Tangem vs Cypherock X1

Introduction

With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, the need for secure ways to store digital assets is more important than ever. As the value of crypto increases, so does the risk of different types of hacks, making the security of your crypto assets a top priority. For the same reasons, opting for a hardware crypto wallet is a wise decision. The key, however, lies in choosing the right wallet that not only offers robust security but is also easy to carry and use.

In the realm of practical and secure hardware wallets, Cypherock X1 and Tangem are two notable options. Both are card-based wallets, known for their ease of use and portability. This blog compares these two wallets, focusing on their hardware architecture, security features, transparency, wallet transferability, and coin support, amongst others. We aim to provide a clear and concise analysis to help you decide which wallet best fits your crypto security needs.

Hardware

Architecture

Tangem cards feature an EAL6+ secure smart-card chip rooted in the ARM SC000 core architecture and complemented by an ISO14443 Type A contactless interface. The firmware of these cards operates on a dedicated Card OS, which integrates a unique communication protocol over the standard ISO14443, enhancing interaction with contactless terminals.

Contrasting with Tangem and other traditional hardware wallets, the Cypherock X1 adopts a distinct design philosophy. Its architecture includes the X1 Vault and four NFC-enabled X1 cards, each designed to optimize security and the user experience.

The X1 Vault is the main device, and at the core of the X1 Vault is a dual-chip setup comprising an STM32 microcontroller and a secure element, tailored for robust offline computation and verification purposes. The integration of an OLED display and joystick not only enhances user interaction but also ensures secure and effortless transaction verification and authentication.

The X1 Cards are encrypted NFC-based smartcards with EAL6+ secure elements. Which simply means they have exactly the same security as that of your bank’s credit card. These cards also support encrypted NFC connectivity with smartphones, enhancing user convenience and security.

The unique feature of Cypherock X1 is the decentralized storage of the Crypto private keys, a feature made possible by Cypherock X1’s unique multi-component architecture.

Unlike conventional wallets like Tangem, which store the private key in a single location, in Cypherock X1, the X1 Vault divides your private key into five distinct cryptographic parts. Each part is securely stored in a separate, tamper-proof hardware component. To access your private keys, two parts are needed - a combination of the X1 Vault and an X1 card or two X1 cards. This design significantly enhances the Cypherock X1’s defense against physical attacks.

In scenarios where a traditional wallet is physically accessed by a malicious entity, its centralized key storage becomes a weak point. This is because breaking the wallet’s security through physical attacks can lead to this key being extracted.

The Cypherock X1, in contrast, presents a complex challenge to attackers in such scenarios. The decentralized key storage of the Cypherock X1 ensures that even if a component’s security is breached, the full private key remains secure.

To successfully extract the full private key from the Cypherock X1, an attacker would have to breach multiple layers of security. This involves accessing both the X1 Vault and an X1 card from different physical locations and then breaking their individual security measures. This degree of complexity makes successful attacks extremely unlikely, thereby providing unparalleled security for your crypto assets.

Both wallets feature the secure element, which adds an extra layer of security. Both wallets have very good build quality, too.

An important addition to the Cypherock X1 is its complementary hard case. Designed for robust protection, this case is resistant to splashes and dust, cushions against drops and bumps, and protects the wallet against electromagnetic waves like a Faraday cage. This utility ensures the security of the Cypherock X1 in various environments, be it during travel or at home.

Display

The Tangem cards lack an on-device display and this is a drawback when it comes to their security. This is because a trusted display is crucial in crypto wallets for visually verifying transaction details. Without this feature, users are compelled to blind-sign transactions, a practice that can lead to complete crypto asset loss.

For some context, back in 2014, Ledger released the HW.1. This wallet was based on the ST23YT66, a smartcard with USB support. Unfortunately, this design had severe limitations: there was no trusted display or buttons to verify and confirm the transactions offline. This made the wallet dangerous to use from a security standpoint. Acknowledging these flaws, Ledger discontinued the HW.1’s production.

