Skip to content
Swen Keller
- Home
- /
- Hardware Wallets Reviews
- /
- Ngrave Zero Review 2024:...
Ngrave Zero Review 2024: Supported Assets & More
Swen Keller
- URL:https://www.ngrave.io
- Hardware Compatible: Yes
- Price: €398.00
- Staking Rewards: No
- Platform App: Desktop, Mobile
- NFTs Storage: Yes
- No. of Assets Supported: All ERC-20 tokens and 14 other digital assets
- Type of Wallet: Crypto hardware wallet
Ngrave Zero Review: Our Opinion
The Ngrave Zero wallet is a durable air-gapped (completely offline) hardware device that offers military-grade security for digital assets. It is arguably the leading next-generation hardware wallet in terms of its core purpose – security.
However, aside from its state-of-the-art security build and features, Ngrave offers a limited number of cryptocurrencies and features (no staking support) when compared to its competitors. That said, the Zero wallet supports NFTs and has a native software platform.
An Overview of Ngrave Zero
Ngrave Zero is a blockchain and digital asset security company founded in Belgium by Ruben Merre (CEO), Xavier Hendrickx (CTO), and (COO) Edouard Vanham.
Xavier Hendrickx has a background in computer science and has been in the crypto space since 2013. He was affected by the 2014 Mt Gox hack while working as CTO for Swarm City and this pushed him to become more focused on developing blockchain applications and he went on to co-found Ngrave.
The goal of the company is to make highly secure crypto and blockchain products that are easy to use. The Ngrave product suite was manufactured in close collaboration with the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), one of the world’s top institutions in nanotechnology, and the Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COSIC), a research group for applied cryptography. Besides the aforementioned institutions, Ngrave was built with the aid of other major partners and advisors.
Concerning the product itself, the Ngrave wallet is a completely offline device and it is a physically tamper-proof hardware device. This helps to eliminate various types of remote attack vectors.
Pros
- It uses a custom operating system
- It is water and dust resistant
- It does not rely on any network capability
Cons
- Poor touchscreen usability
- Limited support for cryptocurrencies outside the Ethereum blockchain
Ngrave Zero Wallet: What is It?
The Ngrave wallet is a cryptocurrency and NFT hardware wallet that provides air-gapped security for storing the user’s cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Tagged the coldest crypto wallet, the Zero wallet provides users with state-of-the-art security and an intuitive user interface that enables crypto management offline. You can also create private keys and sign transactions offline, offering one of the first truly offline hardware wallets.
To understand the hardware device better let’s see some standout features of the Ngrave Zero wallet:
A 4 Inch Touchscreen
This cold wallet offers a touchscreen (tap and swipe) that allows you to manage multiple crypto wallets (up to 100 accounts).
100% Offline
The Ngrave Zero is completely “air-gapped”. This means that it does not depend on any network connection such as NFC, WiFi, 4G, Bluetooth, 4G, or USB capability to function. All communication on its system occurs via transparent QR codes.
Custom Operating System
A Ngrave Zero wallet team of security experts developed their operating system from scratch. This is a huge leap from the direction of most hardware wallets, which use smartphone operating systems and become vulnerable to the limitations of such systems.
EAL7
Ngrave has an EAL7 certification which is the highest possible security certification globally. The cold wallet is currently the only financial product to integrate a custom EAL7-certified operating system.
Biometric Sensor
ZERO features a biometric sensor that adds a thicker layer of security for transaction signing and authentication. The hardware device uses your fingerprint to create your Ngrave Perfect Key, which unlocks your device and signs all transactions alongside an 8-digit PIN code.
QR Codes
Zero users’ QR codes for seamless, secure, and instant communication with the online space for scanning/syncing all your accounts to its native app or initiating a transaction.
Comment on Price
Ngrave Zero offers a simple price structure. The Ngrave Wallet device by itself costs €398. However, the Ngrave Wallet plus the Graphene, which is called the Combo costs €498.
When compared to competitors such as Trezor or Ledger, Ngrave Zero has a higher price. However, in its defence, it does offer tighter security measures than both of them.
Why use a Cold Storage Wallet?
If you intend to hold a large volume of cryptocurrencies, store your cryptocurrencies for a long period or diversify your crypto portfolio, a cold storage wallet is your best choice.
Cold storage wallets offer better security for users’ digital assets than hot wallets. Hot wallets are constantly connected to the web, which makes them susceptible to malicious attacks and viruses.
Cold storage wallets on the other hand are 100% offline and are only connected to the internet when in use. Cold storage wallets also have additional security features that make them almost impossible to hack.
Access to the wallet’s funds is exclusively granted to the possessor of the wallet’s private key. Users merely need to input the private key on the secure hardware device for entry.
Asides from the encryption of the wallet with PIN protection, users can securely sign transactions on their Zero wallet without any threat of exposure to hackers.
