Leading hardware cryptocurrency wallet providers, Ledger and Trezor, have both released new wallet iterations, giving users additional options to protect their assets through self-custody.
Paris-based Ledger announced its latest device, the Ledger Nano Gen5, on Thursday. In a notable change, the company has completely removed the term “hardware wallet” and now refers to all devices as “ledger signers.”
Rival hardware wallet company Trezor, based in Prague, also released the Trezor Safe 7 earlier this week, describing the device as its first quantum-enabled hardware wallet.
Both Ledger and Trezor have been offering self-custody devices for over a decade, so Cointelegraph took a deep dive into their latest wallets and analyzed their major updates, new features, and security enhancements.
The era of ledger signers
The Ledger update brings multiple new features to the brand, including the rebranding of the Ledger Live application as Ledger Wallet and the introduction of Ledger Multisig, a tool that addresses blind signature vulnerabilities in the multisig ecosystem.
The new ledger signer, Nano Gen5, features the ledger recovery key released in June, previously supported Bluetooth connectivity, and a larger screen. The device costs $179 in the US and €179 in Europe.
“Ledger Nano offers an improved user experience with secure touchscreen signers Ledger Flex and Ledger Stax in a more affordable package,” a Ledger spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
“The larger screen than the Nano S Plus and Nano X allows for a more intuitive interface and allows for clear signatures and optimal support for transaction checks,” the representative said.
Continuing our Apple-inspired design approach, Ledger’s new device development once again enlisted iPod creator Tony Fadell, and Apple icon designer Susan Kare was commissioned to create special badge artwork for new Ledger signers.
Safe 7 is Trezor’s first quantum-enabled wallet
Trezor’s new Safe 7 introduces a next-generation hardware wallet featuring dual secure elements, Bluetooth, wireless charging, and quantum-ready design.
The dual-chip design combines Tropic Square’s auditable TROPIC01 chip with an NDA-free EAL6+ secondary element, and the addition of Bluetooth makes the Safe 7 the first Trezor wallet to connect wirelessly to iPhones and other devices. The price of the wallet is 249 euros.
Trezor Safe 7’s “quantum-ready” means the device is “technically capable of receiving post-quantum updates when needed,” Trezor chief operating officer Danny Saunders told Cointelegraph.
“Previous Trezor wallets, like all devices on the market today, did not include a quantum-enabled architecture,” Sanders said, highlighting Trezor’s ambition to bring new meaning to hardware wallets that are “built to last.”
Related: Google announces quantum advantage, 13,000 times faster than supercomputers
He added that quantum computing is still in its very early stages, predicting that it will be a long time before it poses a “real threat to existing cryptographic standards.”
Are older devices being phased out?
Even though both Ledger and Trezor have introduced significant updates to their self-custody technology, the previous wallets are still functional.
“We’re not designing a wallet with the expectation that users will collect everything,” Trezor’s Sanders said, emphasizing that meeting the diverse needs of users is the company’s top priority.
Saunders said all Trezor wallets are fully supported and will continue to benefit from ongoing security updates and enhancements.
“Ledger has never released an update that would make older devices obsolete,” a Ledger spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding, “There is always a point where it is no longer possible to provide updates for older products or support new features.”
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