Talking about Ledger, remember that Ledger hack not too long ago? People lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because, for the same reason, they were blindly signing off on Ethereum transactions and smart contracts on their Ledger wallets (yes, the new Ledger wallets have a trusted display but do not support clear signing for dApps).

In the case of Tangem, it is the same story. Tangem’s reliance on its app to verify transactions compromises security, especially because the card itself handles the actual transaction signing operation. For the same reason, users must place their trust in what’s shown on the signing device itself rather than the app, which is just not possible with Tangem.

Furthermore, apps are susceptible to hacking, and Tangem’s companion app is no exception. Combined with the lack of an on-device display, Tangem users become susceptible to spoofing, phishing, and social engineering attacks.

If an attacker compromises your phone or the companion app, they can manipulate transaction details, such as recipient addresses and amounts previously entered by the user. He can trick the user by showing the same address and amount on the app but altering it internally before the user signs it. Once such a manipulated transaction is broadcasted to the blockchain, it could result in a total loss of crypto.

Another vulnerability arises from the possibility of coin-type swapping during transaction requests. In this exploit, the attacker could manipulate the transaction by sending a different key derivation path of a coin to the Tangem card, one that differs from what the user intended. This change effectively switches the type of coin being transacted. For example, a user intending to send 10 ETH could be deceived into sending 10 BTC instead. The attacker achieves this by manipulating the app to send the Tangem card a Bitcoin (BTC) derivation path rather than the intended Ethereum (ETH) path. The absence of a display on the Tangem card means the user has no way to visually confirm the transaction details, whether he is sending BTC or ETH. This lack of verification could lead to an unintended loss of crypto, as the user unknowingly approves a transaction for a different coin than intended.

Attacks of this nature could be facilitated through a malicious firmware update. For instance, a compromised phone may trigger malicious firmware updates on the wallet, disguised as transaction signing requests on the app. This type of attack, facilitated by the absence of a display on the card, leaves you vulnerable to unknowingly authorizing harmful updates instead of legitimate transactions, posing a grave risk to their crypto security.

Such security threats are not just hypothetical. There are dangerous viruses like Pegasus that can infiltrate your smartphone, bypass OS security with ease, modify, and gain control of your whole device and apps. Malware like this can even gain access to encrypted data and messages by intercepting them before the encryption process.

For these reasons, when designing a hardware wallet, it should be assumed that even if the companion app is hacked or compromised, the user’s assets should remain uncompromised. However, Tangem’s design falls short in this regard.

If the Tangem app is hacked, users cannot independently verify transactions on the cards, leaving them vulnerable. The absence of an on-device display undermines the possibility of trustless and transparent transaction signing, putting the user’s assets at risk.

Contrastingly, the Cypherock X1 addresses this concern with an on-device trusted display on the X1 Vault where the transaction is signed. This display shows users all the necessary transaction information, including coin type, amount, and recipient address, to verify in an offline way before authorizing the transaction. By integrating a trusted display on the X1 Vault, the Cypherock X1 not only enables completely trustless interaction with blockchain and crypto but also promotes clear and secure transaction signing practices.

Buttons

In addition to an on-device display, on-device buttons also play an important role in the security of a hardware wallet. This is crucial for security, as it enables the user to manually confirm transactions by pressing the button after visually reviewing the transaction details shown on the wallet’s trusted display. Ideally, the wallet should always take input from the user for signing and confirming transactions.

The Tangem cards lack an on-device button for physical confirmations. This poses a huge security concern since users cannot confirm transactions directly on the card. This lack of a physical confirmation element introduces a security gap

Furthermore, Tangem’s sole reliance on its app for transaction signing opens up gaps for attackers, who can orchestrate malicious transactions by hacking the app or phone. This is because once the app is compromised, it could automate the transaction confirmation process, enabling unauthorized transactions without the user’s knowledge or consent. The moment a user taps their Tangem card on the phone, this vulnerability could be exploited, allowing an attacker to sign a transaction and broadcast it to the blockchain, all without any physical input from the user.

