In the first episode of this series, I gave you some overview about Solana Project. Now, I will take you on a tour around Solana wallets because it’s the first thing you will interact with on Solana (or any other network). Note that it will be only brief summary (mainly for newcomers) so you have some basic idea what options are there.
SOL Wallets basic categories
- CLI — Solana Tools
- Web -SolFlare, Sollet, MathWallet
- Chrome Extension — Solong
- Mobile — Trust Wallet, Coin87
- HW — Leger S/X
- Desktop/Mobile — Exodus
- …
Wallet list
Solana CLI tools wallet
docs.solana.com/wallet-guide/cli
Core Solana command-line wallet. You interact directly with Solana network without any GUI in between. Most powerful option out there!
Pros: Complete functionality (wallet control, staking, …)
Cons: requires at least basic tech skills, not as user friendly as GUI wallets
Solong
solongwallet.com
Pros: Metamask-like browser extension, decent amount of functions
Cons: Missing some functionality (like no staking features yet)
Sollet
sollet.io
Pros: Open source, good functionality (tokens, …),
Cons: No staking functionality yet, very basic GUI
Solflare
Pros: Nice, feature rich (tokens, staking)
Cons: Not open source yet
Exodus
exodus.com
Pros: Multi-chain, multi-coin, nice UI
Cons: Only send-and-receive SOL, DEX disabled for SOL (temporarily I guess)
Math Wallet
Pros: Multiwallet — multiple networks supported, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, Web wallet
Cons: Basic SOL functions only
Crypto.com
Pros: Multi-coin wallet, mobile-only
Cons: Basic SOL functions only, SOL withdrawals not available (last time I checked)
Coin98
Pros: multi-chain wallet
Cons: Basic SOL functions only, mobile-only
Trust Wallet
Pros: multi-chain wallet
Cons: Basic SOL functions only, mobile only
Bonfida
https://bonfida.com/wallet
Pros: ERC20 tokens support
Const: not all SOL functions (staking)
Swipe
Pros: multi-chain wallet
Cons: Basic SOL functions only, mobile-only
P2P Wallet
p2p-org.github.io/p2p-wallet-web/#/
Pros: good integration with others
Cons: limited-functions for SOL
Leger wallet
Pros: hardware+software wallet, HW wallet also supported in multiple other wallets
Conclusion
Well, which one then? It really depends on your needs and preferences. Do you just need to send and receive SOL? Or do you want to stake SOL, or trade tokens on Solana Dexes, Serum, deposit ETC20 tokens, etc? Do you have tech skills?
Can I make any recommendation at all? Yes, I can definitely recommend Ledger Hardware Wallet (not for free, sorry) because it will give you extra layer of security usable in most wallets mentioned and you will use it for your Bitcoins and other crypto as well. There is bad news for Trezor HW wallet users, Solana doesn’t support Trezor yet but I’m pretty sure it will not take a long time and even Trezor will be supported soon.
Otherwise, there are some suggestions based on category you are in. Some wallets are open source, some are not. Also note that several wallets (mostly multi-chain wallets) are centralized and custodial, so you don’t own your crypto but just IOUs (crypto.com, etc).
- Tech skills & security -> CLI wallet
- If you like Metamask -> Solong
- Token maniacs -> Sollet
- Aesthetics, features, staking -> Solflare
- Basic features and multiple coins -> any multi-chain wallet
It’s worth saying that most Solana wallets don’t have the polished quality of Ethereum or BSC wallets yet in general. It’s only showing that we here still quite early, which is good. It doesn’t mean these wallet are unusable, they are pretty decent (some less, others more), they are just not yet perfect.
What do YOU think about Solana wallets? And which one do you prefer and why? Please share you experience with us.
Do you want to support this series with some spare SOL? If so, thank you! 7N7XTh4QmuUm6PhpSApegRKnUAYWk83FLUmzs3ygLzNv
See you next time & blessings!
