What are mobile crypto wallets?
You can install on your phone to store send and receive cryptocurrencies. They are one of the most convenient and accessible ways to interact with the crypto world as you can access your funds anytime and anywhere with just a few taps on the screen. Most wallets today also allow you to interact with other crypto services such as exchanges, DeFi platforms. The number one advantage of using a mobile crypto wallet is its convenience and easy setup, making it great for beginners. Mobile wallets provide you with full control over your funds, unlike an exchange. You are your own bank, and you don't have to rely on third parties or intermediaries to access your money. I would also say mobile wallets today are decently safe compared to desktop wallets or web wallets and other types of hot wallets, thanks to advancements in mobile encryption and biometric locks. Now, let's dive into my top five choices for a mobile crypto wallet, starting off at
Blockchain.com Wallet
we have the blockchain.com wallet. Blockchain.com is a reputable crypto exchange that has been operating since 2011. The blockchain.com wallet app was released back in February of 2013. This makes the blockchain.com wallet one of the oldest crypto wallets to date with more than a decade of history. This track record speaks for itself when it comes to security.
Now, the blockchain.com wallet app claims to be a one-stop shop for all things you need in crypto, and this is because they combine a lot of the exchange features with the same app as a hybrid wallet. When you first set up the wallet, you'll need to create both an email and password login, as well as a backup recovery phrase. The email account gives you access to the blockchain.com crypto trading features, while the recovery phrase sets up your DeFi wallet, which is for self-custody.
Now, depending on the user, this design could be both good and bad. The good thing is that this is truly the only app you need to both have an exchange and a wallet within the same platform. This is great for a beginner crypto user who is not so familiar with self-custody and seed phrases but still wants to explore setting up their own wallet. The blockchain.com wallet makes it super easy to do this, and the setup flow is just like creating an account on a traditional finance app. One thing to know is that they also back up an encrypted version of your seed phrase, so you don't even need to worry about losing it.
The bad side is that this solution is somewhat centralized, and many hardcore crypto fans would not appreciate this. Even though the wallet is a self-custody solution where you can import your own seed phrase, the fact that when you create a wallet, and the seed phrase is encrypted and backed up to the cloud, does mean that everything is connected. This means that blockchain.com does have some form of control over your wallet. Fortunately, with the 10-year-long history that the app has been operating, I feel quite comfortable recommending this app as a secure solution overall. But if you're looking for a 100% self-owned wallet and want to ensure that you alone are responsible for your wallet's security, then this blockchain.com wallet may not be for you.
Metamask Wallet
Next up on the list, I have the number four spot: the MetaMask mobile wallet. Unless you've been living in a cave, you should have heard of MetaMask. The MetaMask browser extension is the most popular Ethereum wallet in the world, created by ConsenSys, a blockchain software company focused on Ethereum infrastructure. In 2016, MetaMask was launched as a desktop browser extension for Google Chrome and Firefox. Today, the MetaMask browser extension has a user base of over 30 million users and supports 500,000+ ERC-20 assets.
In September of 2020, MetaMask released its mobile app for iOS and Android devices after more than two years of development and testing. The mobile wallet app offers the same features as the desktop extension but with some additional benefits, such as biometric security, a DApp browser, and WalletConnect through QR code.
This means that the MetaMask mobile app allows users to use decentralized applications directly from the app without having to connect through multiple apps. Coming from the unquestionable king of Ethereum wallets, the MetaMask mobile app is also a really secure and solid option that we can all trust. However, since MetaMask is only an Ethereum-based wallet, you cannot hold assets based on other technologies like Bitcoin, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Polkadot, etc. Only blockchains based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine can be supported in MetaMask. These include chains like Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, etc. The most updated list of supported blockchains is available on chainlist.org, which includes all the chains you can add to the MetaMask wallet.
Although MetaMask does not support a larger list of coins, it's still a top choice on my list because of its advanced ecosystem and decentralized application support. This is thanks to their experience with the MetaMask browser extension, which is the most widely adopted portal to the world of decentralized apps. So naturally, most applications are also supported in the MetaMask mobile app. You have decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, PancakeSwap, DeFi protocols like Aave and Compound, NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, and just about every type of DApp out there is supported.