This problem of not having a display and buttons on the device is serious, leading to what’s called ‘blind signing,’ and this is something Tangem can’t fix.

In contrast, Cypherock X1 addresses these issues. The X1 Vault has both an on-device display and a button. The 5-way joystick on the device serves as the confirmation button. This design guarantees that no transaction can be executed and signed without explicit user consent. Essentially, this button acts as a safeguard, ensuring that no malware can bypass the user’s authorization and strengthening the overall security of the user.

Security

Product Authentication and Verification

Tangem and Cypherock X1 are both hardware wallets. These are specialized pieces of hardware designed to keep your private keys safe and secure offline. They will only use the private key to sign crypto transactions.

The companion apps, Tangem (app) and CySync (app), facilitate the initial setup of the wallets. During this setup, both apps perform the device authentication (verify and authenticate both the device hardware and firmware) of their respective wallets. This authenticity check provides users with safety against Supply Chain and Evil Maids Attacks.

Furthermore, Cypherock users can set up 2-factor authentication by providing an email ID. When users enable this feature, they directly receive authenticity results via email from Cypherock’s server. This enhances security because, like any software, the CySync companion app is also not immune to hacking. A compromised app could potentially display false authentication results, posing a significant risk to users’ financial security. By introducing email 2-FA, Cypherock effectively mitigates this risk.

With 2-factor authentication, the result is sent directly to your email. This makes it possible for the users to not solely rely on the CySync companion app to know the wallet’s authenticity. It’s like having an extra security check to ensure everything stays safe.

Entropy Generation

Entropy generation is crucial for creating secure private keys. It’s like a digital ‘coin flip’, ensuring that keys are random and secure.

The Tangem cards come with a Samsung S3D350A chip. This is the same EAL6+ secure element and plays a crucial role in the wallet’s entropy generation. During the initialization process, the chip generates the entropy through a hardware true random number generator (TRNG). The TRNG derives its randomness from the chip’s physical sensors. The sensor-based approach ensures that your private key is unpredictable and unique.

In contrast, the Cypherock X1 employs an innovative distributed entropy generation approach. The X1 Vault utilizes two components for entropy generation: the STM32L4 MCU and the ATECC608 secure element. Both of these components independently generate a random number. These numbers are then combined using an XOR operation and the result is used as the wallet entropy.

The approach taken by Cypherock serves as a safeguard against potential security backdoors by chip manufacturers. Furthermore, by using two independent sources and combining them, the Cypherock X1 avoids any single point of failure in entropy generation, enhancing overall security.

Seed Phrase Backup and Private Key Storage

The Tangem hardware wallet embraces a minimalistic approach, offering users a set of three (or two) Tangem smart cards in the box. One card functions as the primary card, while the others serve as backups (there are no differences between the primary and backup cards). All of them give access to the same wallet (just terminology).

The Tangem mobile app is required for the onboarding and initial setup. The mobile app will also authenticate and verify the smart cards.

As for backup, Tangem has a distinctive approach. The seed phrase is never displayed to the user or stored anywhere during the setup process.

This approach by Tangem is to simplify the wallet setup process. By eliminating the need for users to write down and manage a backup seed phrase or private key, Tangem effectively reduces the risks often associated with paper or metal backups, where seed phrases are more vulnerable to exposure.

By not displaying the seed phrase, Tangem ensures that even you, the user, remain unaware of the seed phrase, thereby eliminating the risk of accidentally revealing it during phishing or scamming attacks, which are common ways people lose their Crypto assets.

From the randomly generated seed phrase, the private key is derived, imported into the card, and securely stored. Both generations (original and 2.0) of Tangem cards operate similarly for key storage.

Tangem recently launched its second iteration of wallets, offering users more flexibility. This wallet comes with an optional seed phrase. The only difference between this wallet and the classic wallet is that the new one allows you to view a randomly generated 12-word seed phrase or import your existing 12-24-word BIP-39 seed phrase. The seed phrase is displayed only once during the initial setup and is not accessible thereafter. If you were to lose this seed phrase backup, to recover your assets, you would need to buy another Tangem wallet, one to which you have access to its seed phrase, and then individually transfer all your coins from the old Tangem wallet to this new one.

