which allows even novices to navigate the wallet without requiring a lot of prior knowledge.

4. My Ether Wallet

Another online wallet is My Ether Wallet (MEW). The great thing is that this option is compatible with your hardware wallets, which adds an extra layer of security. It also works with MetaMask as well as with Jaxx which makes it a very versatile wallet. In case you are interested in MyEtherWallet reviews, check out CoinCentral.

And now, let’s see the top three safest, most-trusted Ethereum wallets of 2017.

3. Paper wallet

Despite the plethora of online and hardware options available for storing Ethereum, perhaps it is best to go old-school and store your address in a paper wallet. How this works is that you print out your public and private addresses and store this physical data in safe place, away from prying eyes. This ensures that hackers won’t have access to this data, as it isn’t online. But the loophole is that anyone who gets a hold of this print out will have access to your keys.

2. Trezor

Trezor makes lofty claims of being the “original and most secure hardware wallet,” and it sure would love to be known as the official Ethereum wallet. It supports Ethereum via MyEtherWallet. But the fact is there have been recent news reports of security glitches and vulnerabilities within the Trezor system that may allow hackers access to previously secure data. Trezor has hit back at such claims as spreading ‘misinformation,’ and such vulnerabilities have been fixed, but it is always better to be safe rather than sorry, and this is why Trezor ends up number two on our list of the best Ethereum wallets of 2017.

1. Ledger

Similar to Trezor, the number one most secure Ethereum wallet for 2017 on our list is Ledger, which is another hardware based wallet. Although it shares many of it features with Trezor, the thing that makes Ledger wallets stand out above the competition is the fact that even if your device ends up in the hands of the wrong sort of people, there have not been any reports that suggest that the device is vulnerable to be hacked.

This concludes our list of the safest, most-trusted Ethereum wallets of 2017. Share this article within your community of cryptocurrency users and see if you arrive at the same conclusion as we did!