Do I need a hardware wallet?

Depends on the amount and how often you move it. A threshold you can apply.

It depends on the amount and how often you move it, and there is a threshold you can apply rather than a rule you have to trust.

A hardware wallet costs roughly what a decent meal out costs. If the amount you are protecting is smaller than the device, buying one makes no sense. If losing that amount would ruin your month, it is one of the cheapest pieces of insurance available.

What it actually buys you is narrow and important: the key is generated on the device and never exists on an internet-connected computer, so malware on your laptop cannot reach it.

What it does not buy you is protection from yourself. It will sign a transfer to a thief if that is what you confirm, it cannot help if you type your recovery phrase into a website, and it has no opinion about sending on the wrong network.

For everyday spending money, a phone wallet is fine and the convenience is worth more than the marginal risk. The common mistake is not choosing wrong at the start — it is choosing once, when the amount was small, and never revisiting it as the amount grew.

The comparison of hot, cold and hardware goes through what each one covers.

Last checked 19 Oct 2026.