Tangem however, advises users against using this feature, as they have actively campaigned against seed phrase technology. This feature goes against the security model Tangem wishes to provide, which relies on card-only security.

In this setup, the remaining cards are used for securely storing the private keys generated for the primary card, serving as your wallet backup. It’s important to highlight that both the seed phrase and the private key are generated only temporarily during the initial setup and are not permanently stored anywhere except on the cards themselves. This means that users only have one opportunity to transfer the private key onto the backup cards for safekeeping.

If the private key is only backed up on one card (resulting in two cards—primary and secondary), adding an extra third card for backup is impossible.

For added security, users have the option to set up an access code for the cards. Access codes can consist of letters, digits, or special symbols and can be any length.

Tangem’s onboarding process is straightforward, requiring nothing more than a simple tap of the card on an NFC-enabled smartphone.

The Cypherock X1, unlike Tangem, does not show the users the seed phrase during the setting up of the wallet. Instead, the Cypherock X1 splits your private key into five parts, and each is securely stored in five separate tamper-proof hardware components—the X1 Vault and four X1 cards. This is achieved through a cryptographic technique called Shamir Secret Sharing.

Recovering or recreating your private key is straightforward and secure– you only need two out of these five components: a combination of two X1 cards or one X1 card and the X1 Vault.

Furthermore, even if three of the five hardware components are lost, Cypherock X1 ensures that your crypto assets are safe. Just order an extra set of cards or a new X1 Vault in case you lose that, and just sync them up with your existing parts and you’re good to go.

Cypherock X1’s design not only enhances security but also offers practicality. With just a single X1 card and the X1 Vault, you can perform various actions, from viewing your seed phrase to executing transactions. Interaction is as simple as tapping the X1 card onto the X1 Vault. However, for security and ease of access, it’s important to always keep at least two of the five parts secure and accessible.

Unlike the Tangem cards or any other wallet in the market, the Cypherock X1 allows its users to view and access the seed phrase anytime after the initial setup, making it interoperable with all other BIP-39 compatible wallets. This feature effectively removes the need for an additional backup for future wallet use and access. This feature also offers flexibility to those users who prefer to maintain a separate seed phrase backup if they want.

Tangem lacks this flexibility as switching to another wallet requires transferring crypto assets individually, leading to a potential vendor lock-in. Additionally, at an architectural level, the Cypherock X1 proves to be more secure because it decentralizes your private keys.

For added security, keep the X1 Vault and an X1 card with you for daily wallet use, and store the remaining cards in different geographical locations known only to you. This extra layer of security guarantees your crypto is safe, giving you pure peace of mind.

By utilizing five hardware components instead of a single seed phrase, the Cypherock X1 eliminates the need for traditional paper or metal seed phrase backups, enhancing security and convenience. But it doesn’t just stop there.

The Cypherock X1 takes a step further to enhance the user’s security by eliminating another crucial vulnerability found in crypto wallets: the centralized storage of private keys.

Wallets like Tangem represent a single point of failure by storing the private key within themselves. This is because if the security of the wallet is breached, the private key becomes exposed, leading to the potential theft of crypto assets.

Past incidents involving popular hardware wallets like Ledger and Trezor highlight this risk. For example, the Leading security team at Kraken Labs was even able to extract the private keys from Trezor wallets within 15 minutes of access to the wallet.

Similarly, if someone manages to break Tangem’s security and gain access to your private key,rast, the Cypherock X1 employs an innovative distributed entropy generation approach. The X1 Vault utilizes two components for entropy generation: the STM32L4 MCU and the ATECC608 secure element. Both of these components independently generate a random number. These numbers are your assets can be stolen. Furthermore, Tangem acknowledges on its website that “Loss or physical destruction of the card is equivalent to the loss of the wallet’s Crypto assets”.

