Choosing a new crypto hardware wallet in 2026: Avoid these common mistakes

What you need to know about selecting the best cold wallet for crypto security this year

### A cautionary tale

In October 2025, a US man woke up to discover that 1.2M XRP (worth over $3.05M at the time) had been stolen from his ‘cold wallet’. His entire retirement…

“I just had over $3,000,000 of XRP stolen off of my cold wallet”

https://medium.com/media/9e3c3a3f06433e28a0e2763040d8b632/hrefIt was, in fact, not a cold wallet, but rather a hot wallet connected to the internet.

His experience and the response to his viral video highlighted a serious problem with the crypto security industry:

https://medium.com/media/427626fefd0451073a2d16ab13076597/href

“One lesson our industry needs to do better with is not causing confusion with products when you offer both custodial and non-custodial products.”

He thought he was doing everything right.

This and other similar stories show the need for a change in crypto security going forward. Because one look at the comments on any of these social posts shows that many are still stuck ‘trusting’ companies, just as they were trusting exchanges before the first hardware wallet (Trezor Model One) was created…

“I’ve always wondered this. Most of these wallets are made in smaller countries with less laws. Say they went bankrupt and decided to pull everything from everyone.”

“it’s a theory going around with companies that don’t show their full code. It’s possible to have a back door built into the coding. Hypothetically whoever owns a wallet company could pull millions or billions in funds and disappear. Without crypto regulation, no country is going to go after them internationally.”

Less transparency causes more speculation, even if untrue.

Going forward, if you want to keep your crypto safe, you need to be distrustful, suspicious and meticulous in your research.

Following the advice of one influencer isn’t enough.
Trusting a few reviews won’t cut it.

The trend for this year is clear… 2026 will be the year users demand trustless security. It’ll be considered non-negotiable if you’re serious about protecting your digital savings.

But what should you be looking for?

If you’re new, how are you supposed to know what’s good or bad?

This is a solid starting point:

5 Signs your hardware wallet isn’t as secure as you think

1. It’s not open-source…

There was a reason Satoshi made Bitcoin open-source:

“Being open source means anyone can independently review the code. If it was closed source, nobody could verify the security. I think it’s essential for a program of this nature to be open source.” — Satoshi Nakamoto

No proprietary parts hidden “for your safety”. No mysteries or surprises.

Banks, exchanges, and even some hardware wallets keep you guessing about what happens behind the scenes.

In the world of crypto security, this is unacceptable.

We aren’t here to recreate an existing system.

If you decide to ‘trust’ a hardware wallet that isn’t fully open-source, chances are you’ll always have fear in the back of your mind about what could happen one day.

We take the same approach as Satoshi here at Trezor.

As one Reddit user put it:

­”You can literally build the entire Trezor device yourself. The files for the 3d printable case is on Trezor’s github, along with the schematics for the circuit boards and all of the little electrical parts needed to make your own.”

We made the design open-source for one reason: so you never have to trust us blindly. So you have full control over your assets.

2. It doesn’t have a screen

Self-custody security is a difficult balance between usability, security and privacy.

A hardware wallet without a screen is leaning heavily towards usability at the cost of security…

• You can’t see exactly what you’re signing— If you can’t verify the actual address on a hardware device, you’re trusting the screen on your phone or computer. And if the phone was somehow infected with malware?… 💀
• The wallet backup (seed phrase) generation can not be considered totally secure and offline— If the generated words appear on your phone screen, you technically have a “hot” wallet (exposed to the internet). There’s a reason a hardware wallet with a screen displays the words offline: these words should NEVER touch an online digital environment.

And these are just a couple of the risks you are unknowingly exposing yourself to if you choose a hardware wallet without a screen.

3. It’s not a true cold wallet

This might seem obvious if you’re in the market for a hardware wallet, after all the main point of investing in a device is to secure your keys offline in a cold wallet that’s NOT attached to the internet… except if you look at our original story or the point above about hardware wallets without a screen, many people are unknowingly securing their crypto with hot wallets.

Are the keys generated offline?
Does the hardware wallet show these words on devices connected to the internet?

These are both red flags and you should spend time confirming this before investing in a hardware wallet.

