The rise of digital wallet companies underscores yet another area of the crypto industry that is quite lucrative.. A commitment to participating in the crypto market especially in DeFi and in the long-term warrants the use of highly secure wallets.

But what are digital wallets in the first place? Thanks to WEB3, we now have digital assets such as Bitcoin, NFTs and other cryptocurrencies. These assets need a medium through which they can be received, stored or transferred safely and conveniently. That medium is called a digital wallet.

It is important to understand who are the developers behind any wallet that you might be interested in. There is risk of some developers building backdoors that they can potentially use to access your assets. This is why digital wallet companies are considered a safer option. Companies operate within the realm of regulation, hence are less likely to include backdoors for exploiting their clients.

Types of wallets digital wallet companies offer

Before we explore our list of the best digital wallet companies, it is important to understand the different categories of digital wallets. In crypto, wallets are categorized as:

Hot wallets

These are wallets that are linked to the internet. They facilitate the receipt or sending of digital assets with ease over the internet. Spot and funding wallets on exchanges are some examples of hot wallets.

Pros

  1. Transactions using hot wallets on exchanges are usually cheaper.
  2. Fund transfer using such wallets is simpler and easier hence very convenient for regular use.
  3. Are often accessible for free.
  4. They support a wide range of coins.

Cons

  1. Hot wallets have a higher risk of being hacked since they are connected to the internet.
  2. Since they are often on exchanges, they are custodial, hence users usually do not have full control of their coins.

Cold wallets

These are wallets that are not connected to the internet, that allow users to have full self-custody of their assets.

Pros

  1. They are disconnected from the internet and hence they cannot be hacked or accessed unless someone has access to your private keys/seed phrase.
  2. They are self-custodial which means users are in control of their own private keys and hence they have full custody of their coins.

Cons

  1. They are a bit more complex to set up.
  2. They have more steps when transferring funds hence are not convenient for regular transactions.
  3. They usually support fewer coins than their hot counterparts.

It is important to select the right wallet that matches your particular needs before you decide which is the best digital wallet for you. This is why you should understand the different types of wallets based on your particular needs.

Best digital wallet companies

Now that we have a good understanding of different types of wallets, it is time to look at the different companies behind them and the ones that are the most ideal. Note that there are many companies that will not make it onto this list but we opted for the most common ones since they have the highest number of users, hence are trusted.

Coinbase

Coinbase (Coinbase Global Inc) is U.S-based and is one of the largest crypto companies in the world, with over 100 million users. It was founded in 2012 by Fred Ehrsam and its current CEO, Brian Armstrong. It has a robust presence in most of the high profile financial jurisdictions across the world. Because of this, it is subjected to some of the most stringent regulatory requirements including KYC. This boosts the security of using its addresses as bad actors can easily be tracked.

Coinbase has also invested heavily in security measures hence the healthy reputation. This includes custodial and reserve infrastructure. Coinbase has dedicated wallets such as the Coinbase Wallet which not only allow users to conduct transactions and store coins, but also enables staking. The wallet is also non-custodial, hence users have private keys.

Pros:

.1. Easy to use interface makes it appealing to beginners.

  1. Robust security measures such as 2FA and biometrics support.
  2. Supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
  3. It offers rapid transaction speeds.

Cons:

  1. It attracts higher fees than most other wallets.
  2. Limited and sluggish customer support.

Foris DAX Asia Pte. Ltd

This is a Singapore-based company that owns the Crypto,com exchange. It was founded in 2016 by Bobby Bao, Rafael Melo, Kris Marszalek and Gary Or. The same company also runs a non-custodial wallet, which is why it earns a spot among the best digital wallet companies. The Exchange is one of the most successful in the world with over 80 million users.

Foris DAX has a similar strategy to coinbase. The large number of users present an opportunity to secure more revenue from running a DeFi wallet. Since the wallet is non-custodial, users get to enjoy self-custody of their digital assets. The Crypto.com wallet supports over 30 blockchains and over 700 tokens. The wallet is available for iOS and Android operating systems.

Pros:

  1. It is easy to understand and navigate hence boosting user-friendliness for novices and experienced traders.
  2. Users can pay hold CRO to pay for transaction fees at discounted rates.

Cons:

  1. Trading fees have different tiers which introduces complexity for users.
  2. Many users have complained about poor customer support.

Consensys

Consensys joins the list because it owns MetaMask, one of the top and most popular DeFi wallets globally. The wallet has over 30 million users across the world and it supports multiple blockchain networks. Consensys is a New York-based company hence it is regulated in the U.S. The same company also manages the wallet including providing sport. Note that MetaMask is a non-custodial wallet hence users have control of their private keys.

Consensys was formed in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. MetaMask’s key feature is perhaps the fact that it is a one-stop shop for many DeFi. It can connect users to numerous blockchain networks, dapps, protocols for asset swapping.

Pros:

  1. While it offers self-custody, the MetaMask wallet adds an extra layer of security by including 2FA.
  2. It provides hardware wallet support.
  3. It does not collect user data.

Cons:

  1. It is a hot wallet hence there is still a non-zero probability of a security risk.

Binance

Binance Holdings Ltd is the company that runs the Binance exchange. The latter is the largest crypto exchange in the world by volume. It has over 200 million registered users. Binance was founded in 2013 by Yi He, Campbell Castro, Roger Wang and former CEO Changpeng Zhao. has its headquarters in the Cayman Islands where it is regulated. Since it is an exchange, users can access in-exchange addresses. However, it also has the Binance WEB3 wallet which is non-custodial.