In response to these security challenges, the Cypherock X1 adopts a decentralized approach. Neither the X1 Vault nor the X1 cards store the private key completely. They only hold a cryptographic part of it. Importantly, the X1 Vault only temporarily stores the private key or seed phrase in its volatile memory during the actions of transaction signing or viewing. What remains permanently in the X1 Vault are just the wallet names and an encrypted Cryptographic part of the private key. These pieces alone are insufficient to compromise your assets. This design by Cypherock X1 significantly reduces the attack surface on the wallet, providing an extra layer of security for your crypto assets.

Even if an attacker manages to compromise a part or two of your Cypherock X1, they won’t gain access to your full private key as it isn’t stored in a single place. The wallet is also PIN-protected. This PIN code is similar to the access code in Tangem and is also never stored inside the wallet directly. Even if an attacker attempts to brute force the PIN, the wallet’s security is such that it progressively increases the PIN reattempt duration exponentially with each incorrect try. So, as long as you remember your PIN, your crypto stays secure.

This kind of robust security in Cypherock X1 contrasts with a notable concern in Tangem’s system. While both the PIN in Cypherock X1 and the access code in Tangem are designed to prevent unauthorized access to your private keys and crypto assets, Tangem’s implementation of the access code has an inherent vulnerability. This security flaw becomes apparent when considering Tangem’s reset access code feature.

An anonymous individual with access to any two Tangem cards can exploit this flaw to access all assets associated with your wallet. This is because the Tangem app allows you to reset the wallet’s access code with a primary card and one of its backups. The access code is completely bypassed if someone gains access to two cards. The card’s security can be easily compromised without brute-forcing the access code or using physical attacks.

The new Tangem Wallet addresses the access code issue by making it possible to disable access code recovery with a backup card. As a result, if you forget your access code, you cannot access your crypto and the only way you can change it is if you know it. This has its own challenges when you are thinking about the inheritance of your Crypto assets.

Furthermore, there is also a potential risk of the Tangem app or the connected smartphone being compromised by an attacker. This vulnerability could be exploited to steal your Crypto assets. If the access code entered (input) on the Tangem app gets hacked or compromised, the access code can be keylogged and sent to the attacker. This defeats the purpose of having a hardware wallet in the first place since it provides similar security to that of a software wallet.

Despite the convenience Tangem offers, its design and setup compromise security in several ways. The problem is that you’re forced to completely trust an app running on a device environment that is never fully secure for performing sensitive operations such as signing transactions, generating seed phrases, and showing transaction info among others.

Transaction Signing

In Tangem’s setup, transaction signing requires using a smartphone (companion app) along with the card. Here, the card acts as the signing device, and this raises security concerns due to its lack of a display and buttons. As discussed earlier, this reliance on an online app, instead of an isolated signing device compromises security and forces the users to blind-sign transactions.

Unlike Tangem and other card-based wallets, in Cypherock X1, the transaction signing does not happen on the cards, but it happens on the X1 Vault offline. This is important since there is a display and physical button on the X1 Vault itself for the users to verify the transaction and confirm the transaction in an offline way.

Passphrase Support

The passphrase acts as your 25th word, combined with your 24-word seed phrase. This feature adds an extra layer of security on top of the PIN protection and offers additional advantages and functionalities. For instance, it allows you to derive multiple wallets from a single seed phrase, enabling the segregation and diversification of your Crypto assets. It also protects you from seed exposure and facilitates the creation of hidden wallets.

Unfortunately, Tangem does not support passphrases since it follows a security model that hides the seed phrase from users. This limitation becomes problematic for users accustomed to managing multiple wallets derived from a single seed phrase using multiple passphrases. Such users who are considering Tangem, especially with its new feature allowing the import of seed phrases, will find this lack of passphrase support to be a notable constraint.

