Ledger Nano S vs. X is the crypto {hardware} pockets face-off you’ve been ready for, and on this article, we’re going to find out which one is finest to your wants. The Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X are referred to as “chilly wallets.” In different phrases, they’re bodily gadgets — à la flash drives — that permit you to retailer your treasured tokens and cash offline versus holding them in “scorching wallets” (internet-connected storage like Coinbase Pockets and Metamask).
Cybercriminals lurking on the darkish facet of the web love scorching wallets. Hackers can exploit safety vulnerabilities, stick their grubby arms into your on-line account, and snatch your whole digital belongings. As such, crypto pundits usually advocate {hardware} wallets (e.g. the Ledger Nano and Trezor Mannequin sequence) to safe your cryptocurrencies away from devious pc nerds who’ve sufficient technical expertise to breach on-line programs.
Nonetheless, it could be remiss of me to not acknowledge the 2020 hack that sullied Ledger’s fame. Final July, the Paris-based crypto agency publicly introduced that it suffered an information breach. The cellphone numbers and residential addresses of 270,000 prospects, in addition to the emails of tens of millions, had been uncovered, in accordance with Crypto Briefing.
Clients’ cryptocurrencies weren’t compromised within the hack. The cybercriminals couldn’t get their arms on prospects’ personal keys (and with out these, they couldn’t steal anybody’s digital belongings). Some traders had been turned off by the info breach and perceived it as a crimson flag whereas others had been simply relieved that their cryptocurrencies had been stored secure.
After the hack, Ledger laid out its plans (opens in new tab) to forestall future knowledge breaches. Ledger is way from excellent, however remember that your digital belongings are extra prone to being hacked whereas sitting in a scorching pockets versus a chilly one. After figuring out that you simply’re able to buy a Ledger {hardware} pockets, you’ll must make an necessary resolution. Do you have to purchase the Nano S or the Nano X? Don’t fear! This face-off will iron out all the main points so you possibly can determine which is finest for you.
| Ledger Nano S | Ledger Nano X | |
| Value | $59 | $119 |
| Crypto belongings | As much as 3 | As much as 100 |
| Bluetooth help | No | Sure |
| USB sort | micro-USB | USB-C |
| Desktop use | Home windows 8+, macOS 10.10+ and Linux, however programs with ARM processors are excluded. | Home windows 8+, macOS 10.10+ and Linux, however programs with ARM processors are excluded. |
| Cell use | Android solely | Android and iOS |
| Battery | None | 8 hours of standby |
| Display screen | 128 × 32 pixels | 128 × 64 pixels |
| Measurement | 2.2 × 0.7 × 0.36 inches | 2.8 × 0.7 × 0.5 inches |
| Weight | 0.6 oz | 1.1 oz |
Ledger Nano S vs. X: value and worth
I initially thought that the Ledger Nano S and X had been overpriced; they’re light-weight USB gadgets with rudimentary person interfaces which are paying homage to 90’s Tamagotchi toys. The Nano S prices $59 (opens in new tab) whereas the Nano X’s price ticket is $149 (opens in new tab). Nonetheless, I ultimately concluded {that a} peace of thoughts — figuring out that your cryptocurrencies are secure from the perils of web hacks — is priceless.
It’s possible you’ll be questioning, “Why is the Nano S greater than half of the value of the Nano X?” Properly, probably the most standout purpose is that, in accordance with the official Ledger web site (opens in new tab), the Nano S can solely maintain as much as three cryptocurrencies — give or take. The Nano S solely has 160kb of storage.
The Nano X, alternatively, has 1.8Mb of storage and might maintain as much as 100 cryptocurrencies. It’s value noting that the Nano S and X help over 1,000 tokens and cash, however you possibly can solely load as much as three on the previous and as much as 100 on the latter.
Ledger additionally provides bundles. There’s a Crypto Starter Pack that prices $69 and comes with the Nano S, a newbie’s PDF information, and a $25 voucher to buy your favourite crypto. For folk who need to make cryptocurrency investing a household affair, there’s additionally a $139 Ledger Household Pack S (opens in new tab) that comes with three Nano S’s.
Winner: Ledger Nano S
Ledger Nano S vs. X: design
From afar, the Ledger Nano S and X seem like run-of-the-mill USB sticks. In case you had one sitting in your desk, a passerby would by no means know that your unassuming machine is holding treasured, beneficial digital currencies.
The Nano S and X each sport a small display screen on an onyx rectangular prism. In addition they have steel-colored instances hooked up by a hinge that may be swung round to disclose their USB ports, however that’s the place their similarities finish.
Customers can navigate the Nano S’s OS by utilizing the 2 buttons positioned on the sting of the prism. The Nano X’s twin buttons, alternatively, flank the show. Not like the Nano X, the Nano S incorporates a gap that’s handy for attaching to a set of keys, however I wouldn’t advocate doing that. Your Ledger Nano ought to be stored someplace secure.
