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Crypto Wallets · Scoring methodologyTested17 MAY 26

How we score wallets

Every wallets we review is scored on the same 5 pillars, with the weights below. The overall score is a weighted average, same math we use for every silo.

Security

40% weight
  • Custody model (self / MPC / custodial) and key isolation
  • Open-source code or vendor audit history
  • Connectivity attack surface (USB / Bluetooth / air-gapped)
  • Historical incidents and their resolution

Chain & Asset Support

20% weight
  • Number of supported chains and tokens
  • Native asset coverage (BTC, ETH, SOL, plus EVM L2s)
  • NFT support (where applicable)
  • dApp / WalletConnect integration breadth

Ease of Use

20% weight
  • Time to first receive after install
  • Mobile / desktop / extension UX parity
  • Companion app polish and update cadence
  • Recovery flow clarity

Cost

10% weight
  • Hardware price (for devices)
  • In-wallet swap fees vs market mid
  • Free vs paid feature tiers

Trust & Transparency

10% weight
  • Vendor transparency on incidents
  • Public audit cadence
  • Optional services (recovery, custody) — opt-in or default
  • Privacy posture

— How we test —

We buy each hardware wallet at retail, install fresh, and run a fixed test set: receive on three chains (BTC, ETH, SOL), send to a known destination, install one third-party app, and attempt a recovery from seed phrase. For software wallets we install on a fresh device, run the same chain set, and verify dApp connection on three popular sites. Every score reflects the test, not the marketing.

— How the overall score is calculated —

overall = security * 0.40
          + chain_asset_support * 0.20
          + ease_of_use * 0.20
          + cost * 0.10
          + trust_transparency * 0.10

Result is rounded to one decimal. We use a 0-5 scale because the human eye reads "4.2/5" more accurately than "8.4/10" or "84/100".