The Best Cardano Wallets in Canada

2021 was a great year for Cardano as it outperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum by surging over 691%. Cardano has undoubtedly made a lot of progress in the previous year, from launching its much-awaited Alonzo upgrade to being the most developed crypto project in GitHub with over 140,000 events. Launched in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, Cardano is a third-generation blockchain project that improves on first-generation and second-generation crypto projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum. At the core ethos of Cardano is solving the blockchain trilemma of scalability, sustainability, and interoperability. 

What is Cardano?

Cardano is unlike any other crypto project. It is easily one of the industry’s most research-driven and data-driven blockchain projects. Its Ouroboros consensus mechanism was made possible by some of the best technical minds in the world. Today, it’s the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, worth over $47 billion. Trading at $1.41 per token, Cardano has a whopping daily trading volume of $1.9 billion. 

Cardano is appreciated because of its published research and academic work in the Crypto industry. Cardano initiated the Proof of Stake (PoS) revolution by establishing the first PoS protocol that was proven to be secure, scalable, and sustainable. Moreover, it also kickstarted the evolution of environmentally friendly and sustainable smart contracts. 

After the recent update, the Cardano Network is home to numerous DeFi protocols. Soon, it will expand its footground to support games, marketplaces, and more. Cardano has a lot of promise. It has been touted as an “Ethereum Killer” blockchain thanks to its upcoming features, PoS capability, and research-driven approach towards cryptocurrencies. Cardano’s potential is one of the many reasons why there’s an increasing number of investors pumping their portfolio with the platform’s main utility token, ADA. 

What is a Cardano wallet? 

Before we talk about Cardano wallets, we must learn the basic composition of the Cardano token. The native cryptocurrency of the Cardano Network is the ADA, which users can buy via many exchange platforms in Canada. ADA powers everything on the Cardano Network, including its consensus protocol, smart contracts, transactions, decentralized apps, and even governance. 

ADA is composed of keys that allow users to gain ownership of a specific token. A key is typically a set of encoded characters paired with a private and public key. Every ADA has a public key and a private key. The public key allows users to receive transactions from other users on the network, while the private key allows users to open up these transactions and gain access to them. 

Keeping your Private keys secure should be your main priority. If your private key is hacked, lost, or stolen, you could lose access to your assets forever because of blockchain’s immutable and decentralized nature. You can easily lose access to your crypto if you don’t store it safely.

A Cardano wallet is an interface that allows users to securely store, transfer, and spend their ADA. A Cardano wallet can handle a variety of functions, such as dealing with private and public keys and offering an interactive user interface to monitor your balance, send or receive money, among others. A Cardano wallet functions in the same way as a bank account does in terms of storing your assets. However, Cardano wallets are decentralized and readily accessible in contrast to banks.

A Cardano wallet comes in various shapes and sizes, each with its own set of capabilities, benefits, and drawbacks. Cardano wallets are often classified into three types:

• Hardware wallets
• Software wallets
• Exchange wallets

Finding the best Cardano wallet

Choosing a Cardano wallet should be done with consideration and research. A Cardano Wallet is in charge of your ADA’s security; it also acts as the main interface for your ADA, allowing you to spend, monitor, and perform other important operations.To save you some time. Here are some metrics you should consider when selecting a Cardano wallet.

Security 

First prority is choosing a wallet with excellent security. This goes for all three types of Cardano wallets, whether hard, soft, or exchange.  As a result, we recommend using a hardware or software wallet that supports 2FA and guarantees your keys are secured and secure.

Developmental record

Wallets are open-source bits of hardware or software that secure your ADA. Users place a lot of faith in wallets; thus, the team behind the wallet must be trustworthy as well. As a result, consider wallets that are constantly updated and fixed and have a proven track record of development.

Control

The whole goal of having a wallet is to keep track of your Cardano and the keys that go with it. Despite there being numerous custodial wallets in the market, you should opt for non-custodial wallets that provide you with complete control over your assets. You should always be in charge.

