The Main Types of Crypto Wallets
Hardware Wallets:
Hardware wallets are physical devices that are designed specifically for storing cryptocurrencies offline. They work by storing your assets & private keys on the device itself, which means they're not connected to the internet and therefore much more secure than other types of wallets. Though they do come with the risk of human error, such as losing or misplacing the hardware device itself.
Popular options are Ledger & Trezor.
2. Software Wallets:
Software wallets are digital wallets that you can download onto your computer or mobile device. They come in a variety of formats, including desktop, mobile, and browser-based wallets. Some software wallets are non-custodial, which means you control your own private keys, while others are custodial, meaning a third-party company manages your private keys for you. We will go into more detail about this soon.
4. Paper Wallets:
A paper wallet is a literal physical piece of paper that contains a user's public wallet address and private keys. Paper wallets were once considered one of the safest ways to store digital assets as it is completely offline and cannot be hacked. However, as more offline hardware options have been created, this method has become less popular. Paper wallets are still a valid way to store your tokens if you have no other storage method, though they can be less user-friendly, and easy to damage or lose. So it should be considered a temporary method until you can access another storage solution.