Tangem Wallet Review – Is It the Best Crypto Wallet to Use in 2025?

If you’re weighing up crypto cold storage options, this Tangem Wallet review will tell you everything you need to know before tapping your card.

We’ve tested the wallet ourselves, from setting it up to making real transactions, and dug into Tangem’s security model, which skips the seed phrase and leans into NFC-powered cards with a sleek mobile app.

But how does it actually stack up against other top wallets? Let’s break it all down.

What Is Tangem Wallet?

Tangem Wallet is a Swiss-made non-custodial hardware wallet that stores your private keys entirely offline (cold storage) through an innovative solution.

It trades cables, batteries, and recovery phrases for something far simpler: a credit card-sized NFC (Near Field Communication) device you just tap to your phone to access your funds.

Launched in 2017 and based in Zug (Switzerland’s ‘Crypto Valley’), Tangem set out to reimagine how people interact with self-custody wallets. Over the years, the company has gained a reputation for accessibility, especially among newer holders looking to escape the complexity of traditional cold wallets.

Due to its convenience-first approach, recognition soon followed. In 2025, Tangem bagged 2nd place for Best Hardware Wallet at the BTC-ECHO Community Awards and earned the top spot in BENZINGA’s Best Crypto Wallets Ranking.

Its card-based design has even been featured as one of the top crypto-themed gift ideas, a nod to its portability and ease of use.

Now backed by a $15M investment from SBI Holdings, Tangem has become a full-fledged cold wallet built for maximum self-custody, minimal friction, and long-term durability.

But if you’re more comfortable with a mobile-first wallet that skips hardware entirely, Best Wallet offers seedless, non-custodial protection via MPC (Multi-Party Computation) and is our top pick for the best crypto wallets.

How Does Tangem Wallet Work?

Tangem Wallet uses NFC to communicate with your smartphone (the same tech behind tap-to-pay bank cards).

Rather than dealing with cables, screens, or Bluetooth pairing, you tap your Tangem card or ring against your phone to authorize transactions in the app. It’s a streamlined, battery-free setup built for speed and simplicity.

When you activate the wallet, the chip inside the card generates a private key entirely offline using a TRNG (True Random Number Generator).

That key is never exposed, never stored elsewhere, and never leaves the chip on the card.

In practice, the process is fast, intuitive, and surprisingly low-complexity compared to other hard wallets that rely on screens or Bluetooth pairing. And that’s exactly the point.

Tangem Wallet Pros and Cons

After testing Tangem’s full setup, a few clear strengths and limitations stood out. Here’s our quick breakdown of what the wallet does well and where it might fall short depending on your priorities.

Pros

• Setup takes under 3 minutes with no seed phrase required
• Slim, card-like design is portable, waterproof, and doesn’t require charging
• Secure chip (EAL6+) has a zero-hack history and no firmware updates allowed (to limit unauthorized access risks)
• Built-in app lets you buy, sell, and swap crypto without third-party custody

Cons

• No desktop support. Mobile-only access may feel limiting for some users
• NFT viewing and management features are currently unavailable in the app

Tangem’s Key Features

Tangem stands out from traditional hardware wallets with a card-based design, a mobile-first UX, and a no-fuss setup experience. After testing the wallet, here are the key features that impressed us, along with a few quirks you’ll want to know about.

Tap-to-Transact Simplicity

One of Tangem’s most unique features is the ability to sign transactions by tapping the card to your smartphone.

No need for cables, no pairing process, and no risk of man-in-the-middle attacks during the connection set-up process. In our testing, this tap-to-sign flow felt seamless, especially for quick sends and swaps.

We found this design especially convenient for everyday use, though we did notice that NFC performance can vary slightly depending on your phone model and case thickness. Still, we had no issues with basic tap recognition on modern iPhones and Androids.

Multi-Card Backup System

Every Tangem cold wallet set includes two or three identical cards. These act like backups to your crypto wallet, like having multiple keys to a safe.

Adding backup cards was quick and intuitive, and having multiple cards (and thus, safety nets) felt safer than relying solely on a written recovery phrase.

That said, you’ll need to be strategic about where you store your spares. If you lose one of your two cards, forget your access code, and you chose a seed phrase-less wallet when setting up your Tangem, recovery becomes impossible.

Therefore, a 3-card set improves your recovery options by letting you reset the access code.

Tangem Ring

The Tangem Ring takes the same secure chip technology found in Tangem cards and wraps it in a sleek, scratch-resistant ceramic ring, making it the first-ever wearable hardware wallet.

You sign transactions by simply tapping your ring to your smartphone, just like with a Tangem card. It’s discreet, fast, and ideal if you’re looking for a more hands-free cold wallet setup.