4. It doesn’t use an NDA-free or auditable Secure Element chip

In 2019 we tested a commonly used Secure Element chip and discovered three things:

• The 3rd party certifications have little value in terms of how secure they are

• They were often overly complex (the enemy of security), making them easy to exploit… which we did quite fast in testing

• You are not allowed to share any discovered vulnerabilities publicly (which is against our ethos)

And worse still? We were being publicly criticized by competitors USING this same chip.

It was essentially a placebo. Users were completely unaware of the vulnerabilities, and we could not legally inform anyone about them.

We decided that using an NDA-free Secure Element chip wasn’t up for debate and eventually we also implemented the auditable TROPIC01 chip into the Trezor Safe 7.

The reason this radical transparency matters…

These tamper-resistant chips protect your device against physical attacks by shielding the device’s secrets (PIN).

If the only thing you’re told about the Secure Element chip in your device is that it offers “the highest level of security…”, without any proof, other than some certifications (which we already know have little value), that’s a red flag.

We’re suddenly back to “trust me bro” security.

5. The company doesn’t have enough “proof of work”

Being trustless is a necessity, but that doesn’t discount reputation and history.

Who is behind the company making the hardware wallet?
How long have they been around?
What are their goals and mission?
What is their history?

… who decides on their direction?

Are they 100% independently owned like… *cough* Trezor *cough*… or are they a collection of VC (venture capital) interests?

After all, this is a long-term investment. You don’t want to buy a hardware wallet from a company that becomes increasingly opposed to its original mission just a few years later.

As for Trezor?

We’ve had the same mission since building the world’s first-ever hardware wallet:

Empower individuals to self-custody their bitcoin and crypto with tools that seamlessly balance security, privacy, and usability.

And we’re still here innovating 12+ years later.

Part of our 2026 goals is to make it easier than ever for you to switch over to a trustless hardware wallet. Here’s what you need to know about changing to Trezor…

Moving over to Trezor guide (what you need to know)

Switching to a new hardware can seem daunting, especially if you’re a long-term HODLer.

Here are a few important steps you’ll need to take to switch over securely…

• Choose the right device that meets your needs (all models are available in Universal crypto or Bitcoin-only)
• Here’s a simple overview of the Trezor Safe Family:

Trezor Safe 7 — Future-proof security with wireless freedom
Trezor Safe 5 — Touchscreen ease for everyday use
Trezor Safe 3 — Simple security with all the essentials

• Create a new wallet — Moving over a potentially insecure wallet defeats the intended purpose
• ALWAYS practice deleting and recovering your wallet before transferring any funds. Once tested, start with a small amount
• Move your crypto to a new wallet (consider the UTXO implications)

If you want the migration to be as easy and secure as possible, consider booking an Onboarding Session with one of our Trezor Experts (1:1 live session for step-by-step help).

*“This was my first time setting up a hardware wallet. Shawn was a pleasure to work with in setting up the trezor wallet. He was incredibly helpful by making sure I understood the fundamentals of protecting assets on the platform including protection from scams. I would highly recommend anyone who is looking to take ownership of their digital assets to get a Trezor wallet and do the expert onboarding session.” —*Verified reviewer

Learn more about migrating to Trezor.

Current wallet giving you red flags?

It’s time for a clean break. This Valentine’s Day, switch to a partner that’s fully open-source, transparent, and ready to commit. Save up to 20% on bundles and fresh starts for a limited time.

### Switching to Trezor, common FAQs

• What makes Trezor different from other hardware wallets?

• Trezor built the first-ever hardware wallet (over 12+ years ago)
• Fully open-source and independently owned since day one
• We built the first-ever quantum-ready wallet with an auditable Secure Element chip
• Bitcoin-only models are available alongside the Universal model (no difference in security)

• Is it safe to migrate the same crypto wallet to an existing hardware wallet?

While you can safely migrate the same wallet, we highly recommend creating a new wallet, testing recovery and then transferring funds to the new address gradually.

Reusing an old or potentially compromised wallet backup defeats the purpose of upgrading your security.

• Why does open-source matter so much for crypto security?

Open-source software allows anyone to independently verify how a device works and is built, including how keys are generated, stored, and protected.

• What is a “cold” hardware wallet?

A true cold wallet generates and stores private keys entirely offline, without ever exposing them to an internet-connected device.

— Henry Windle, Senior Content Marketer, Trezor

Choosing a new crypto hardware wallet in 2026: Avoid these common mistakes was originally published in Trezor Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.