NFT wallets: protect your collectible assets

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Every day we see news about NFT markets being hacked or people being scammed into buying fake NFTs, among a host of other scams that are unfortunately common in the world of cryptocurrencies. So… How to select a suitable wallet in which you can store your collection of animals, characters, works of art or any other NFT that you own? This is the topic we are going to cover today, so let's get started!

Wallet selection criteria for NFTs

The market is full of a wide variety of wallets to choose from. Also, all the blockchains promote their own wallets and say that they are the best, the most secure, etc. But… Are they really? How are these characteristics defined and measured? We are going to analyze some wallets through metrics that we consider to be common sense for everyone when choosing the best option (although someone once said that common sense is the least common of the senses) and we will see how each of them they fit these metrics.

This is the explanation of each criterion analyzed in the order of importance that we consider that people value the most:

Security

Obviously, this is one of the most important features. If the wallet is not secure, the other features are of no importance. To consider that a wallet is safe, it is important that it has these options:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA).

• A strong recovery phrase (preferably 24 words instead of 12).

• State-of-the-art encryption methods to prevent hackers from accessing the wallet.

Proactive communication about possible risks or scams in the industry by the companies developing the wallets is also considered important by many users.

user experience

This second metric is also obvious. If it's complicated to use, either because it has a poorly designed interface or because users have to go through too many hoops to make a simple transaction, you can be sure that the wallet's user retention rate will drop quickly.

Support for multiple devices

The growing popularity of NFTs and their rapid adoption have made mobile apps the most common way to access NFT markets. Something especially true considering that not everyone has access to a computer. Security, in this case, should not be important exclusively in the wallet itself, it should also cover the phone where the wallet is used. The best security ensures that the contents of the wallet remain impenetrable even if the phone is hacked. We can only hope that if a phone is lost or stolen, that 2FA authentication is not configured on the same device that the wallet is used on.

For those users who own multiple devices, moving from one device to another seamlessly is an important point to consider.

Type of tokens and blockchain support

The wallets can support various blockchains, although it is important to note that most of the NFT markets are on the Ethereum and Binance blockchains. The most common token types are ERC721 and ERC1155, and their Binance counterparts BEP721 and BEP1155. Support for ERC20 tokens may also be required to pay gas fees or other types of transaction fees. You just need to make sure that the type of NFT you have purchased is compatible with your wallet. Wouldn't it be a shame to transfer precious NFTs to a wallet, only to find out later that you've joined that group of tokens doomed to wander in no man's land forever?

Customer Service

It's always good to talk to someone when you're in a pinch, either because you haven't received the NFTs you were hoping for or because they may suddenly be missing from your collection. The best customer service can be obtained by phone, preferably 24 hours a day. It is also important to have Discord and Reddit channels or email support. It might be good to check how quickly the support team responds by doing a search on social media before placing your NFTs in a wallet. You can also check, from conversations with other people, what are the most frequently asked questions and how you can avoid them, learning from the mistakes of others.

Integration with markets

In addition to major platforms like OpenSea , LooksRare, SolSea, and Binance NFT marketplace , other NFT marketplaces are also making their way into the industry. Cardano, Solana and Tezos are some of these emerging markets, all of them with their own native wallets.

Some exchanges are also entering the NFT market , such as Crypto.com and FTX. These exchanges have their own wallets to host NFTs, which are privately managed, in line with their sensibilities as mainstream businesses . As this article focuses on blockchain-based NFTs, we will talk about what these exchanges offer at another time.

commissions

Some wallets charge fees for making deposits or withdrawals of NFTs, so you should check them before making a transaction with them. These fees may be separate from gas fees charged by the network for making a transaction.

transaction limits

This can be an important aspect for those users who trade a lot with NFTs. Additionally, it also affects wait times while network commits are being performed . It would be ideal if there were no such transaction limits. You could make deposits and withdrawals as many times as you wanted or as much money as needed. For most of us, though, there's probably not much to worry about.

Anonymity

Most blockchains are public in nature, especially those with high adoption. Therefore, as long as the address of a wallet is known, almost anyone can take a look at someone else's collection. Some wallets allow a certain level of privacy, but it is not an easy thing to implement on a regular basis . However, we cannot say that it is a common feature in all wallets. As long as your personal data is not in public view, we will consider the wallet to pass the test in this category .

