My Methodology
How I rate hardware wallets. Spoiler: it's vibes-based, but informed vibes.
“Vibes based ranking. My decision making is centralized. Bitcoin is not. Deal with it.”
The Rating Scale
I rate wallets on a scale of 1-10. Here's the rough breakdown:
Bitcoin-only, open source, air-gapped. The best of the best.
Bitcoin-only with minor trade-offs. Still highly recommended.
Has issues but might work for some use cases.
Multi-coin wallets land here. Too much attack surface, and I don't trust vendors who profit from the altcoin casino.
What I Prioritize
Bitcoin-Only
This is the single biggest factor. Multi-coin support is an automatic penalty. Most altcoins are scams, and the wallets that support them aren't worth your money.
Open-Source
Can the code be audited? If not, you're trusting rather than verifying.
Air-Gapped
Can it sign transactions without ever touching a computer directly? Big plus.
Security Model
Secure element? Duress features? What happens if someone gets physical access?
