When it comes to become self-custody, many people wonder what hardware device to choose. In this series of articles, we’ll try to inform you as best we can in an unbiased way.
Today, we’re going to take a look at the solution offered by Tangem.
At first glance, Tangem seems to be the hardware wallet that comes closest to Satochip. In particular, it uses a smart card rather than a complex device that’s closer to a GameBoy than a crypto wallet, which can be a source of problems for the longevity of your hardware. This is a point we have raised in our other comparisons, notably with the solution offered by Ngrave or even Ledger.
Tangem’s presentation
Before we can compare, we need to understand what Tangem’s solution is all about.
Tangem is a hardware wallet in the form of a smart card. Depending on the package you buy, you can have 2 or 3 cards. These additional cards can be used as a backup in case you lose one of them.
Using Tangem requires the use of the mobile application developed by their team, and the wallet can only be used by connecting to this application via NFC.
In just a few lines, fundamental differences from Satochip’s approach already emerge.
But, as always, let’s start with the price.
Pricing
Tangem comes in the form of a duo of cards for an initial price of $55.If you want an additional card, you’ll have to pay $70.
Remember that a Satochip card will only cost you $25, and if you don’t already have a card reader, for $20 you can buy one here, which will be useful for taking advantage of the functionalities of our other products such as Satodime or Seedkeeper.
We’ll see later why it’s almost imperative to opt for the pack with the most cards, due to Tangem’s relatively atypical management of your wallets’ private keys. 😯
Private key storage
Tangem’s idea is to take the hassle out of keeping and storing private keys. Although the ecosystem has no shortage of anecdotes concerning private keys that have been mislaid, it seems to us to be more in keeping with the original spirit of cryptos to inform and educate users about the proper ways to store their seedphrases rather than opting for an approach that deprives them of this possibility.
In fact, it seems that Tangem has finally come to the same conclusion, since it is now possible to import a seedphrase into your Tangem wallet, whereas this was initially a more closed solution.
Even so, if you opt for Tangem’s solution, the private key is generated by the card’s secure chip and can only be exported via 1 or 2 additional cards at that time.
This raises serious security issues, because let’s say you’ve opted for the two-card package and want to add a third card to increase your number of backups, it’s simply not possible.
Similarly, as the private keys remain stored inside the card and the seed cannot be extracted, if you lose 2 (or 3) cards, you have no way of generating a new wallet.
Security
Tangem, like Satochip, offers EAL6+ certification. However, although Tangem’s team emphasizes an open-source approach, this only applies to the mobile application and not to the firmware itself.
At Satochip, we guarantee that all our code is published on Github and will remain free and accessible forever.
This semi-open-source approach implies several things. The most important is that it is imperative to trust the process of generating your private keys, as Tangem does not communicate on this point.
Similarly, the sharing of private keys between Tangem cards is an issue. This implies that it is possible to extract the private key from one card and copy it to another.
As you can see, Tangem’s approach is completely different from Satochip’s, especially when it comes to private key management and keeping your seedphrase safe.
As Tangem didn’t initially have a process for backing up your seedphrases, the company doesn’t offer a storage solution. If you decide to use a seedphrase, don’t forget to save it properly. You can read our article on this subject and get a Seedkeeper to avoid losing your recovery phrase.
Transportation
Like Satochip, Tangem cards can be easily carried and stored in your wallet, without arousing suspicion. A point that is becoming increasingly important as the crypto ecosystem emerges from its niche. Caution and discretion are more important than ever.
Usability
Tangem is a wallet that allows you to use DeFi and will manage the connection with the wallet connect protocol to be usable with as many dApps as possible.
While this is obviously a positive point, your Tangem card can only be used via the official application developed by the project teams. This practice, while understandable in the interests of facilitating the user experience, could backfire on Tangem wallet holders if the application were to disappear or suffer technical problems.
This is not a concern for holders of a Satochip, which can be used in a much more versatile way, and is now natively supported by Sparrow Wallet. You can also follow our tutorials on how to connect your Satochip to Rabby Wallet.
At Satochip, all our efforts are directed towards providing new ways for our users to enjoy their cryptos, without being locked into any particular application or software.
The upcoming redesign of our applications’ interface will make using your Satochip card even easier. Meanwhile, feel free to check our academy if you want to learn more about the crypto world and what Satochip can do for you !
