2025 Hardware Wallet Survey and Trends
What Crypto Users Really Want
The global hardware wallet market has seen massive growth over the past few years, showing how much crypto users care about security and control. In this 2025 survey, we collected insights from over 2,164 respondents worldwide. We analyzed key factors like preferred wallet brands, staking habits, security concerns, and buying behavior to reveal what really matters to crypto holders today.
HOW WE DID
Our study began by designing a query-based survey focused on the most important factors crypto users consider when buying a hardware wallet – from security features and staking options to connectivity and price sensitivity.
We gathered responses from 2,164 participants worldwide, targeting both active crypto investors and first-time wallet buyers. To ensure balanced representation, we collected demographic (gender, investor type) and geographic data (North America, Europe, Asia, etc.).
Each response was carefully weighted to reflect the global crypto user base and to avoid over-representation of any single region or user group. Percentages were rounded to two decimal places for clarity, and final respondent counts were normalized to a consistent base size.
A detailed methodology, including question design and sample selection process, can be found at the end of this report.
72.06% of respondents said security features are their #1 priority when choosing a hardware wallet.
37.65% prefer USB-C / wired connections over Bluetooth, NFC, or air-gapped options – proving that most users still value reliability and direct connections.
48.01% want multi-chain compatibility from a hardware wallet (Ethereum, BSC, Solana, Cardano, etc.).
45.98% favor large color touchscreens over smaller screens, suggesting that better UX and easy navigation are critical for adoption.
43.29% believe Ledger is the most trusted hardware wallet brand, followed by Trezor and ELLIPAL.
72.06% Believe Security Features Are #1 Priority in a Hardware Wallet Rather Than Convenience Features
(What is the most important factor when choosing a hardware wallet)
Most people believe that security features are overwhelmingly the most important factor when choosing hardware wallets, with 72.06% of respondents prioritizing this. Ease of use, price, multi-chain support, and customer service follow with significantly lower percentages.
- Secure Element chips were the top priority, chosen by 40.99% of people.
- Open-source firmware came in second, picked by 26.02%.
- Just behind that was multi-sig or Shamir backup, at 20.01%.
- And finally, clear signing was chosen by 12.99% of people.
37.65% Prefer USB-C / Wired Connections Over Bluetooth or QR-Code
(Which connectivity option do you prefer in a hardware wallet)
Most users still rely on wired connections, and USB-C is clearly the most popular at 37.65%. Bluetooth is close behind, picked by 32.94% of people. This shows that many are starting to like the convenience of going wireless.
What’s really interesting is that 17.67% of people prefer completely offline QR transactions. This just goes to show how much more people are paying attention to security.
NFC was chosen by only 11.74%, so it’s not a common choice for hardware wallet users yet.
This whole mix of preferences suggests that for most people, reliability comes first. But, they’re starting to get comfortable with wireless options as long as their security isn’t at risk. For companies, a good strategy for the future would be to focus on making wireless connections more secure and easier to use. That could really help more people start using them.
39% of People Are Willing to Spend Over $100 on a Hardware Wallet
(How much are you willing to spend on a hardware wallet)
Well, when we looked into how much people are ready to spend on a hardware wallet, it’s quite clear that most users aren’t looking for the cheapest option. In fact, a large number of them are ready to invest a decent amount to get a device they can really trust. The most popular price range was between $100 and $200, with a huge 39% of people choosing it.
A lot of people are also comfortable spending between $50 and $100, which made up about a third of our results. On the flip side, very few people are looking for a bargain, as the “under $50” category was the least popular choice. Only a small group was willing to spend more than $200.
45.98% of People Preferred a Large Color Touchscreen Display Over Smaller Screens
(What display type do you like in a hardware wallet)
Over 45% of people prefer a large color touchscreen, so this suggests that a lot of users value a modern, easy-to-use interface. The next most popular choice was ‘Doesn’t matter’, chosen by almost 21% of people, which is interesting because it shows some users don’t care about the display as much as other features.
Just under 19% still prefer a small monochrome screen, and a small group of about 14% like a minimal or no-screen design, likely for easy portability. Hence, this mix of choices tells us that while most people want a user-friendly experience, a significant portion of users still prioritize simplicity or security above all else.
- Large color touchscreen 45.98%
- Doesn’t matter 20.98%
- Small monochrome screen 18.99%
- Minimal / no screen 14.00%
48.01% Want Multi-Chain Compatibility from a Hardware Wallet
(Which cryptocurrencies must a wallet support for you to consider buying)
The provided survey data shows that a multi-chain approach is the most popular choice, with nearly half of the respondents (48.01%) preferring a wallet that supports a wide range of blockchains.
While a multi-chain wallet is the top pick, the support for “BTC, ETH, and top 10 altcoins” is also really strong, coming in second at 26.02%. This group of users might not need every single token out there, but they definitely want more than just the basics.
In contrast, the two smaller categories reveal more specific user needs. The “few selected coins” group, at 15.02%, shows that some users have a more focused strategy. These are probably the people who only care about a handful of projects they’ve researched and believe in long-term. Then, at the bottom of the list, we have the “BTC & ETH only” crowd, which is 11.00% of respondents.
- BTC & ETH only 11.00%
- BTC, ETH, top 10 altcoins 26.02%
- Multi-chain 48.01%
- Few selected coins 15.02%
43.29% Believe Ledger is the Most Trusted Hardware Wallet Brand, Followed by Trezor and ELLIPAL
(Which is the most trusted hardware wallet brand for you)
Ledger clearly stands out as the most trusted hardware wallet, taking the top spot with over 43% of users choosing it as their preferred option. Trezor comes next with a strong 26%, showing it still has a loyal following.
ELLIPAL sits comfortably in third place with just over 16%, while the rest of the wallets hold much smaller portions of trust. Tangem and SafePal lead the smaller competitors, but most other wallets like Keystone, SecuX, BitBox02, and OneKey remain niche. This data shows that users heavily trust the big three, while the rest of the market still fights for recognition.
Our Methodology
- We ran a structured, online survey focused on hardware-wallet purchase drivers (security, connectivity, display, coin support, price, brand trust, etc.).
- Sample size: 2,164 valid responses collected globally via our site, newsletter, and social channels.
- Screening & cleaning: removed duplicates, obvious bots, and incomplete submissions; normalized results to a 2,164 base; rounded to two decimals.
- Weighting: light post-stratification by region to avoid over-representation; percentages may not sum to 100.00% due to rounding.
- Statistical note: overall margin of error ≈ ±2.1% at the 95% confidence level (worst-case proportion).
Gender breakdown (n = 2,164)
- Men: 1,336 (61.74%)
- Women: 784 (36.23%)
- Not disclosed: 44 (2.03%)
Investor status (n = 2,164)
- Active investors: 1,545 (71.40%)
- Non-investors: 619 (28.60%)
Geographic distribution (n = 2,164)
| Region | Respondents | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 703 | 32.49% |
| Europe | 615 | 28.42% |
| Asia | 479 | 22.13% |
| Australia | 192 | 8.87% |
| South America | 126 | 5.82% |
| Africa | 49 | 2.26% |