While Tangem’s model presents certain limitations due to its lack of passphrase support, the Cypherock X1 takes a different approach. Embracing BIP-39 passphrases as an optional feature, Cypherock X1 offers enhanced flexibility and security. This feature empowers users with the ability to manage multiple wallets and hidden accounts, providing a robust layer of security beyond the standard PIN protection. However, it’s important to remember the passphrase, as its loss could lead to a complete loss of Crypto assets. You can read more about passphrases here.

Wallet Transferability

Much like other wallets, Tangem is also designed to store a single wallet at a time, with the other cards serving as copy backups. A significant limitation of the first-generation Tangem wallet was its inability to import or export wallets due to the absence of seed phrases. This presented a challenge for users looking to transition from their Tangem wallet to a different hardware or software wallet, as it required a manual transfer of Crypto assets.

In the upgraded Tangem 2.0 wallet, an improvement has been made. Users can now optionally generate or import a BIP-39 seed phrase during the initial setup. Such functionality provides users with more control and flexibility in transferring their wallets to any other BIP-39 compatible wallet.

However, in the case of the new Tangem cards, while they offer improved transferability with the option to generate or import a BIP-39 seed phrase, this shift also places the burden of safeguarding the seed phrase on the users, which was the issue Tangem wanted to eliminate in the first place.

On the other hand, Cypherock X1 offers more flexibility. The ability to view the seed phrases anytime is not only unique but it also eliminates the need for a separate backup when transferring or importing wallets to a different device. With Cypherock X1, you can easily transfer your wallet to another BIP-39 compatible wallet using the seed phrase.

While both Tangem and Cypherock X1 facilitate the import of existing BIP-39 wallets via seed phrases, there are some concerns with Tangem’s approach. Due to the lack of a display and buttons on the Tangem cards, the seed phrase must be entered on the online Tangem app during the import process. This essentially mirrors a software wallet, as the seed phrase becomes exposed during the process. Such exposure poses significant risks. For instance, if the app is compromised, the seed phrase could be keylogged and sent to the hacker, leading to a total loss of your crypto assets.

Another issue with importing seed phrases to Tangem is that the Tangem app might not show all of your coins and tokens. For instance, when you import your existing Ledger wallet to Tangem, the balances for coins like Polkadot and Cardano might not be displayed or partially displayed. This is because Tangem does not fully support the derivation paths and standards used by other wallets. This issue is not specific to Tangem but also to most of the wallets out there.

In contrast, Cypherock X1 enhances security during the wallet import process and provides interoperability across different wallets. Firstly, the seed phrase is entered directly into the X1 Vault, which always remains offline. This significantly reduces the risk of exposure and ensures a higher level of security for your crypto assets.

Unlike Tangem, the Cypherock X1 supports the derivation paths and standards used by most of the popular wallets like Ledger, Trezor, and Phantom. This means that when you import your seed phrase from your existing wallet to the Cypherock X1, you will still be able to see and access all of your assets. For instance, the Cypherock X1 supports three types of accounts for Solana and EVM, hence the Solana you had on your Phantom wallet will be displayed on cySync.

Moreover, the Cypherock X1 enables the storage of four distinct wallets at the same time, each with its own seed phrase. These wallets individually can be protected by a user-selected PIN code.

In practical terms, this means you can import other software or hardware crypto wallets, such as Ledger, Trezor, and Metamask, into your Cypherock X1. This capability positions the Cypherock X1 not just as a wallet but as a versatile seed phrase vault, enabling you to efficiently manage and back up multiple crypto wallets with the same decentralized key storage security.

Open-Source

Tangem’s firmware is closed-source and this restricts the users from independently verifying or reproducing the code on their cards. This includes the code for important functions that are crucial for your crypto security such as the entropy generation function.

However, the firmware is independently audited by Kudelsky Security and it is claimed to be not updatable or upgradable. The Tangem app however is open source and accessible on GitHub.

But this still makes Tangem just a closed-source blind signer and the only “trust” its users can put on is on an application running on a generic OS (Android and iOS) that has shown to have vulnerabilities in terms of security.