The Nano S is slimmer and lighter than its pricier counterpart. The Nano S weighs 16.2 grams and its dimensions are 56.95mm × 17.4mm × 9.1mm. The Nano X weighs 34 grams and its dimensions are 72mm × 18.6mm × 11.75mm.
The Nano X’s 128 × 64-pixel show is already fairly rattling small, however the Nano S’s 128 x 34-pixel show is even tinier. In case you don’t need to squint for pricey life to see what’s on the display screen, you’d be higher off with the Nano X.
If you would like your Ledger Nano to have a pop of colour, you’ll don’t have any alternative however to go for the Nano S. Whereas the Nano X solely is available in Matte Black, you will get the Nano S in Saffron Yellow, Flamingo Pink, Jade Inexperienced and Lagoon Blue. Hell, there’s even a clear design for many who need to peek into the internal workings of the Nano S.
Winner: Ledger Nano X
Ledger Nano S vs. X: safety
Disguise your Dogecoin, disguise your Cardano! The cryptocurrency world is awash with hackers discovering methods to use hot-wallet safety holes. Let me provide you with a state of affairs to assist elucidate how Ledger Nano gadgets assist safe your funds.
Let’s say you need to take a dangerous plunge and make investments half of your financial savings in Bitcoin. Now, $25,000 value of Bitcoin is sitting in your Coinbase account. Does that make you nervous? It ought to! What if Coinbase will get hacked? What if a cybercriminal manages to come up with your account and drains it? How may you sleep at evening? Dropping $25,000 value of BTC can be devastating. Nonetheless, for peace of thoughts, what you are able to do is just switch your Bitcoin to your Ledger Nano machine. To do that, you’d have to attach your Nano S or X to Ledger Reside (the companion app) and procure your Ledger’s BTC pockets handle (consider crypto pockets addresses as “e mail addresses” that inform exchanges the place to ship crypto). Subsequent, you’d open Coinbase, ship your BTC to the pockets handle, and now your BTC is sitting in an offline pockets versus a susceptible, uncovered scorching pockets.
Take into account that all transactions are nonetheless carried out on the blockchain, however your Ledger shops your Bitcoin’s personal keys offline and considerably reduces your possibilities of being hacked.
The Nano S makes use of the ST31 safety chip whereas the Nano X has the ST33 safety chip. Though the latter is barely extra highly effective, they’re each rated CC EAL5+ by ANSSI (a France-based cybersecurity company). This simply signifies that the Nano X and the Nano S received two thumbs all the way in which up for its safe tech.
Each chilly wallets require a pin code (a minimal of 4 numbers). Initially, I received irritated with how usually I used to be prompted to enter my pin code for my Ledger Nano X, however I ultimately grew to understand the method. Just a little inconvenience is value it for tight safety.
Winner: Tie
Ledger Nano S vs. X: ports and connectivity
The Ledger Nano S, launched in 2016, is the OG of the 2. It’s a cane-holding, outdated timer that also has an historic micro-USB port. The Nano X is the fashionable, hip-and-happenin’ machine that swooped in to take the Nano S’ place in 2019. Not like the Nano S, the Nano X has a USB-C port.
The Nano S ships with a USB-B to USB-A cable, so when you have a laptop computer that solely sports activities USB-C ports (e.g. a MacBook Professional), you’ll want a USB-C adapter to attach the Nano S to your PC. The identical may be mentioned for the Nano X, which ships with a USB-C to USB-A cable.
On prime of that, the Nano X is a Bluetooth-enabled machine whereas the Nano S will not be. I’m undecided how I really feel concerning the Nano X having Bluetooth connectivity. As we just lately reported, Bluetooth is infamous for getting used as a backdoor to victims’ telephones and laptops. Nonetheless, Ledger asserts that the Nano X’s Bluetooth Low Vitality tech is safe.
“As safety is an important side in all our merchandise, the Bluetooth function doesn’t expose the Ledger Nano X to any safety vulnerabilities since personal keys by no means depart the safe chip and Bluetooth connection is end-to-end encrypted to guard your privateness,” Ledger mentioned (opens in new tab).
In different phrases, even when a cybercriminal intercepted your Bluetooth communication whereas it’s in transit to a different machine, they wouldn’t be capable of get your personal keys nor verify any transactions you don’t need to ship. Nonetheless, if this isn’t convincing sufficient, you possibly can all the time disable Bluetooth on the Nano X.
Because of the Nano X’s Bluetooth function, Ledger assures you can transact on-the-go utilizing the Ledger Reside app on Android or iOS. The Nano S can solely connect with the cell Ledger Reside app on Android gadgets utilizing an OTG cable. (opens in new tab)
Winner: Ledger Nano X
Ledger Nano S vs. X: Cryptocurrencies
Each the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X can retailer any of the 1,150+ supported cryptocurrencies (opens in new tab), together with Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple (XRP), however as talked about, the Nano S can solely handle as much as three whereas the Nano X can pack as much as 100.