Security-wise, the Tangem Ring packs the same EAL6+ certified secure element as the cards, encased in hypoallergenic zirconia ceramic that’s IP68-rated. Meaning it’s fully waterproof, dustproof, and tough enough for daily wear.

The chip inside generates a private key during setup and stores it directly on the ring, just like the cards. The included two backup cards complete the smart backup system, with no extra copies stored elsewhere.

One thing to note: the ring is part of a set. You can’t buy it standalone or use it as your only device. It’s sold with two cards as a three-device cold wallet setup for $160. You’ll need to choose your ring size before ordering (returns are accepted if it doesn’t fit).

App-Based Wallet Management

Tangem’s mobile app is your control center for everything: sending, receiving, swapping, adding tokens, and viewing balances. The interface is clean, responsive, and available for both iOS and Android.

Wallet creation truly took less than three minutes (a big selling point of Tangem), and we appreciated how clearly the Tangem hardware wallet app walks you through each step.

The downside? There’s no desktop version or browser extension, which might be limiting for users deep into DeFi or dApp ecosystems. Still, for day-to-day self-custody, the app does everything most users will need.

In-App Crypto Swaps and Purchases

Tangem has integrated a swap aggregator that pulls rates from 1inch and ChangeNOW, letting you trade top trending crypto directly in the wallet app. It also supports fiat purchases via Mercuryo and crypto-to-fiat off-ramps with MoonPay.

We had a smooth experience swapping tokens, and we liked being able to compare swap providers before executing a trade.

However, Tangem charges a flat 0.35% fee on in-app swaps through Tangem Express, which is layered on top of any third-party or network fees from providers like 1inch or ChangeNOW. Buying and selling crypto via Mercuryo or MoonPay also includes service fees, though those are set by the provider, not Tangem.

Gas fees depend entirely on the blockchain you’re using. Since Tangem is non-custodial, you only pay standard network fees, which go directly to miners or validators. On some chains like Ethereum, you can manually adjust the fee to prioritize speed or cost. On others, Tangem auto-sets the gas for convenience.

Seed Phrase Backup (Optional)

Originally, Tangem didn’t support seed phrases at all – a bold move. But after user feedback, they added optional seed import/export support. You can now generate a BIP39 phrase in the Tangem app or import an existing one from another wallet.

We liked that this gives experienced users more flexibility. But Tangem still recommends avoiding seed phrases entirely, as they introduce a single point of failure that hackers can exploit to steal your funds (through phishing, for instance).

If you choose the seed phrase route, you’ll be responsible for securing it the old-fashioned way. Writing it down and storing it offline in a safe place, ideally on a metal backup plate to protect against fire, water, and physical damage.

Tangem Pricing Breakdown

Tangem is one of the most affordable hardware wallet options in 2025, especially considering the security and backup system it offers.

As of writing this article, here’s how the pricing breaks down on Tangem’s official site:

• 2-Card Set: $54.90 – ideal for solo users who want a basic backup
• 3-Card Set: $69.40 – our recommended pick, offering two backups and better long-term resilience
• Tangem Ring + 2 Cards: $160.00 – includes the wearable Tangem ring wallet and two backup cards
• Family Pack (2 x 3-Card Sets): $129.30 – best value if you’re buying for a partner or splitting storage geographically

All purchases include a 25-year warranty, and most orders over $100 qualify for free international shipping.

When stacked against other popular cold wallets, Tangem lands on the more affordable side — especially for what you get. A basic 2-card Tangem set at $54.90 is cheaper than the entry-level Ledger Nano S Plus ($79) or the Trezor Safe 3 ($79), and only slightly more than a Trezor Model One ($49).

Even the higher-end Tangem Ring bundle ($160) undercuts premium models like the Ledger Stax ($249) or Trezor Safe 5 ($169) by a wide margin.

What you miss out on (a built-in screen or USB connection) is balanced by Tangem’s tap-to-sign simplicity, no battery required, and multi-card redundancy. Unlike many wallets in the $100+ tier, Tangem doesn’t feel overengineered for everyday users.

If you want bulletproof long-term storage without the tech fuss, it’s a great deal. You’re paying less not because it’s lacking, but because it’s doing things differently. For the price, it punches well above its weight, especially for beginners or anyone looking for a no-stress cold storage setup.

Tangem Wallet Security

Security is the whole point of hardware wallets. And we think this is an area where Tangem genuinely holds up.

Tangem offers two setup options, and the difference matters for security:

1. Seedless Option

If you go seedless, the private key is generated entirely inside the card’s EAL6+ chip using a hardware-based random number generator. It never leaves the card and isn’t stored anywhere else, making this the safest, most ‘cold’ setup.