Ease of use and accessibility

When choosing a wallet, look for one that has a lot of simple features and can be used on a variety of platforms and devices. Not every wallet is intuitive. You need to feel comfortable with the one you choose.

Smart contract functionality 

Smart contracts power a wide range of decentralized apps, games, metaverses, and marketplaces on Cardano. Therefore, it’s also critical that your Cardano wallet works with various crypto platforms and protocols powered by smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain. You can read up on which platforms work with which wallets.

Token and coin compatibility 

One toke should not rule them all. The tokens that a Cardano wallet supports are a good indicator of how successful, compatible, and accessible it is. Make sure the wallet you pick supports all of the top tokens and other crypto-assets.

The 10 best Cardano wallets

Here are some of the best Cardano wallets in the market. Their costs vary. We’ve also provided some links to help you with your research.

Hardware wallets

Trezor Model  T

Trezor Model T, created by SatoshiLabs, is one of the most amazing and secure Cardano wallets available. The Trezor Model T was one of the first hardware crypto wallets to hit the markets. Originally created for Bitcoin, The Trezor Model T now supports a wide range of other cryptocurrencies.

The Trezor Model T comes with a large interactive touchscreen for ease of navigation and crypto storage convenience. It also has a USB-C plug, allowing you to connect and manage your ADA from your smartphone, even if you don’t have access to a computer. The Trezor Model T supports over 1600 different cryptocurrency tokens and coins, including Cardano, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Litecoin, Zcash, and many others.

Ledger Nano S 

The Ledger Nano S is touted as the first hardware wallet in the market. Despite having fewer features than its successor, the Ledger Nano X,  it remains one of the most affordable and practical Cardano hardware wallets.

The Ledger Nano S comes with a small and powerful OLED screen on which you can keep track of your ADA and do other critical tasks. It also comes with many security measures, such as 2-factor authentication, that make it exceedingly difficult to hack.

The Ledger Nano S works best with the Ledger Live Mobile App, which you can get from any app store. You can easily gain total control of your tokens and optimize the security of your assets using the Ledger Live mobile app.The Ledger Nano S now supports over 1500 different cryptocurrencies and tokens, including Cardano, Bitcoin, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, and more. However, despite its long list of capabilities, the Ledger Nano S lacks Bluetooth and has a USB Type Micro-B connection, which may not be compatible with most recent smartphones.

Ledger Nano X 

The Ledger Nano X is a Bluetooth-enabled hardware wallet that has been on top of every list. It overcomes the shortcomings of its predecessor, the Ledger Nano S, and is one of the most widely used Cardano hardware wallets on the market. 

The Ledger Nano X comes with a fully immersive and interactive OLED screen, a longer-lasting battery, Bluetooth, and better security features. In addition, it shares many of the same features with the Ledger Nano S, including interoperability with the Ledger Live mobile app. However, this time, you can use buy, sell, stake, and borrow crypto assets right from your wallet from partnered exchanges such as Compound, Changelly, Coinfy, 1inch, LIDo, DeversiFi, Zerion, Rainbow.me, Aave, Wyze, and Paraswap. 

The Ledger Nano X supports over 1800 unique crypto tokens, including Cardano, XRP, EOS, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and more. 

Software Wallets 

Adalite

Formerly known as CardanoLite, Adalite is an open-source, client-side interface that enables users to connect and interact with the Cardano Blockchain. It’s a lightweight web-based wallet self-hosted on your PC with your private keys being in your complete possession. 

Adalite is one of the most secure Cardano web-based wallets in the market. You don’t have to download or install any Cardano blockchain nodes or register for accounts. Instead, all you have to do is create a wallet on their website, get a 12-word mnemonic key, and use your account. The Adalite is compatible with all of the hardware wallets listed in this article, so you don’t have to worry about its compatibility. 

