KeepKey Crypto Wallet Review
A crypto wallet is a storage solution for your cryptocurrency that uses security measures, like private keys, biometric identification or multi-factor authentication, to keep your digital assets safe. Crypto wallets allow you to buy, sell, transfer and store your tokens, coins and sometimes non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
KeepKey is a crypto hardware wallet (e.g., a physical device) made and sold by ShapeShift, a crypto exchange based in Switzerland but operated in Denver. As a cold storage wallet, it stores your crypto holdings offline, and KeepKey pairs with your computer to randomly generate your private key when you want to access your digital assets.
The following KeepKey review examines how the device works — including its functionality, pros, cons and user experience — to help you decide if it’s the best crypto wallet for you.
Most Affordable Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet
The KeepKey crypto wallet costs $49, making it one of the most affordable physical wallets on the market. It represents great value for money since it's ideal for beginners and experienced crypto investors alike.
KeepKey Crypto Wallet Pros and Cons
- Supports multiple cryptos
- High security measures for digital assets
- Affordable
- Sleek design
- Inconvenient access to customer support
- Doesn't offer the convenience of online wallets
- Risk of loss and damage
Pros explained
Supports multiple cryptos
KeepKey currently supports 7,217 crypto assets and 348 blockchains, allowing you to send, receive and store multiple crypto coins and tokens, including bitcoin, ethereum, dash, dogecoin, litecoin and more. The company’s website allows you to search the digital assets it supports and KeepKey allows you to use unlimited wallet addresses.
High security measures for digital assets
KeepKey supports PIN protection to prevent unauthorized use, and the cold wallet doesn’t have an operating system, making it malware- and virus-proof. Since KeepKey is a hardware wallet, it allows you to generate and manage private keys offline, away from online vulnerabilities and beyond the reach of hackers, viruses and malware.
The KeepKey setup process involves generating a 12-word recovery phrase to further protect the wallet and to be used to retrieve private keys if they are lost by users. In addition to securing your digital assets, these security features offer peace of mind since they secure your holdings even if you lose or damage the physical device.
That said, recovering your private keys may come at a cost, depending on what happened to your KeepKey crypto wallet. If you lose your PIN, you must wipe the device in order to recover your private keys. If you lose the physical KeepKey device, you’ll need to purchase a new one in order to proceed with the recovery. If you lose your recovery phrase, you’ll have to buy a new KeepKey and transfer your funds and digital assets to the new device.
Affordable
KeepKey is an affordable hardware wallet that’s priced lower than most of its competitors, making it a very appealing option for both crypto newcomers and experienced crypto traders. Considering its strong security features and the high number of coins and tokens it supports, it offers a lot for the price.
Sleek design
KeepKey features an attractive minimalist design with a sleek black and anodized aluminum finish. It has a large digital display, which is great for viewing long wallet addresses, since the device requires you to manually approve every transaction displayed on the screen.
Cons explained
Inconvenient access to customer support
Getting in touch with KeepKey customer support can be problematic. The principal way of contacting the company is through its Discord. Although the company lists its social media accounts on the KeepKey website, it states that users can only receive support through its Discord Ticket system after having retired its web-based Zendesk Support.
Doesn’t offer the convenience of online wallets
As a USB human interface device (HID), KeepKey requires you to plug the hardware device into a computer before you can access your crypto. While it’s compatible with all major computer operating systems (e.g., MacOS, Windows and Linux), you can’t use KeepKey on the go. This makes it less convenient for day-to-day transactions compared to app-based hot wallets, which typically allow you to trade on any device, including smartphones and tablets.
Risk of loss and damage
Like all hardware crypto wallets, KeepKey is vulnerable to the risk of loss or physical damage. If either occurs, you will lose access to your digital assets and will have to recover your private keys.
KeepKey Crypto Wallet Offerings
KeepKey offers a secure hardware wallet for storing your digital assets. This section describes its hardware and features.
Cryptocurrency hardware wallet
As a hardware crypto wallet, KeepKey allows you to use cold storage of your digital assets. This means it generates and stores your private keys offline, as opposed to a hot wallet that’s always connected to the internet. Hot wallets allow you to send, receive and store assets online from the convenience of your smartphone or tablet. While cold wallets’ offline storage requires you to use a computer, it protects your digital assets from crypto scams and hackers.
To access your funds, KeepKey uses wallet software that you install on your computer. The software is compatible with Windows, MacOS and Linux operating systems. After installing the KeepKey desktop app, users must link it with their hardware device. The device will then automatically generate and store private keys and sign transactions.
The KeepKey hardware wallet allows you to interact with decentralized applications (Dapps) — apps based on smart contracts that run on blockchain technology. Dapps allow you to manage your currencies and funds on your KeepKey device. By default, KeepKey uses the ShapeShift Dapp, which enables you to complete transactions.
The KeepKey box includes the hardware wallet, a recovery card on which you can write your recovery phrase and a USB cable.
KeepKey Crypto Wallet Pricing
At $49, KeepKey is an affordable crypto wallet device that’s priced lower than most of its competitors, like the Ledger Nano S Plus ($79), and popular wallets like the Trezor One ($49). If you’re purchasing the KeyKey from outside the U.S., the price may vary due to taxes, import duties or shipping fees.
