Top 5 ERC20 Wallets To Store Your Ethereum Based Tokens
As usual we are here to give you a list of the very BEST ERC20 wallets to use to hold your precious Ethereum Based tokens.
Everyone knows that we here at CryptoDetail love our Ethereum. Why? Well, aside from the fact that is the second most liquid coin in the cryptosphere; only trailing BTC by a hair; the ETH blockchain is where all of those amazing ERC20 tokens live. That's right, every ERC20 token ever created lives and breathes on the ETH blockchain.
Everyone also knows that we here at CryptoDetail constantly preach Crypto Rule # 1. In fact, we invented Crypto Rule # 1. What? Wait. Are you new here? Have you ever heard of Crypto Rule # 1? Okay, boys and girls; for the newcomers we want all of our loyal readers to "sing along" (as they say) so we can teach the newbies Crypto Rule # 1; the first rule of safety.
Ready? Go...
"We never, ever, for any reason, leave our cryptos on any public platform, under anyone else's control for any longer than necessary to complete a trade and withdraw to our own private, secure wallet." That is as true for our ERC20 tokens as it is for our hard earned BTC and ETH. The problem here is that most people; well, the ones that don't know Crypto Rule # 1, believe it is okay to keep their tokens on the exchange platform where they bought them. Look at it like this.
If BTC, ETH, XMR, LTC and the other "coins" are equivalent to Dollars, Pesos, Rubles, and Euros; ERC20 tokens are the equivalent of corporate stocks. If you have one your due diligence then you have little electronic pieces of gold that you can watch grow in value as you HODL till your heart's content (or, until your investment plan says SELL; you should always stick to the plan). But, you will never get a chance to carry out that dream of reaching the proverbial moon (thanks Doge community, for giving us that phrase) if you do not keep your ERC20 tokens safe.
Where should you keep your ERC20 tokens? In your own personal Ethereum wallet, of course. But, which ones are "the best" (we know you love that term "the best")? As usual; we are here to give you a list of the very BEST wallets to use to hold your precious HODL of ERC20 tokens.
# 1 - The VERY BEST Choice - the Paper Wallet
That's right; a PAPER WALLET is the BEST. How do you get one; from our # 2 choice; MyEtherWallet. That is an online access wallet. You go through the process of obtaining a wallet on that site; you get a pub (public) key, a priv (private) key, and a seed phrase. Write those down and save them. MyEtherWallet is THE Ethereum wallet of choice. However, as it is an online based wallet; do not forget Crypto Rule # 1.
Confused yet? Don't be. It is true, our # 2 choice, MyEtherWallet is the best of the best; but it is not the BEST. To get the BEST; that immortal paper wallet; simply transfer your MyEtherWallet to a paper wallet right from their platform. No muss no fuss; it works right from the site.
So, our # 2 (MyEtherWallet) creates our # 1 choice. The two best options for storing your ERC20 tokens. Do your business on an exchange, transfer the tokens to your MyEtherWallet ETH wallet, then save them to a paper wallet. There is nothing safer.
You can't hack paper. You can't use social engineering techniques to steal the password of a paper wallet from someone. Unless you are careless with your paper wallet (we recommend keeping an electronic copy of it on a thumb /zip drive you keep in a secure location; different from where you store your actual paper wallet(s)) there is no danger of ever losing your tokens.
Then, when you are ready to sell your tokens just connect to the paper wallet through MyEtherWallet, send them back to your exchange of choice and make your profits.
#3 - The Chrome Alternative
If you want something a bit more personal than the MyEtherWallet website access to your Ethereum and ERC HODLs there is an excellent alternative in the form of a Chrome plugin. MetaMask is simple to install, simple to use; and again, gives you that # 1 protection of being able to turn your HODL into a paper wallet.
This plugin is actually one that we here at CryptoDetail use daily (along with our MyEtherWallet wallets). The difference here is that your MyEtherWallet is required if you want to connect to EtherDelta (one of our favorite exchanges). So, the convenience factor is what determined our rankings.
However, aside from ease of installation and use; MetaMask has the ability to become a covert hardware wallet.
What? How is a plugin a hardware wallet?
Here at CryptoDetail we value privacy, security, and innovation. So, our team got together and came up with a cost-effective, secure means of HODLing our ERC20 tokens. Since most of us use Firefox in our daily lives (except Brett; he is the rebel who still thinks Internet Explorer will make a come back one day) here is how we created our HODL solution.
We took a new zip /thumb drive and got it all ready to receive files (we even named it HODL). Then we downloaded Chrome to it. Simple; right?
We opened up Chrome, went into the menu, found plugins and installed MetaMask. We set up the wallet; got our password, pub and priv keys written down safely. Then we shut it all down, unplugged the zip /thumb drive and locked it in a desk drawer somewhere here in one of our offices in the tropics (we here at CryptoDetail also love the ocean).
That's it. A homemade hardware wallet. And, the only time we ever have to plug in that drive and expose it to an online connection is if we are sending ETH or tokens. To receive we simply send out the pub key. You do not need to have a connection to do that.
# 4 and 5 - the Hardware Solutions
The only remaining choices we can add to our "best of" list are the most popular hardware wallets in existence: The Ledger Nano S and the Trezor. These hardware wallets are the most popular because they are the best of their kind. Both of these hardware wallets has a huge cult following of its own. Some applaud the Nano; some the Trezor. We here at CryptoDetail love (and use) both of these hardware wallets. And, as with our homemade solution above, neither has to be plugged in and online to receive funds.
Those Are Our Top 5
So when asked how someone should store (HODL) their ERC20 tokens; these are our choices. And, as always the Paper Wallet reigns supreme. Regardless of which one (or more) of these that you choose; your ERC20 tokens will be safe and sound and ready for trading when you reach for them.
And, since we are embracing new ideas, thoughts and comments; if you use one of these wallets or even a different one, let us know about your experiences in the comments below. Who knows? Your comments could be the focus of our next wallet list.
Thanks for joining us for this exploration! Good luck on your own crypto journey!! Happy HODLing!!!
Danny Donahue
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