Yoroi

Like Metamask, Yoroi is a web 3.0 digital wallet that works as a Chrome extension that users can use to access a Cardano wallet and the Cardano blockchain without downloading a Cardano node. However, unlike Metamask, Yoroi is only compatible with Cardano. The Yoroi Wallet encrypts and stores your private keys locally on your device instead of storing them online, so you can export them any time you want. In addition, the Yoroi wallet allows users to connect to the Cardano blockchain with minimum usage of system resources, enabling instant set up and quick and easy operation. It’s available for free on all major platforms. 

Daedalus

The Daedalus is a full node hierarchical deterministic wallet native to the ADA token, unlike other wallets on the list. This means that you have to download the whole Cardano blockchain in order to validate blocks and transactions, giving your maximum security and completely trustless operation without centrally hosted third-party servers. 

The Daedalus wallet comes with a very interactive and easy-to-use interface and is supported on all desktop operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. 

Exchange Wallets

NDAX

NDAX is a rising Canadian cryptocurrency exchange that caters to beginners and experienced traders thanks to its easy-to-use and simple interface. Thanks to the NDAX wallet, users can instantly buy, sell, trade, exchange, and even store about 18 unique cryptocurrencies offline in cold storage, making it one of the best cold digital wallets for Cardano. The NDAX wallets also practice important security features such as 2FA; what’s more, is that it also collaborates with the Ledger Vault to lock up users’ crypto assets offline in cold multi-sig wallets. 

In addition, NDAX holds $5 million on its cold wallets for insurance and fraud protection. It also holds $3 million in insurance per instance on its hot wallets and $5 million in general business liability.  NDAX is compatible with 18 cryptocurrencies as of now, including Cardano, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Ether, Bitcoin, and more. 

CoinSmart

CoinSmart is one of Canada’s largest and most popular exchanges. It has had a significant impact on the Canadian crypto sector. CoinSmart provides a cold digital wallet for Cardano that you can fund through your CoinSmart Account using Interac e-transfers, bank wires, bank draughts, or cryptocurrency deposits.

CoinSmart is one of Canada’s few platforms that allow credit card payments. The wallet also has strong and impenetrable security measures like 2-factor Authorization. Furthermore, 95% of CoinSmart’s crypto assets are kept in a cold wallet, making it an extremely safe alternative for custodial exchanges. The CoinSmart wallet supports numerous tokens, including Cardano, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Ethereum, LiteCoin, XRP, and more.

Please note: CoinSmart is now part of WonderFi and the platform is not accepting new signups. If you’re looking for the best crypto experience in Canada, we recommend signing up to Bitbuy, another licensed Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform operated by the same parent company, WonderFi. With Bitbuy, you will get access to an improved experience on web and mobile, staking rewards, Private Wealth services, and an advanced trading interface.

Wealthsimple Crypto

Wealthsimple Crypto is yet another rising cryptocurrency exchange in Canada that has swiftly come to recognition thanks to its success over the years. WealthSimple is one of Canada’s rare and successful cryptocurrency exchanges, with over $10 billion in investment assets. In collaboration with Gemini, WealthSimple provides a web-based Cardano wallet unlike any other. Note that you won’t have access to your private keys because WealthSimple’s wallet is a custodial wallet. However, it is still one of the finest web-based wallets for those new to cryptocurrency trading and in need of a user-friendly interface. Moreover, with WealthSimple, new customers enjoy a multitude of perks, from sign-up bonuses to commission-free transactions.

Binance (Trust Wallet)

Binance has quickly become a household name in the cryptocurrency space after being crowned as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. After careful consideration, Binance’s Trust Wallet has piqued our interest as one of the most eye-catching and functional Cardano wallets in the market. 

Trust wallet is known as one of the best Cardano mobile wallets in the market. The wallet is compatible with Cardano and has an extensive list of other tokens. The Trust wallet comes with many amazing features, including a browser of decentralized applications and it’s also completely free to use. 

Users can instantly send, receive, and manage their crypto assets, NFTs, and tokens through their phones or web browsers without worrying about losing their data. Trust wallet is compatible with 53 blockchains and over 160,000 digital assets, with more being added each month. 

Frequently asked questions about Cardano wallets