Coinbase Wallet
Number three spot, we have the Coinbase wallet. First off, I'd like to make it clear that Coinbase Wallet and the Coinbase exchange are two different platforms. We are discussing Coinbase Wallet, which is a self-custody crypto wallet putting you in control of your crypto, your keys, and your data.
Now, the Coinbase Wallet offers a similar user experience to that of blockchain.com. Most of the coins and features are right on the home screen, making for a super simple and beginner-friendly interface. Its main features on the homepage include the standard sending, receiving, and buying of coins. Since Coinbase is a well-established exchange, you also have the ability to link your Coinbase account with your Coinbase Wallet. This allows you to easily transfer coins between the two apps and enables easy buying and selling without having to use a separate exchange.
Coinbase Wallet also has an advanced Web3 browser feature. I find that the Coinbase Web3 browser is a good middle ground for intermediate-level users. It offers popular applications right on the home screen, such as Uniswap, 1inch, Aave, and OpenSea. But if you are an advanced user, you can also access any decentralized application using the website URL or the WalletConnect feature. This design sits somewhere in the middle between the beginner-friendly wallets like blockchain.com or Exodus and the more advanced wallets like MetaMask. The beginner wallets usually hide away most of the decentralized application features and only offer buying and holding of coins, while super-advanced features like MetaMask do not provide easy access to the most popular applications on the home screen, so beginners can get really lost on the blank browser page.
Exodus Wallet
Number two spot for my top mobile crypto wallets is the Exodus wallet. Exodus is an OG in the industry and was founded in 2015. They have always been a top wallet choice, and the wallet product has been their main focus since the beginning. Exodus is a company dedicated to creating crypto wallets, and they have a wallet for the web browser, desktop, and the mobile app.
The Exodus app is a multi-currency wallet that allows you to manage, swap, and buy over 260 native cryptocurrencies. Since it supports all the major blockchains based on the Ethereum stack, you can also add custom tokens and NFTs to support a limitless number of tokens. And it doesn't just stop at the Ethereum ecosystem. Other layer 1 technologies like Cardano, XRP, Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos, Near, Hedera, etc., are all supported in the wallet. This makes Exodus truly a multi-currency and multi-network wallet, not just one that only supports tokens in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Exodus wallet has several features that make it stand out from other mobile wallets and put it high up on the list. The first is a very user-friendly interface. Although powerful, Exodus still has a simple and elegant design that shows your portfolio balance, transaction history, and asset allocation all on the home screen. Beginners will feel right at home.
Trust Wallet
my number one choice for a mobile crypto wallet, which is the Trust Wallet. Let's talk a bit about Trust Wallet's background first. Trust Wallet was launched in November 2017 as an open-source project. The founder's goal was to create a simple and secure wallet that would support all the available cryptocurrencies and enable users to access the growing ecosystem of decentralized applications. It quickly gained traction among crypto enthusiasts who appreciated its user-friendly interface, high-security standards, and a wide range of coin support. The fact that it's open source really helped.
However, Trust Wallet really started to take off in July 2018 when Binance acquired them. Binance recognized the potential of Trust Wallet as a gateway to the decentralized web and decided to invest in its growth and development. Binance also added Trust Wallet as its official mobile wallet, prompting Binance users to download and use this wallet from the Binance Exchange. Trust Wallet may not have been as well-known at the time, but Binance CEO CZ called the company a 'diamond in the dirt with strong technical skills.' This statement aged really well.
Today, Trust Wallet has a user base of over 60 million users, and it supports 70+ blockchains and 9 million+ assets. In practice, the multi-currency support of Trust Wallet is just as good as Exodus. All the major layer 1 and layer 2 networks are supported in Trust Wallet: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Cardano, Polygon, XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Cosmos, Arbitrum, Near, Phantom, and just about every blockchain that counts is supported.