After you arrange your Ledger Nano and join it to the Ledger Reside app, you’ll want to put in “apps” for every particular person digital asset you’ve gotten. For instance, when you have Dogecoin, you’ll have to put in the Dogecoin app. When you have Solana, you’ll must obtain the Solana app, and so forth.
Every app has completely different file sizes. For instance, Ethereum eats up 72kb whereas Dogecoin solely takes up 4kb, which is why one Nano S proprietor may probably rise up to 3 apps whereas one other can solely squeeze in two. All of it will depend on the file measurement of the apps you obtain.
Winner: Tie
Ledger Nano S vs. X: Person interface
The Ledger Nano S and X have a custom-built OS referred to as Blockchain Open Ledger Working System (BOLOS). As talked about, the OS is a bit of bit uncooked and elementary (like utilizing a two-button calculator), however that is by design. The UI isn’t designed to be fancy; it’s meant to be safe and light-weight.
Navigating the Nano S and X is basically the identical. You should utilize the left or proper buttons to scroll by a carousel of choices or apps. To make picks and confirmations, you’ll have to press each buttons concurrently. The one distinction is that, because of the bigger display screen on the Nano X, you possibly can see extra knowledge and information on the show.
It is going to take a while to get accustomed to utilizing the Ledger Nano gadgets, however you’ll ultimately get the dangle of it. Establishing the Ledger Nano while you first use it’s the absolute worst. You may be requested to jot down down your 24-word seed phrase (this will probably be used to recuperate your belongings for those who lose your chilly pockets), however the Ledger Nano gained’t take your phrase for it. To just remember to, certainly, wrote it down, you’ll be required to verify each single phrase so as. So if the primary phrase of your seed phrase is “wealthy,” you’ll must undergo a carousel of 24 phrases to seek out the correct phrase and make sure it — and also you’ll want to do that 23 extra occasions!
Regardless of the tedium of the set-up course of, I acknowledge it’s all for my very own good.
Winner: Tie
Ledger Nano S vs. X: battery life
The Nano S doesn’t have a built-in battery, so you possibly can’t “cost” it. To make use of it, you’ll have to show it on by plugging it into your PC.
The Nano X, alternatively, has a 100 mAh battery and it may well final for 8 hours on standby.
Winner: Ledger Nano X
Ledger Nano S vs. X: Buyer help
Whether or not you’ve gotten the Nano S or X, the standard of Ledger’s help will depend on what avenue you employ to achieve customer support. I personal the Nano X and the USB cable that shipped with it arrived damaged. I assumed, “If I’m paying $115 for this factor, all the things higher be in working order!” I emailed Ledger (Ledger doesn’t have cellphone help) and informed them about what occurred. 4 days handed and I didn’t obtain a response.
I hopped on Ledger’s official Reddit web page and reiterated my challenge. Thankfully, a help crew member reached out and requested me for the ticket quantity related to my e mail request. Quickly after, a Ledger agent lastly emailed me again and shipped a brand new, working USB cable to me inside a day or two.
I’m feeling a bit lukewarm about Ledger’s help. I received ghosted by the e-mail crew, however fortunately, a Ledger rep on Reddit vouched for me. My state of affairs has been resolved and I’m content material. In case you want Ledger help, you’ll be higher off heading straight to Reddit.
Winner: Tie
General winner: Ledger Nano X
Fact be informed, the Nano S doesn’t have any alluring promoting factors that make it a greater decide over the Nano X. It doesn’t have a built-in battery, it has much less cupboard space, it has a smaller show and its port is out of date. Certain, it is available in a wider vary of colours, however who cares? Whether or not your crypto chilly pockets is Flamingo Pink or Matte Black ought to be the least of your worries.
Ledger says that the Nano S targets “newbie crypto traders,” however I don’t agree. In any case, wouldn’t a fledgling investor profit from the educational alternatives that come from utilizing a tool that helps a bigger set of cryptocurrencies?
In my view, the goal shoppers for the Nano S are non-traders and non-investors with one or two digital currencies for long-term holding. For instance, let’s say you’re a mother or father. You don’t actually care about cryptocurrencies, however all of this Bitcoin hoopla has caught your eye. As such, you need to attempt your hand at shopping for BTC to your child’s future. You possibly can switch BTC right into a Nano S, lock it inside a vault, and hope it grows astronomically by the point your baby is 18-years-old.
The Nano S can also be supreme for rare traders who’ve no real interest in buying greater than two or three digital belongings.
Apart from that, for those who’re genuinely fascinated about crypto investing, whether or not you’re a novice or seasoned, the Nano X is one of the best of the 2. There are different {hardware} wallets in the marketplace (e.g. Trezor Mannequin T (opens in new tab)), however I’ve seen that the cryptocurrency world has absolutely embraced Ledger Nano gadgets, leaving Trezor out within the chilly. For instance, I just lately bought LUNA and NEAR, which solely supported Ledger Nano gadgets for safekeeping tokens offline. Till that modifications, the Ledger Nano X will proceed to be the most suitable choice for security-minded crypto fans.
