The Five Most Popular Crypto Wallet Types

Desktop crypto wallets: The first crypto wallet type, it offers better security but is limited against online applications.

Hardware crypto wallets: Due to their offline nature, extremely efficient to safeguard against hacks. However, users are still susceptible to simply losing their wallets - and it happens quite frequently.

Browser crypto wallets: Currently the most popular crypto wallet type, it gives users seamless access to different applications and blockchains. They are also extremely unsafe in comparison to others and must be handled with extreme care, as most hacks and scams occur through browser wallets.

Mobile crypto wallets: Same advantages and disadvantages as browser wallets, but centered around smartphone use.

Exchange crypto wallets: Safest option to be utilized as a central point of crypto funds, since large exchanges have several security layers and can also protect their clients in case of an external hack or exploit by reimbursing their assets.


Crypto wallets are almost inevitable. Anyone who starts investing in cryptocurrencies eventually comes across them, these important tools that can be used to access services that go beyond those of a traditional exchange - allowing crypto enthusiasts to explore new projects and goods that have yet to reach the mainstream limelight until they are accepted in bigger platforms.

Simplistically defined as storage hardware or software for digital assets, there are many different types of crypto wallets - each with its own use, benefits and disadvantages.

In this article, we cover the five most popular crypto wallet types, and what makes them different and more advantageous from each other.


Desktop crypto wallets

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The first crypto wallet type ever created, thirteen years ago by Satoshi Nakamoto - anonymous creator of Bitcoin. Since the blockchain network first ran exclusively on computers since the first Bitcoin was mined back in January 2009, it’s of no surprise that the first crypto wallet was built as a desktop application.

There are several different software to choose from, and even to this day desktop wallets are considered one of the safest crypto storage options available. Although desktop crypto wallets are considered hot wallets, meaning online, they embed the most important authentication information onto the users’ personal computer. So although the wallet can be connected to the internet for updates on sent and received transactions, it protects users from attacks such as phishing, where users are lured into false websites that pose as legitimate crypto platforms. Another advantage is that desktop wallets load pages and resources almost instantly, since the entire program is within the computer instead of a web page.

The downside, of course, is the lack of direct connection and accessibility to online crypto services. Back when desktop wallets were first created, there wasn’t much that users could do with cryptocurrencies - or even computers themselves, compared to where we now stand. Crypto wallets were just about sending and receiving crypto to store, whether than using it in DeFi, NFTs, Metaverse and much more.


Hardware crypto wallets

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Coincidentally the second crypto wallet type to ever be created, hardware crypto wallets are the first instance of the “cold wallet” category - digital assets that can be stored offline and physically transported without direct connection to the internet. There are countless harware wallet companies and types, from those that look like credit card to regular usb flash drives. When crypto was still very young and obscure, there were even those who would make their own hardware wallets at home, which was obviously not the safest idea someone can have.

When they were first conceived, the disconnection to the internet was standard - since there were very little functionalities to each device, which would be accessed by connecting to the computer and visiting its desktop application to check and transfer the assets. Nowadays, hardware crypto wallets can be connected on and off the internet at any time, and some allow users to conduct all transactions and even DeFi services directly from the device - completely independent.

The biggest advantage of hardware crypto wallets also contribute to their weakness: mobility. With hardware storage, users are not bound to a particular software or susceptible to online scams that involve a direct connection, while also being able to literally take their crypto anywhere they want.

Mobility also has its downside that most of us are certainly familiar with. To put it simply, people can lose their hardware wallets - and they have. It is estimated by Chainalysis that up to 25% of Bitcoin’s entire supply has been lost forever, and a large portion of it would come from hardware wallets.


Browser Crypto Wallets

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The name is pretty self-explanatory: browser crypto wallets are simply storage and service applications that function as extensions for browsers like Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Certainly the most popular type of wallet used today, their main advantages are accessibility and speed. With crypto services nowadays ranging from DeFi staking, yield farming, NFT trades and customization, swaps and more, it’s absolutely essential to have wallet applications that are readily available to make swift transactions as fast as they can.

They also strengthen a users’ hability to interact with several different networks and protocols. At first only allowing access to a couple of networks like Bitcoin or Ethereum, browser wallets now give users the option to seamlessly switch between blockchains as they’re conducting their daily operations.

The main disadvantage, by far, is a clear lack of security. Users of browser wallets have to be extremely careful about where they’re connecting their wallets, as crypto scams are floating all around the internet. Whenever any news surfaces on a particular scam that’s taking over crypto platforms, it nearly always comes from websites and browser malware.

To stay up to date with crypto developments and ecosystems, however, browser crypto wallets are definitely inevitable. Just don’t store all your funds in one place or share your recovery keyphrase with anyone, ever.


Mobile Crypto Wallets

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The second most popular wallet type of this list, mobile wallets have very similar functionalities to browser ones while being tailored for use in smartphones. The advantages and disadvantages are the same as for browser crypto wallets: it allows users access to instant services of the online crypto landscape, while also making them much more susceptible to scam and phishing platforms.

But another disadvantage comes from exclusively iOS devices. If you own an iPhone, your crypto wallet most likely does not allow you to access decentralized applications (dApps) or different third-party services through it. That’s because Apple has a much stricter App Store policy than Google’s Android phones. There are of course ways to circumnavigate those restrictions, but they just make mobile wallets even less safe. If you’re really keen on using several crypto platforms on a daily basis and must do so through a mobile wallet, your best bet thus far is to just get an Android phone.


Exchange Crypto Wallets

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Exchange crypto wallets are definitely the most well-rounded options for the everyday investor. Not only do they offer applications across different hardware, such as browser, desktop and mobile, but they most likely have the most secure system available. That sounds controversial, given that most crypto fanatics would argue that the safest storage method is on a hardware wallet. But by weighing all factors, it’s clear that the centralization of exchanges actually offers a much safer option. Not only do large exchanges have thorough compliance and security methods, but they also safeguard clients in the unlikely event of a hack.

The disadvantages, of course, are lack of interaction with other ecosystems and the limited offer of cryptos, although Gate.io has one of the largest varieties of digital assets available in any large exchange. Although the use of browser-only crypto wallets or mobile options is pretty much inevitable in this day and age, exchange wallets are definitely the safest when it comes to having a centre storage point for your assets.



Author: Gate.io Researcher: Victor Bastos
* This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
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