You also don’t receive a traditional seed phrase to safeguard. You know the one—that 12–to–24 word phrase you write on a piece of paper that can restore access to your crypto.

All you need are the backup cards. Lose those and you lose access to your crypto.

2. Seed Phrase Route

If you choose the seed phrase route, things are a bit different. The seed phrase is generated by the app on your phone (an internet-connected device), and then uploaded to the card. That means the key exists briefly outside the secure chip, introducing a small but important exposure risk.

For maximum security, we’d recommend the seedless option. It’s genuinely offline and harder to compromise. The seed phrase option adds flexibility, but it’s closer to hot wallet behavior during setup.

Importantly, Tangem doesn’t run backend infrastructure that’s vulnerable to unauthorized access. The wallet operates without relying on Tangem’s servers, and your app connects directly to the blockchain. No cloud dependencies. No centralized points of failure.

Security has been independently verified, too. Tangem’s firmware was audited in 2018 by Kudelski Security and again in 2023 by Riscure, two of the most respected names in infosec.

Both firms confirmed that Tangem’s firmware has no backdoors, is non-upgradable (by design), and is free of vulnerabilities (except the one event we’ll discuss below). This is key because many attack vectors in other hardware wallets involve firmware updates that can be hijacked or spoofed.

We did come across one minor incident from late 2024: a small vulnerability was disclosed affecting users who generated seed phrases and reached out to customer support within seven days via the Tangem app. Essentially, the seed phrase was readable in the mobile app’s logs.

To Tangem’s credit, they patched it immediately, confirmed no funds were compromised, and launched a public bug bounty to catch similar edge cases in the future. That level of transparency is exactly what we want to see in a security-first company.

Tangem’s open-source mobile app is another win. Anyone can review its code on GitHub for hidden vulnerabilities, and there’s no telemetry or data collection happening in the background. That means no user tracking, no analytics scripts, and no selling your info.

Just good old-fashioned local key management with state-of-the-art encryption.

Tangem’s approach is physical and chip-based. In contrast, Best Wallet relies on Fireblocks MPC-CMP, splitting your private key into two secure shards (one on your device, one encrypted on the cloud).

While Tangem offers stronger cold storage security by keeping private keys 100% offline, Best Wallet makes up for it with ease of use, faster access, and ecosystem perks like early presale tokens and integrated DEX routing. It’s not about better or worse. It’s about what you prioritize: airtight storage or fast, feature-rich access.

Tangem Wallet Interface – Is it Easy to Use?

Tangem really feels more like tapping a bank card than handling a crypto wallet, and that’s what we love about it the most. Once you set it up, day-to-day tasks like checking balances, sending tokens, or signing transactions are fast and frictionless. Just open the Tangem Wallet app, tap your card, and approve.

We particularly liked how responsive the Tangem app felt. Swapping between assets, adding custom tokens, and tracking portfolio changes was intuitive and never felt cumbersome to do.

The NFC interaction was consistent across both iPhone and Android during our testing, though a few users with bulky phone cases did report occasional tap issues. But for that, we blame the cases.

How Does Tangem Wallet Compare to Other Crypto Wallets?

Choosing the right crypto wallet often comes down to personal priorities, whether it’s security, convenience, recovery options, or long-term storage. To help you assess what fits best, we’ve compiled a quick comparison of Tangem and a few standout alternatives.

Each wallet here takes a different approach to crypto custody, so use this table to match your needs with the right tool.

Tangem’s Reputation – What Are People Saying?

To get a clearer picture of how Tangem performs beyond our own testing, we dug into user Tangem crypto wallet reviews across Trustpilot, Reddit, and app store feedback.

We were especially interested in people’s experiences with everyday use, support quality, and real-world reliability. And for the most part, what we found mirrored our own experience with the wallet.

Most Tangem reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with users praising the setup ease, secure tap-to-sign functionality, and the peace of mind that comes with multiple backup cards.

Many reviewers also highlighted how beginner-friendly the app is, which aligns with our experience during the setup and usage.

Others have shared similar stories, especially around Tangem’s support team stepping up to resolve technical issues or guide users through tough spots like lost access or incorrect network transfers.

That said, not every Tangem review was glowing. We came across a few valid criticisms, particularly around third-party services integrated into the app.

One user detailed a serious issue involving a large $XRP swap via ChangeHero, where the transaction got stuck in KYC limbo.

Initially, they felt Tangem should have done more due diligence on its in-app partners. However, after further communication, Tangem support stepped in to resolve the situation, and the user later updated their review from 1 star to 5 stars.