While fees, transaction limits, and anonymity are important, most are given the standard treatment. This means that the wallets support aspects found in the blockchain structure such as gas fees, minimum transaction limits, and a basic pseudonym. These criteria will not be analyzed unless there is a specific reason to do so.

Now that we have an idea of the criteria we will be looking at when reviewing these wallets, let's look at some of the contenders. We will classify them by blockchain so you know which wallets to choose if you are interested in a particular market.

 

Wallets for Ethereum and Binance NFTs

It is well known that the Binance Smart Chain started out as a copy of the Ethereum network. You just have to compare BSCscan with Etherscan to be clear. This makes it easy for NFT collectors, as owning a wallet often unlocks access to the markets of both chains. We selected these wallets with this circumstance in mind.

meta mask

It is no exaggeration to say that Metamask is one of the most popular Web3 wallets in the world. It is often regarded as the best NFT wallet for both Ethereum and Binance. Furthermore, its user-friendly interface is perfect for both beginners and advanced users. This wallet is available as a browser extension and as a mobile phone app, and it is important to note that most of the actions you can perform with your NFTs development can only be done in the mobile app, as the browser extension has very limited capabilities. . In other words, if you decide to use Metamask to manage your NFTs, get the mobile version to enjoy everything the platform has to offer.

 

Metamask has over a million downloads and officially supports all ETH and ERC721 tokens, plus you can manually add other types of tokens. ERC1155 tokens are supported in both the mobile version and the browser extension for both receiving and storing NFTs, but not sending them.

The parent company, ConsenSys, is a recognized entity in the world of cryptocurrencies and has institutional backing. The app is developed as an open source project and has an active community of developers who work hard to find bugs and implement new features.

 

• Security – The wallet comes with a standard 12-word recovery phrase and the browser extension can integrate with Ledger and Trezor wallets. Being popular has a price, in this case the wallet is a frequent target of hackers and cryptocurrency scammers. The community has frequently asked for the implementation of two-factor authentication for the wallet, but the team says that the wallet has good security even without 2FA as it is a non-custodial wallet and all of its information is stored on-chain . of blocks.

• User experience : It has a friendly user interface for NFT users.

• Multi-device support : Metamask intends to attract users of NFTs mainly through its mobile application, since NFTs cannot be seen in the browser extension yet, although we hope that this feature will be implemented soon. You can also buy, sell and trade NFTs.

• Token support : ERC721, partial support for ERC-1155. Users can manually add other tokens to the wallet.

• Customer support: Email and Twitter support

TrustWallet

Another wallet that has a good rating from users is Trust Wallet, not only as a wallet that supports normal cryptocurrency tokens, but also as a wallet that supports NFTs. Among its main features is the possibility of accessing OpenSea and other platforms related to NFTs from the wallet itself, as well as offering the possibility of acquiring cryptocurrencies through a credit card, which is perfect for newbies in the world of the cryptocurrencies.

A safe place for NFTs. Image via Trust Wallet

The wallet was acquired by Binance and has since integrated quite well with the Binance ecosystem, including the addition of a browser to check DeFi companies linked to Binance. In addition, it has more than 25 million users, an impressive number.

• Security : Biometric data is used to protect your wallet.

• User Experience – It is very easy for beginners and for viewing NFTs.

• Multi-device support : only as a mobile application.

• Token support : ERC721, BEP721, ERC1155 and BEP1155 on Ethereum and Binance chains.

• Customer support : Tickets through the website to obtain support.

Enjin Purse

Although the Enjin wallet only supports Ethereum NFTs, we are including it in this article because it is also a wallet for gamers, and we all know how important NFTs are in gaming. Another cool feature is the marketplace that Enjin offers , which can be accessed from the wallet via a link provided within it. The wallet also has an NFT multi-sending feature, which could perhaps help users save on gas fees.

A wallet for players and collectors of NFTs. Image via Crypto Gaming Pool

• Security – Fingerprint scanning for wallet protection.

• User Experience – Ease of navigation within the wallet, perfect for beginners.

• Multi-device support : only as a mobile application.

• Token Support – ERC721 and ERC1155 only on Ethereum.

• Customer Support : Submit tickets from the wallet for support within 12 hours, excluding weekends.

You can see our review of Enjin here.