All transactions are verified through the encrypted hardware device. This makes it impossible for anyone who does not have your Ngrave private key to access or transfer funds from the wallet.
Most cold storage wallets are also designed to support multiple cryptocurrencies/blockchains. On the other hand, most hot wallets are designed to support cryptocurrencies on a particular blockchain, and only a few offer support for multiple blockchains. Most cold storage wallets do not have this limitation, as they support the storage of several digital assets across different blockchains.
Cryptocurrencies Supported
Ngrave Zero supports over 1,500 cryptocurrencies and tokens. Supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Solana, Stellar Lumens, Shiba Inu, Decentraland, Litecoin, XRP, Wrapped Bitcoin Polygon, Tether, Binance Coin, Tezos, etc.
Does it Support NFTs?
Yes, the Ngrave Zero Wallet, unlike most hardware wallets, supports NFTs. Using the hardware wallet’s custom app LIQUID, the device allows you to secure your ETH-based NFTs completely offline.
To do so, you just need to create an ETH crypto wallet on your Ngrave Zero if you don’t already have one, copy your address, and send your NFTs to it from your hot wallet.
How to Set Up the Ngrave Wallet?
To securely set up the Ngrave Wallet adhere to the following steps:
Step 1: Create Ngrave Perfect Key
The Ngrave wallet generates your Ngrave Perfect Key based on an embedded “True Random Number Generator” (TRNG) patented chip, photon measurements of the ambient light, and your unique biometrics.
Step 2: Backup your Ngrave Perfect Key
You can create a backup for your Perfect Key, by punching the Perfect Key generated into a stainless steel backup solution termed Graphene that comes alongside the Ngrave Wallet. The Graphene consists of 2 parts for an extra encryption layer.
Step 3: Sync with the LIQUID App
At this point, you’ll need to sync with the Ngrave Zero wallet’s LIQUID app via a QR code. This enables you to transfer all public information of your crypto accounts and keeps your private keys offline on Ngrave Zero.
Step 4: Receive Funds
After adhering to the previous steps to set up your Ngrave Wallet and private keys you can now send funds to your Ngrave Zero by copying your address or showing your QR code.
Step 5: Monitor Your Portfolio on the Blockchain
Ngrave Zero, unlike most hardware wallets, allows you to monitor your cryptocurrency portfolio on the blockchain, while ensuring your private keys are stored offline.
Ngrave Zero Review: Security
Ngrave Zero holds the highest security certifications. It is the only financial product to integrate an EAL7-certified OS. It also has CC EAL5+ as well as CE and FCC certifications. Ngrave Zero is also IP55-certified and is water and dust resistant.
Also, unlike many hardware devices that rely on mobile phone operating systems, Ngrave Zero uses a custom operating system developed from scratch by Ngrave’s experienced security experts. The use of its custom operating system eliminates any security vulnerabilities that may arise if it were using an external operating system.
Ngrave Zero is 100% offline.
The Ngrave wallet is air-gapped and does not rely on any network capability like Bluetooth, 4G, Wi-Fi, or NFC to function. It also does rely on USB. All communication with the hardware wallet is done via transparent QR codes using the QR scanner on the wallet device.
The hardware device has a 640 X 480 camera at the back that is used to scan QR codes and generate additional randomness during the key generation process. This is different from the built-in chip.
The Ngrave Zero cold wallet is secured with a 12 X 12 mm fingerprint sensor. Users can use their fingerprints as a variable for creating a perfect key and unlocking the device.
Biometric security can also be used in combination with an 8-digit PIN code to sign transactions.
Ngrave Zero generates users’ Perfect Key based on the built-in True Random Number Generated patented chips, photon measurements of the ambient light, and the user’s unique biometrics.
Users can also back up their perfect key with Ngrave Graphene. Ngrave Graphene is Ngrave’s backup solution, it consists of 2 plates which give it an additional encryption layer.
To provide further security for users’ assets, the Zero wallet PIN pad is scrambled, this means that the position of the number is always shuffled.
The scrambled PIN pad protects the hardware device from shoulder surfers and smudge attacks as the attacker will not be able to guess the PIN for the device using the marks your fingers leave on the screen when unlocking the device.
The Zero wallet also has a built-in secure element, a customized and upgraded version of the STSAFE A100 from ST-Electronics.
The Wallet is also secured with cryptographic attestation, which allows you to check if the wallet device you purchased is genuine and safe to use. To verify the authenticity of the wallet device, you will be prompted to scan a QR code on the Ngrave website when you power the Zero wallet for the first time. If you suspect that the Zero wallet you received has been tampered with, you can contact the Ngrave team via support@ngrave.io.
That said, Ngrave Zero offers the highest security assurance as it is fully tamper-proof. It is difficult and expensive to break into and reprogram. The wallet is also designed to automatically wipe itself if it detects any intrusion.