Tangem responded quickly, asking the user to submit more details for a full investigation, and ultimately helped recover the funds.

While the initial experience raised questions about third-party vetting, Tangem’s willingness to step in and resolve the issue shows a real commitment to transparency, accountability, and user trust.

On Reddit, many crypto users refer to Tangem as a ‘great starter cold wallet’ and mention its usability advantage over clunkier devices like Trezor or Ledger. The lack of a traditional seed phrase has become a surprisingly popular selling point, especially for those burned by poor seed storage in the past.

How to Use Tangem Wallet – A Step-By-Step Guide

Setting up Tangem was a breeze. Here’s how it works, based on our experience using a standard 3-card Tangem set and an NFC-enabled smartphone.

1. Download the Tangem App

First, head to the Tangem website and grab the official app from the App Store or Google Play. We always recommend downloading through the official site to avoid copycat apps.

2. Scan Your First Card

With the app open, select ‘Scan Card.’ Hold your Tangem card (or ring) to the back of your phone. You’ll see a confirmation once it connects via NFC.

3. Create a New Wallet

Tap ‘Create Wallet’ to start the process. The secure chip in the card generates a private key completely offline.

4. Add Backup Cards

Tap Add a Card or Ring, select ‘Add a backup card’ on the next screen, and tap your second card. Repeat for a third if you’re using the 3-pack.

5. Finalize and Set Your Access Code

Once all cards are scanned, tap Finalize Backup, then create your access code. This functions like a PIN, and it’s required every time you open the app or sign a transaction.

Select ‘Continue’ in the next screen to begin this process.

Enter any number, word, or phrase you want in the ‘Access Code’ field and then select ‘Continue.’

Enter the code again for confirmation and select ‘Submit’ to finalize the process.

6. Enable Biometrics (Optional)

You can also enable biometric authentication in the Tangem app settings. Face ID or fingerprint login adds a convenient 2FA-style layer without slowing things down.

Tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Go to ‘App Settings.’

Check the ‘Keep the wallet in the app’ and ‘Save Access Code’ boxes, and you’re done. You can log in with biometrics next time!

7. Verify the Setup

Finally, scan each card one last time to complete the setup. You’ll see a confirmation screen, and then you’re ready.

That’s it. Your wallet is live. From here, you can send and receive assets, track your portfolio, and connect to dApps via WalletConnect, all from the comfort of your phone.

Tangem Wallet Review – Final Thoughts

After extensive hands-on testing, it’s clear that Tangem offers something genuinely unique in the crowded crypto wallet space. In a world of clunky hardware setups, seed phrase anxiety, or juggling QR codes just to move your crypto, Tangem’s tap-and-go approach is a breath of fresh air.

The convenience of NFC cards, the optional seed recovery, and the no-battery-required hardware make it ideal for daily use, travel, or as a gift to someone who’s just starting out.

While it may lack the advanced dApp integrations or desktop compatibility of some power-user wallets (like Ledger), it makes up for it with sheer simplicity and rock-solid security. Not to mention a price point that’s hard to beat, even for a cold storage solution.

That said, we recommend caution when using third-party services integrated in-app (like swaps and fiat on-ramps), especially for larger transactions. And as always, this isn’t financial advice. Please DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and make sure it fits your threat model and storage needs.

FAQs

1. Can I trust Tangem wallet?

Tangem has earned a strong reputation for security, with over 2 million devices sold and zero hacks reported. It uses an EAL6+ certified chip (the same level as biometric passports) and has passed independent audits by Kudelski and Riscure.

The security model is also nearly foolproof, as the private key never leaves the device, so you’re always in full control.

2. Is a Tangem wallet worth it?

If you want a user-friendly cold wallet that skips the seed phrase stress, Tangem is absolutely worth considering. It’s affordable, highly portable, and built with secure NFC tech. While advanced users might miss things like native desktop support, the ease of setup and peace of mind make it a solid value for most holders.

3. How long does a Tangem wallet last?

Tangem wallets are built to last at least 25 years thanks to their monolithic design and durable, EAL6+ certified chip. There are no batteries, moving parts, or screens to fail. Just a secure chip sealed inside a waterproof, dustproof, and heat-resistant card or ring that’s ready to sign transactions for decades.

4. Does Tangem charge a fee?

There are no Tangem Wallet fees for basic wallet functions like sending, receiving, or storing crypto. However, like all non-custodial wallets, you’ll still pay gas fees to the blockchain network when transacting. Swaps made through the app incur a 0.35% service fee, plus network fees.

Buying or selling crypto via third-party providers (like Mercuryo or MoonPay) also includes separate provider fees, which vary depending on the asset and region.