By default, KeepKey’s website directs you to the company’s Shopify store to purchase the device. However, you can also buy it from Amazon.com or ShapeShift’s merchandise store. There are also country-specific resellers in Poland, Brazil and Sweden.
KeepKey Crypto Wallet Financial Stability
The financial health of a crypto wallet company is important because it points to the company’s ability to survive and maintain operations in a nascent industry. Ideally, you want to keep your assets secure with a company that has a minimized risk of failing, especially when considering that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) does not insure crypto assets against losses.
KeepKey and its parent company, ShapeShift, haven’t been rated by A.M. Best or S&P Global. In 2017, ShapeShift raised $10.4 million through Series A funding to boost its financial standing and future growth.The company’s financial documents are not publicly available for examination. However, founder and CEO Erik Vorhees has extensive experience in crypto startups and has served on the Cryptocurrency Advisory Board at MGT Capital Investments since June 2016.
KeepKey Crypto Wallet Accessibility
The KeepKey website allows you to buy its hardware crypto wallet, learn how to use it, install Dapps and find supported coins and tokens. It also features a blog that includes educational content on the functionality of the device.
Availability
KeepKey ships its devices worldwide via Shopify, Amazon.com and the ShapeShift merchandise store. It has special reselling stores for users in Poland, Brazil and Sweden.
Contact information
KeepKey’s website no longer offers its Live Support chat feature, and there’s no customer service option directly from the site. The company’s business hours aren’t listed online. However, according to Google Sites, KeepKey provides two customer support phone numbers: 1-815-402-2390 and 1-815-912-0100. However, KeepKey encourages customers to access support services through its Discord Ticket system.
User experience
KeepKey’s software offers a simplified user interface (UI) that interacts with Dapps. The KeepKey desktop app comes with some pre-installed Dapps, like the ShapeShift crypto exchange. It has a built-in Dapp store that allows you to search and add more Dapps as desired. KeepKey features an in-app browser that supports wallet-connect integration, which you can use to securely sign transactions.
However, there are some limitations of use. For example, KeepKey retired its Chrome-supported app. On its website, the company warns users against using any such app, claiming that there are numerous scams that seek to steal users’ funds. For this reason, KeepKey says you should never enter your recovery phrase in any unencrypted software.
KeepKey’s hardware and its UI via the desktop app are simple to use no matter what your experience level with crypto is.
KeepKey Crypto Wallet Customer Satisfaction
Although KeepKey is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it has a grade of A+ on its website. This is the highest possible grade available by the BBB, but there currently aren’t any KeepKey reviews or complaints filed by customers on the BBB website.
KeepKey has over 860 reviews on Amazon.com, one of the platforms where its crypto hard wallet is sold, and has received 3.9 stars out of a possible 5, suggesting users are largely satisfied with the device and its capabilities.
Yes, you can store the XRP token on KeepKey. ShapeShift added this crypto in May 2020, making it possible for KeepKey users to send, receive, trade and hold XRP using the KeepKey wallet and ShapeShift crypto exchange.
While Trezor One and KeepKey are both hardware wallets supporting over 1,000 coins and tokens, they have some differences. In terms of appearance and design, the Trezor One is smaller, which makes it great for portability. KeepKey is bigger and features a larger screen, which is great for displaying long addresses.
Trezor One has two buttons for physically confirming transactions and entering seed words when recovering private keys, and it lacks a display. KeepKey only has one button for users to set up the device and manually confirm transactions. Trezor One uses a PIN and passphrase, while KeepKey uses a PIN and recovery phrase.
And although both hard wallets support a large number of coins and tokens, KeepKey supports thousands more than the Trezor One.
To access KeepKey, you'll need to download and install the KeepKey client on your computer. Make sure you select the correct download that corresponds with your computer's operating system. Connect the KeepKey hardware to your computer using the included USB cable.
Enter updater mode. To do this, unplug your KeepKey device, hold down its button and then plug it back into the computer. Follow the update prompt and don't unplug the device unless asked to. KeepKey will automatically update to the latest firmware available. When complete, the device will initialize and prompt you to create a recovery phrase.
How We Evaluated the KeepKey Crypto Wallet
We considered the following factors when compiling this review of the KeepKey crypto wallet:
- Security measures: We examined the device's ability to secure private keys.
- Supported coins and tokens: We checked the number and variety of coins and tokens that KeepKey can store.
- Price: We scrutinized the cost of buying a KeepKey crypto wallet relative to similar hardware wallets.
- Convenience: We considered the device's size to determine portability and ease of storage.
- Customer support: We investigated customers’ access to KeepKey support.
Summary of Money's KeepKey Crypto Wallet Review
Despite its low price, Keepkey is one of the best crypto wallets for offline digital asset storage. It's a reliable hardware wallet that securely stores your private keys and allows you to safely access your coins and tokens. The fact that it’s a cold storage wallet means you don’t have to be concerned about malware or cyberattacks that could impact your funds. However, the company doesn’t make customer support easily available to its users. Unless you’re comfortable using Discord whenever you need help with the device or its computer-based software, you could struggle to get KeepKey crypto wallet-related issues resolved.