Pros:

  1. One of the main features of this wallet is that it offers robust integration with the Binance exchange.
  2. It offers chart data within its interface, making it easy for users to trade with.
  3. Boasts of an abundance of features as well as high security courtesy of multi-party computation.
  4. Robust customer service.
  5. Cross-chain bridging is possible.

Cons:

  1. The heavy integration raises questions regarding the safety of user data.

The Ledger Company

This is a Paris-based company which makes the popular crypto hardware wallet called Ledger. These are cold storage wallets which provide the safest level of storage for cryptocurrencies. Ledger wallets were among the first hardware wallets for crypto to exist hence it had the advantage of an early start in a rapidly growing industry. This is why the Ledger Company has a spot in the list of the best digital wallet companies. Its products are quite popular in the crypto community. It is estimated that there are over 1.5 million Ledger hardware wallet users.

The Ledger company was founded in 2014. Some of its founders include Eric Larcheveque (current CEO), Thomas France,Joel Pobeda andNicolas Bacca. The Ledger Company is among the pioneers of hardware crypto wallets for cold storage.

Pros:

  1. It is a cold wallet hence it boasts of top tier security.
  2. It facilitates full custody of digital assets.
  3. It supports access to dapps and NFT management.

Cons:

  1. It cannot be described as fully open-source.
  2. Limited customer service.
  3. Limited space for storage

 

Exodus Movement, Inc.

This is the company that created the Exodus wallet. Exodus made its debut in 2015 and was founded by  Daniel Castagnoli and. JP Richardson. It is one of the most popular self-custodial software wallets. It is based in Omaha Nebraska hence it exists under U.S regulations. This means it allows users to control their private keys. It has over 1.25 million users. It supports over 290 cryptocurrencies.

Pros:

  1. Users have control of their private keys hence self-custody.
  2. Users can conduct transactions within the wallet using both centralized and decentralized exchanges.

Cons:

  1. Security may not be optimal since it is a hot wallet that can be connected via the internet.
  2. Users who want to trade ERC20 tokens require an Ethereum explorer since there is no direct ERC20 support.

Best non-crypto digital wallet companies

It would prudent to also look at what is on offer beyond the crypto industry. The traditional finance industry also has its fair share of offerings that can be categorized as digital wallet companies. They include:

PayPal

PayPal Holdings is the company that owns the PayPal payment processing wallet. It is one of the most popular digital wallet companies in  the world which many people use to make payments on e-commerce platforms or for money remittance services. The company is based in the U.S with its head quarters in California. The company was founded in 1998 and its founders are Yu Pan, Luke Nosek, Max Levchin and Peter Thiel.

PayPal was one of the companies that built their success by strategically facilitating e-commerce. By working with and encrypting bank and  card data, PayPal was able to insert and make itself a key part of the financial infrastructure.

Pros:

  1. The PayPal wallet uses robust encryption to ensure a high level of security for user data.
  2. Its interface is user-friendly.
  3. It does not charge monthly fees but instead charges fees on transactions.
  4. It is accepted across the globe hence it boasting of a high degree of trust.

Cons:

  1. PayPal transaction fees are quite significant at 3-4% which makes
  2. PayPal is a centralized entity and one of the major disadvantages of that is account holds. The company may hold user funds and block transactions. Usually for a reason.

 

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a digital wallet created Apple for micro-payments or contactless payments. It is an iOS solution for the likes of Apple ecosystem whose devices have a wide reach especially in the U.S market. It was designed as a simple but convenient method of payment to rival card payments. The latest data reveals that Apple Pay has over 500 million users across the globe.

Pros:

  1. It is highly secure and convenient.
  2. Easy to use.
  3. Most U.S users use iPhones hence peer-to-peer payments work well.

Cons:

  1. While Apple Pay is convenient, peer to peer transactions are limited to the U.S market.
  2. Peer to peer transactions only work on iOS devices.
  3. Limited merchant support.

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay is a mobile-based digital wallet service developed by South Korean tech company Samsung Electronics. Samsung  Pay was launched in 2015 and currently has over 16 million users in the U.S. The Samsung Pay wallet allows users to pay with their Samsung phones and Samsung smartwatches. The Samsung wallet uses NFC to enable tap-to-pay. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons with Samsung Pay.

Pros:

  1. Samsung Pay is usable wherever debit or credit cards are accepted hence offering convenience.
  2. Users get rewarded with redeemable points for using the Samsung Pay wallet.
  3. It makes use of tokenization and deploys multiple security features for authentication.

Cons:

  1. Compatibility is arguably one of the biggest disadvantages. Not everyone has a Samsung device hence sending money from a different wallet might be challenging.

 

Cash App

Cash App is a Peer to Peer payment app that was created by a company called Block, whose CEO is former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The Cash App wallet is currently one of the most favorite payment solutions for most Americans. It is often used to pay for day-to-day transactions such as buying coffee or paying for food deliveries.

Cash App mad its debut in 2013 and has so far amassed over 57 million monthly active users. This underscores the robust level of adoption, indicating a strong level of trust from users.  This digital wallet boasts over more than $14 billion in annual revenue. The app has more than

Pros:

  1. Support for Bitcoin buying and selling.
  2. Free debit card.
  3. Users are greeted by a smooth and intuitive interface.
  4. Does not charge fees.

Cons:

  1. Deposit methods are limited.
  2. Some transactions are charged heft fees.
  3. Security is a concern and malicious attackers may take advantage.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Conclusion on the best digital wallets companies

The above are just some of the companies out of the many that exit currently. The companies that made it to this list are here because they have amassed a large user-base organically, they are listed in key jurisdictions with clear regulatory standards or they are part of a major exchange. These characteristics go hand-in-hand with healthy investment in security and support.

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