The Cypherock X1 Vault’s firmware is fully open source, and available on their GitHub repository. This transparency extends to the wallet firmware, the cySync companion app, and the signing function, allowing the users to check and verify what the code running on the device is doing.

Furthermore, Cypherock X1’s firmware has undergone thorough auditing by KeyLabs, the same security firm that uncovered vulnerabilities in Trezor and Ledger. In addition to Keylabs, WalletScrutiny has scrutinized and certified the firmware as ‘reproducible.’

Both audit and scrutinyreports are publicly accessible, providing users with clear insights into the security measures in place.

This level of transparency is crucial in the field of crypto where user’s life savings are involved. Cypherock X1, being audited, scrutinized, and open source, assures the users that the wallet is safe to use.

Secure Firmware Update

The firmware update servers are high-value targets for hackers. This is because infected firmware can be used to make a device do unexpected and unpredictable things to the hacker’s wish.

In the case of crypto wallets, this threat becomes more prominent. This is because software and hardware wallets store your private key locally within the device. Such storage practices create a vulnerability that could be exploited through software updates to steal your assets.

The key issue here is the private key storage in a single location, which consequently becomes a single point of failure. This significantly escalates the risk of total crypto loss in the event of such exploits.

Both Tangem and Cypherock address and mitigate this issue in different ways.

Tangem tackles this vulnerability by making its cards un-upgradeable, making firmware updates technically impossible. The firmware, installed at the factory, serves the purpose of enabling fast and secure transaction signing. Any new features or blockchain support are seamlessly added through the mobile app, eliminating the need for firmware updates.

However, this approach presents a limitation in terms of adaptability. When Tangem plans to add support for new tokens or coins through their app in the future, it may require the use of a newer or different elliptic cryptographic curve that the current Tangem cards do not support. For example, coins like Monero, Solana, and NEAR, use the Edwards Ed25519 curve which is different from the common and popular secp256k1 curve employed by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. Similarly, upcoming coins could also adopt newer cryptographic curves. The fixed, non-upgradable nature of Tangem cards means they are unable to adapt to or incorporate these new curves. Therefore, users would find themselves unable to store or add these new coins and tokens to their existing Tangem cards. To manage and store such coins, users need to purchase the latest version of the Tangem card, which supports these new coins.

In contrast, Cypherock ensures that the updates only impact the X1 Vault, and not the X1 Cards. Like Tangem, the X1 cards are non-upgradeable and permanently cold. This method not only supports the addition of new coins and features but also offers a significant security advantage: updating offline hardware like the X1 Vault is inherently more secure than updating software-based systems, as it minimizes exposure to online threats. This way Cypherock ensures that the security of users’ private keys won’t be compromised, effectively balancing adaptability with safety.

Further distinguishing itself, Cypherock leverages its open-source nature. This ensures that the firmware running within the X1 Vault is aligned with rigorously reviewed open-source code, providing an additional layer of security and transparency.

Cryptocurrency Support

Tangem Wallet supports and stores thousands of cryptocurrencies simultaneously on one card.

It supports 38 networks and has enough memory to store keys for at least a few thousand tokens. All supported networks and tokens are listed on the support page.

Supporting 9000+ assets and 10 different Blockchains, Cypherock X1 already provides one of the most comprehensive ranges of support for various coins and tokens. You can find a full list on Cypherock’s coin support page. The Cypherock X1 can store thousands of assets, so there are no low memory issues here and support for other coins is on the public roadmap.

Both wallets exhibit strong support for the most popular and widely used coins and networks. The EVM ecosystem is well covered on both of the wallets.

Companion App

The Tangem hardware wallet comes with the Tangem companion app. It has a clean UI and it’s easy to interact with. The Tangem app lets you manage, swap, buy, and sell crypto.

The app is also open source and Tangem promises that there are no back doors in the app. Anyone can check it for themselves by looking at the source code on GitHub.

The Cypherock X1 has the CySync companion app to help you seamlessly manage your crypto. The CySync app guides you throughout the onboarding process with clear and helpful instructions.

