Ledger Cryptosteel Review – the Perfect Solution to Backup Your Ledger Wallet Keys

A couple of days ago, Ledger have announced that they now have partnered with Cryptosteel to deliver an all-in-one solution to those who want to keep their cryptos safe.

In my previous article, I’ve reviewed why is it a good idea to keep your cryptos in a hardware wallet, especially if you’ve got more than a couple of hundred of dollars invested in cryptocurrencies.

The Ledger Nano S is a wallet I personally trust the most – it is a solid product and its support proved to be really close to the community too – besides answering direct questions and emails, they also keep an eye on their reddit and provide detailed answers to the hardest questions. For instance, one of the latest topics was “How do I REALLY know the Ledger Nano S is secure?” The answer proved that Ledger’s support team is composed of tech savvies rather than just generic “hold on I’ll ask my manager” kind of employees.

All of this speaks highly of the company and now you have the chance to enjoy the bundle of two Ledger Nano S and a Cryptosteel.

The Powerful Combo

You probably know what a hardware wallet serves for (if you don’t, make sure to check this review first Ledger Nano S review) – it stores your private keys and allows you to safely perform your transactions even from an infected mobile device.

The personal keys are private and no one can access them – you get only one chance to write them down and there is no way to take a look at them afterwards. While this security measure is indeed amazing, it is also a potential downside – your money is forever lost in the case you lose the piece of paper where you’ve written the 24 word passphrase.

Cryptosteel is a device that aims to solve the achilles heel by letting you keep your private keys engraved in stainless brushed steel.

Cryptosteel

Cryptosteel is an indestructible backup tool that allows you to store your 24-word passphrase and access it anytime you need it. The device is basically a stainless steel case where you have to insert the symbols, each of which is engraved in a stainless steel rectangular piece of metal. The case comes with a total of 245 letter tiles and can hold up to 96 tiles.

This allows you to store the first four letters of each of your 24-word passphrase. No matter how long your passphrase is, you’ll only need the first four letters of each word, which is why Cryptosteel is designed to store exactly 96 characters.

Ledger Cryptosteel Seed Words

Ledger Cryptosteel Letters

Now, How Secure Is Cryptosteel?

This stainless steel device is inherently resistant to fire, pressure and fall damage, as well as humidity and most acids.

It can withstand up to 1200C/2200F, which means that the device won’t be destroyed in case of house fire.

This guy has walked the extra mile and has tested the device in the harshest conditions:

Eventually, Cryptosteel is meant to withstand even worse trials, which probably means that as for today, it is the most secure way of holding your 24-word passphrase.

Setting Up Cryptosteel

The setup process is straightforward but not exactly easy. It might take you somewhere between 10 and 40 minutes to put all of the 96 letter tiles inside the case.

In the process, you better make sure you are not skipping a letter, since if that happens, you’ll have to disassemble part of the row, insert the missing character and reassemble it again, which might take you some additional five or seven minutes.

That being said, you don’t need any tools to set up your Cryptosteel. Some people use a screwdriver to speed things up, though it is not necessary.

Ledger Cryptosteel vs Trezor Cryptosteel

Cryptosteel has been around since 2015. Back in the day, the device was revolutionary because there were no alternatives to it.

At first, the only way of getting your hands on one was by using the indiegogo page.

After the device became quite popular, Trezor has partnered with Cryptosteel and now they offer a pack that includes two Trezors together with one Cryptosteel device. It can be bought for around $ 200.

A couple of days ago, the partnership between Cryptosteel and Ledger has been confirmed too when they’ve announced the new combo. The pack includes two Ledger Nano S instead of two Trezors, as well as the Cryptosteel. While I personally trust either wallet, I’m glad that now we’ve got a choice and can buy from the company we trust the most.

In Conclusion

It is good to see that Cryptosteel keeps moving forward by forming new partnerships with existing companies. Now that Ledger features Cryptosteel on their website, the device might become even more popular and help more people to secure their cryptos.

Cryptosteel could be overkill for those who do not keep a lot of money in their hardware wallets. However if you do keep more than a couple of hundreds of dollars in cryptos and are planning to get more it might be a great idea of getting your hands on one of those. After all, you can always re-sell the device on Amazon and get most of your money back.

Side note: since the device is hand-made, orders can take quite a while to be fulfilled. Some people get pissed off because of that, so make sure you’ve got a bit of patience when ordering one!