The ultimate goal of hardware wallet is to have a high level of security and to add convenience. Currently we have found two hardware wallets: Trezor and Ledger.
To be able to access a Ledger Wallet you will need: your Ledger Wallet, your PIN code and your second factor card. If one of these things is missing you won’t be able to spend bitcoin. Similar to the Ledger Wallet, Trezor has a PIN code. If the Trezor wallets gets stolen, thieves cannot misuse it. In case of loss or theft of your Ledger Wallet, or at any time, you can restore your entire balance either on a new Ledger Wallet or on any BIP39 compatible software wallet such as Electrum. Without the PIN code and the second factor card, a thief cannot access your bitcoins.
Trezor uses a screen instead of a security card, which is of course easy for the end user. Trezor is a single-purpose computer, which stores your private keys and actively signs transactions without sending your private keys to the computer; To run the Ledger Wallet you need a computer with an USB port, and a recent version of Google Chrome. The wallet interfaces with the computer through a Chrome application which you will need to install on your computer. It currently does not have a screen but the Ledger Wallet will have a screen in the next version. Both wallets are Windows, OS X and Linux friendly. The Ledger Wallet development team is currently building support for Android;
| Trezor Wallet | Ledger Wallet | |
| Origin | Czech | France |
| Size | small | small |
| PIN Protection | yes | yes |
| PIN Length | 10 digits max. | unknown |
| Theft prevention | yes | yes |
| Phising protection | yes | yes |
| private key leakage protection | yes | yes |
| Firmware upgrade | yes | yes |
| NFC support | no | no (in future) |
| Malware protection | yes | yes |
| Windows support | yes | yes |
| Mac OS X support | yes | yes |
| Linux support | yes | yes |
| Open-source | yes | no |
| Alt coin support | yes, if Electrum supports them; | yes |
| French language support | no | yes |
| English language support | yes | yes |
| API support | yes | no (in future) |
| Multiple accounts | yes | yes |
| Price (BTC) | 0.3174 | 0.1165 |
Read more:
- Trezor wallet: http://www.bitcointrezor.com/
- Ledger wallet : https://www.ledgerwallet.com/