The CySync app offers a convenient and unique feature of portfolio management and aggregation.

While spreading your crypto across different wallets is a good safety move, it can be quite complex when it comes to user experience and overall management. So, if you’ve diversified your crypto across various wallets and are struggling to keep tabs and track everything, the CySync app offers the solution. Simply store the seed phrases of your different wallets in the Cypherock X1 and manage them all in one place. This way, you can use your Cypherock X1 as your all-in-one crypto portfolio aggregator.

The portfolio management feature would also be very useful for someone who owns a business and is involved in managing his company’s Crypto assets and his personal Crypto assets separately but doesn’t want to use multiple seed phrases and hardware wallets for the same.

This way Cypherock simplifies the management of diversified holdings while promoting better security practices.

Moreover, Cypherock X1 will be soon compatible with other software wallets and apps. For this, the Cypherock SDK is currently in development. It is a Javascript library that can be used to communicate with the Cypherock X1 wallet. This is the same SDK used for cySync v2.0.0.

The SDK will offer a common interface for third-party developers and crypto asset service providers to seamlessly connect and communicate with the Cypherock X1 hardware wallet while accessing the wallet’s capabilities without exposing the seed phrase. This integration extends the wallet’s compatibility, allowing the Cypherock X1 to be used for signing transactions with other software wallets like Metamask, Gnosis Safe, Liminal, amongst others directly.

Building on this, the integration brought by the SDK will broaden Cypherock X1 users’ access to the world of NFTs and DeFi, enhancing the functionality and utility of the Cypherock X1 wallet.

Supported OS

Tangem wallet is only supported on Android OS and iOS mobile devices that have NFC support.

The Cypherock X1 is compatible with all desktop OS like Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

While Cypherock does not have an Android and iOS app currently, it will be launched soon. Users would be able to make transactions and perform other functions on their phone (that supports NFC-based communication) with the Cypherock X1.

Tangem Pros and Cons

Pros

• Good form factor.
• Supports multiple coins, assets, and networks.
• NFC-enabled for quick operations.
• Zero battery or cable requirements.
• EAL 6+ secure element.
• Mobile Support.
• Dapp connectivity is supported through WalletConnect.

Cons

• Poor security since no display on the cards.
• Unsecure Wallet updates.
• Single point of failure in entropy generation.
• Crypto assets can be compromised if the smartphone gets hacked.
• Single point of failure with private key storage.
• No inheritance support.
• Crypto assets can easily be compromised if the hacker gets access to the 2 cards.
• Vendor lock-in since it does not support the export of seed phrases.
• No button on the device to sign or confirm transactions.
• Card firmware is not open source.
• It is not as versatile as traditional hardware wallets.
• Not compatible with desktops.
• Does not support passphrases.
• Not compatible with MetaMask and other software wallets.

Cypherock Pros and Cons

Pros

• Supports multiple coins, assets, and networks.
• Good form factor.
• X1 Vault and the cySync app are fully open source.
• Decentralized private key storage.
• The flexibility of viewing seed phrases anytime.
• No seed phrase backup is required.
• Supports multiple wallets (Up to four).
• EAL6+ secure element.
• NFC-enabled for quick operations.
• There is no single point of failure in entropy generation.
• dApp connectivity is supported through WalletConnect.
• Stress-free wallet updates.
• Provides email 2FA for checking the authenticity of the hardware.
• Supports passphrases for extra security.
• Can also be used as a seed phrase backup for other wallets.
• Aggregated crypto portfolio management with the cySync companion app.
• Inheritance of Crypto assets is possible without compromising control.

Cons

• Not compatible with MetaMask (support coming soon).
• Mobile Support is currently missing (support coming soon).
• Smaller screen size compared to other hardware wallets.
• More expensive than Tangem.

We are live for orders @ www.cypherock.com/product/cypherock-x1

Connect with us:
Twitter: twitter.com/CypherockWallet
Telegram: t.me/cypherock