Solana NFT Wallets

Solana , which is positioned as one of Ethereum's rivals, also has its own NFT marketplace, SolSea (inspired by OpenSea, which is actually a company, not a blockchain project). The Solana blockchain is experiencing strong growth which could have a knock-on effect for the other products Solana offers in its ecosystem, including SolSea. If they manage to make a sale of an NFT worthy of inclusion in the Sotheby's or Christie's catalog, things could get interesting for this project. In the meantime, collect some NFTs and wait.

Phantom Wallet

Designed as a native non-custodial wallet for the Solana ecosystem, the Phantom wallet aims to be the ONLY wallet users should use for all things Solana. This necessarily includes having support for trading NFTs on SolSea. In addition to having the usual features, this wallet is positioning itself as an easy-to-use wallet perfect for NFT enthusiasts. Low gas fees at Solana also contribute to its success. However, this blockchain has seen some glitches recently due to its (still) centralized nature. While this doesn't significantly affect users in general, it might be a shame if such an error occurs while you're making a transaction.

The best place to store SOL NFTs. Image via Phantom Wallet

• Security – Use of biometric data and integration with Ledger for more security.

• User experience : ease of navigation within the wallet, ideal for beginners.

• Multi-Device Support – Available as a browser extension and as a mobile app for iOS users. Android users will have to wait if they didn't get the beta invite.

• Token support : only with SOL NFTs.

• Customer support : submitting tickets through the website to obtain support.

Cardano NFT Wallets

Of all the major blockchains, Cardano is certainly the latest to enter the NFT space. We are not surprised because this peer-reviewed blockchain has always been the slowest in developing products. That said, there has always been a steady stream of projects being built on this blockchain, and those related to the development of NFTs were not far behind. Apart from works of art and avatar-type NFTs, the sale of land in Pavia is also one of the elements that drive up prices in its market. As Cardano slowly catches up to the cryptocurrency hares Will booster rockets be needed for this lazy turtle to catch up with the rest of the projects, or is he practically hot on their heels ?

Nami Purse

The Nami wallet is a non-custodial wallet native to Cardano, as is Phantom to Solana. It is a hub for all Cardano dApps . The usual thing that can be done with this wallet is the storage and sending of tokens and NFTs, which are enhanced by the possibility of grouping several tokens or NFTs in a single transaction. However, we are not sure that it is possible to mix several types of assets in a single transaction. You can also mint the NFTs inside the wallet, which is a detail to keep in mind.

This is one of the newest wallets in the industry and is still somewhat of a construction site as new features are still being added to it. Furthermore, it only exists as a browser extension and only supports Cardano NFTs. Despite this, it is also integrated with Ledger, which is a plus. As for customer service, there is only one channel: Twitter. Sometimes a simple, uncomplicated wallet that lets you do what you need to do is all you need.

 

Tezos NFT Wallets

Compared to heavyweights like Ethereum and Binance, Tezos has gradually become an alternative for NFT artists. If Ethereum and Binance are Broadway, Tezos is the off-Broadway version. Some of the Tezos artwork is quite interesting and many NFT artists have posted some of their more experimental pieces on the Tezos network. Of course, it helps this wallet a lot that the gas fees are so cheap.

Kukai Purse

If you're interested in owning some of the Tezos blockchain artwork (hopefully before the artists become famous), check out the Kukai wallet. It is probably the most widely used wallet for handling Tezos NFTs, many of whom bought an NFT on Hic et Nun (HEN), one of the fastest growing markets in the NFT sector. What makes the Tezos artworks interesting is that some of them are also animated. These animated NFTs are compatible with Kukai.

 

• Security – You can create a wallet by connecting your Google/Reddit/Twitter/Facebook account or you can create a wallet with a 24 word seed phrase which is good as most wallets only have a 12 word seed phrase words.

• User Experience – Simple user interface with collections you can access if you are new to this industry.

• Multi-device support - Only available as a browser extension.

• Token Support – Tezos NFTs only.

• Customer support : Twitter and a Telegram channel.

conclusion

As you can see, the type of wallet you want to access to store your NFTs largely depends on the market you want to use. The market determines the type of wallets you can consider using. Taking into account everything we have mentioned in this article, you can see that you have several options and by applying the above criteria you can determine which wallet may be perfect for you.

Keep in mind that there has been an increase in scams and hacks within the NFT markets, so keep your precious NFTs safe and protect them with your life (if necessary!)