It is rather difficult to overstate how important a good wallet is, when it comes to safeguarding your Non-Fungible Tokens. Non-Fungible tokens need to be stored in secure software environments called “wallets”, which take the form of desktop and mobile applications.
There are quite a few NFT wallets available on the market right now, and faced with what Alvin Toffler called “Hyperchoice” and cognitive saturation, it is tempting to give in to impatience and download the first wallet that pops up after a quick google search (something we definitely don’t recommend). Taking one’s time to analyse the merits of NFT wallets and their downsides is the recommended approach.
Best NFT Wallets
In this short article, which we hope will become a useful reference for collectors, we shall review the most reputable NFT wallets currently available on the market.
Hardware wallets, such as Ledger or Trezor, are truly a collector’s best options in terms of security, since they allow users to manage their keys without exposing them to the internet during sign-in procedures or transactions. However, since this guide focuses exclusively on software solutions for safeguarding NFTs, we will only mention here that some of the software options mentioned below can be used as interfaces for hardware wallets.
Metamask
Designed in 2016 by Consensys, Metamask is a household name in the Crypto Sector, and it is not a stretch to say that most Crypto users have heard the name or locked eyes with the polygonal fox. Metamask’s life started as a browser extension. In 2020, much to the enthusiasm of crypto users, a mobile application was released. The mobile application and the extension facilitate the management, the transfer and the interaction of NFTs with decentralized applications.
Metamask makes it easy to switch between multiple accounts, a feature that is sure to please those whose NFT strategy includes using multiple addresses to mitigate the risk of theft and online profiling.
Metamask is compatible with the ERC721 and ERC1155 token standards. A victim of its own success (its userbase stands at 10 million right now, with 20% of its userbase coming from the Philippines thanks to the “Axie Infinity effect”), multiple malware versions of Metamask have started appearing on application marketplaces and search engines. Downloading one of those fake wallets and feeding it NFTs is a sure way to quickly lose them. It is imperative to pay attention to sources and make sure one is downloading the official version of the software.
Overall, Metamask is a great solution for storing and managing Non-Fungible Tokens and the slick user interface which we see today is the product of years of interaction between the Metamask Team and the community, which enthusiastically provided critical feedback.
Rainbow Wallet
Rainbow Wallet is a fun, mobile first (iOS and in Beta on Android), non-custodial Ethereum wallet with a brilliant user interface. It is obvious that a tremendous amount of time and effort has been spent to maximize the user experience. Rainbow wallet has all the bells and whistles we have come to expect from a modern Ethereum wallet, such as swapping functionality (via Uniswap), asset tracking, and Wallet Connect integration.
The iOS iteration of Rainbow Wallet allows users to store their private key and/or seed phrase on iCloud, for easy retrieval.
What truly distinguishes Rainbow wallet from the competition is its user interface, more specifically how individual NFTs and collections are organized and presented.
This wallet is particularly well suited to collectors who possess a large amount of NFTs. The graphical space is optimized for clarity and readability, with categories on the left hand side, and the amount of NFTs in each category on the right hand side of Category names. This view makes it easy to jump from collection to collection and provides overall a better experience, in our humble opinion, than Metamask’s NFT view.
Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase is a known name, as it recently became a publicly listed company. It makes perfect sense for Coinbase, given the sheer size of the NFT Market, to allow users to store and manage NFTs from the confines of their Coinbase wallet, perhaps the best wallet one could recommend for complete beginners.
Instead of using public wallet addresses, the Coinbase wallet allows users to send and receive NFTs by inputting usernames. A wise man once said that “Crypto has a UX problem”, and what that wise man meant exactly is that developers often build software with other developers in mind. The coinbase wallet team has taken note of this trend certain teams have of developing with the assumption that users are technical users. The Coinbase wallet simplifies the NFT management process and makes sending and receiving NFTs as simple as sending funds using Paypal.
The only downside of the Coinbase wallet, compared to a solution such as Metamask, is the requirement of identifying yourself through their Know Your Customer procedure – which is understandable from Coinbase’s point of view. As a publicly listed company, it needs to abide by the rules and demand that their users get verified – as Gary Gensler would say, they operate “within the perimeter”.
AlphaWallet
AlphaWallet is a notable addition to our list as it allows users to mint NFTs, in addition to storing them and transferring them. Of all the wallets we have looked into, AlphaWallet is the only one that provides this function. A number of popular decentralized applications, such as Crypto Kitties, OpenSea and ChainZ Arena can also be accessed directly from this mobile-only wallet.
This open-source wallet distinguishes itself through its use of Secure Enclaves, which are software regions on mobile phones in which programs are able to run completely isolated from the rest of the CPU.
Collectors who own a very large amount of NFTs will find this wallet useful, since users are allowed to use meta-tags to better organize their collections.
Enjin Wallet
Enjin is a Singapore based company that has for the longest time been associated with blockchain gaming. The Enjin wallet, a mobile-only wallet with a very rich user interface, empowers users and gamers by allowing the collection of in-game NFTs, as well as other collectibles. A fully-fledged NT marketplace is also available within the wallet.
The Enjin wallet overall has a better security score than all of the other wallets, since it leverages advanced security features, such as dual-factor encryption, ARM instructions, biometrics and auto-lock. The NFT sector is the new wild west, with threatening figures just waiting in the shadows for the right moment to strike and run with their NFT loot. For security conscious users, the Enjin wallet might just be the best pick.
Math Wallet
Math Wallet, available as a web app and as a mobile application, provides support for 65 public blockchains, which is impressive. This wallet is ideal for collectors who own assets on multiple networks, and who wish to have a very wide view of what they own in the palm of their hand.
Backed by Binance Labs and Alameda Research, this wallet provides easy access to multiple marketplaces and platforms, on multiple networks.
As we know, the world of non-fungible tokens is fast converging with decentralized finance. It is conceivable, and it is likely considering who is backing this wallet, that a wallet supporting 65 different networks will enable operations such as cross chain NFT transfers and swaps. Time will tell.
Best NFT Wallets: Verdict
Of all the wallets mentioned above, we give the highest rating to the Enjin Wallet. Its beautiful user interface just cannot be faulted – but our decision is not a purely aesthetic one. The Enjin wallet seems to be the most secure wallet on the market today. With dual factor encryption, ARM instructions, biometrics and an auto-lock feature, serious NFT collectors just cannot go wrong.
Something we did not state above but is certainly worth mentioning as we close this article is the fact that the Enjin Wallet has developed its own proprietary keyboard, custom designed to prevent any form of data sniffing or keylogging.