Even if an attacker were to tamper with the device, the cryptographic attestation step will show that damage has been done to the device the moment you turn it on.
The attacker will also not be able to go beyond the key generation process because it is done in a way that only the wallet owner can manipulate the final key. This gives you the ability to resolve any tampering that has happened.
Also, as long as your private keys do not have any digital representation or backup and are kept private, the Zero wallet cannot be hacked by an online hacker at rest and during transactions.
For additional security, Ngrave Zero has an important step that must be done when you initiate transactions: When you scan a transaction request QR code from the Ngrave app with your Zero wallet, the wallet will display what you are about to sign.
You will be required to verify that the transaction details are the same as what is displayed on the app. This is done to ensure that there are no mistakes before you sign transactions on the wallet.
If your Zero wallet device is broken or lost, you can recover your assets by importing your backup to another Ngrave Zero wallet or any other crypto wallet.
You can also wipe the device whenever you wish to.
To wipe your Zero wallet, go to “Settings” from the Zero wallet, Select “System Preferences” and then ” Wipe device”. Once you confirm the instruction, the wallet will be reset to factory settings.
Asides from this device wiping process, your Zero wallet will also be wiped after 10 wrong PIN attempts.
Different Ngrave Zero Wallet Comparison
At the moment, there’s only one model of the Ngrave Zero that you can purchase for €398 without the Graphene sheet or €498 with the Graphene sheet.
The current model comes with the LIQUID custom app that allows users to manage their NFT and cryptocurrency assets.
Opening an Account
Ngrave Zero is one of the first crypto hardware wallet to be fully air-gapped. So it offers zero online accounts and you can’t “create an account”.
All the hardware device enables you to do is create a Perfect Key that you can use to sign transactions and log into its custom app.
Most times, you only need to create an account for hot wallets that store your private keys themselves and require KYC adherence.
Ngrave Liquid App
Ngrave Liquid App offers a real-time connection to the blockchain. You can sync your Zero wallet with the Liquid App and check in to your crypto account in real-time without compromising the security of your private keys.
The Ngrave Liquid App also allows you to scan QR codes and sign crypto transactions offline but with the speed of a hot wallet.
You can use the Ngrave Liquid App to generate transaction signatures and send them to the blockchain.
You can also monitor the status of your transactions in real time using the Ngrave Liquid App.
All communications between the Ngrave Liquid App and the Ngrave zero hardware wallet are done via secured one-way verifiable QR codes. This communication does not contain any secret information like your private key.
Ngrave Zero Review: Customer Satisfaction
Ngrave offers customer support via email at support@ngrave.io. There is also a help center on the website with helpful information concerning the order, shipping, and use of the Ngrave Zero device.
Ngrave has an excellent rating on third-party review platforms. The majority of users attest to the impregnable security of the hardware device as well as the swift and helpful response from the Ngrave Team.
Where Can I Buy a Ngrave Zero Hardware Wallet?
You can buy a Ngrave Wallet on their official website here: https://www.ngrave.io by clicking the yellow Buy Now button.
Alternatives to Ngrave Zero
There are 2 major alternatives to Ngrave Zero, which are Ledger and Trezor. Both options pale in comparison when it comes to the security measures that Ngrave Zero offers.
However, when it comes to usability and crypto options like staking and app functionality, Trezor and Ledger win.
Final Thoughts
Coinbase Global Inc is a reputable cryptocurrency exchange with customers worldwide. As such, the Coinbase wallet is a popular self-custodial hot cryptocurrency wallet that offers users a simple way to store and manage their digital assets safely.
Unlike many popular wallets, the Coinbase wallet is free, and users have control over their assets because the wallet is self-custodial. This helps them ensure the utmost level of security in case the exchange gets hacked.
The wallet is ideal for all crypto enthusiasts who want easy access to NFTs, a wide range of digital currencies, and crypto staking. However, investors should consider the associated fees before making a decision.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
The hardware wallet supports over 1500 Ethereum tokens and more than 7 other crypto assets.
We always try to provide the most accurate information available, and make sure our team follow through.
If you want to know more about our Crypto Exchanges Review Methodology follow the link below
Skrumble.com provides all its content for informational purposes only, and this should not be taken as financial advice to buy, trade, or sell any investment instruments or products, including but not limited to cryptocurrencies, or use any specific exchange. Please do not use this website as investment advice, financial advice, or legal advice, and each individual’s needs may vary from that of the author. Investing in financial instruments, including cryptocurrencies, carries a high risk and is not suitable for all investors. It is possible to lose the entire initial investment, so do not invest what you cannot afford to lose. We strongly advise conducting your own research before making any investment decisions. This post includes affiliate links with our partners who may compensate us.
To view our privacy policy read here.
