Tangem Stealth Wallet is the most anonymous hardware wallet on the market. If for some reason you want to carry a crypto signing device with you, this is the best way to do it. Just be aware that screenless devices aren’t as safe as screened devices. Great option for new users and quick transactions.
- Unboxing
- Tangem Stealth: It’s A Hardware Wallet?
- Setting Up Tangem Stealth Is As Easy As Ever
- Tangem App: Basically Does What’s Necessary
- Tangem Token Support Lacking But NFTs Added
- Tangem Security: One Massive Flaw With No Hacks
- Tangem Stealth Reputation & Reviews
- Tangem Stealth Vs. Other Crypto Wallets
- Final Thoughts: Secret Cards For Your Crypto Needs
What‘s Inside The Box?
Tangem Stealth: It’s A Hardware Wallet?
Tangem is simple, and this product is no different.
The three cards are the same as the normal set, coming in a smooth and suave matte black finish.
The first card has the brand logo on it, as well as the ID number on the back.
This will be our pimary card.
The other two cards have no logo on the front or back. Unless you knew of Tangem, there would be no way to know this card is used for crypto transactions.
What amazes us most is that we tried our hardest to snap this card in half, and you can barely even tell that it was bent that much.
Setting Tangem apart from competitors, the brand offers a 25 year extended use warranty.
Pretty wild when screened devices only last 3 to 5 years.
Setting Up Tangem Stealth Is As Easy As Ever
Tangem continues to have one of the easiest setups in crypto.
Hands down.
It is worth mentioning that the Tangem app is mobile only, compatible with both Android and iOS.
Firstly, scan the given QR code and download the Tangem app.
Take the primary card with the logo, and hold it to the back of the device to detect NFC.
Click ‘create wallet’.
Now the reason we have two extra cards is to use them as backups. If we lose one of them, we can use the other two to access our crypto assets.
Hold these to the back of the phone and the cards get synced with the primary card.
Next, we’re prompted to add an assess code, or passphrase, which stops physical brute force attacks.
And to finalize the process, we must then scan each card for 15 seconds against our device.
Choose your favorite assets and we’re in the app.
There’s two other ways to set up Tangem. Generate seed phrase, which is my recommendation, and import an existing wallet.
Choose a 12 or 24 word seed phrase, write the words down and then follow the same steps as above.
The cards can also be reset at any time, just ensure you’ve taken all crypto off first!
Tangem App: Basically Does What’s Necessary
Comparatively speaking, Tangem app has a fairly simplistic design but is easy enough to use, especially for new users.
To receive crypto, click on a token in ‘my tokens’ and tap ‘receive’. Copy the address and send over some crypto.
We can also receive NFTs by first turning the toggle on in the settings. Scroll down to ‘nft collections’, tap ‘receive nft’, choose your blockchain and copy the address.
To send crypto, tap the token name, select ‘send’, and enter the recipient address.
Confirm the transaction info and press ‘send’. Scan your card and wait for the transaction to succeed.
One additional feature Tangem lacks is could more transparent transaction history in app.
Apart from that, users can buy, sell, swap and stake crypto assets.
The dapp section is also lacking which uses WalletConnect, so if you’re looking to use Tangem for DeFi, it’s best to look for alternatives.
Lastly, it’s worth that even if your phone is lost, you can still recover the crypto on your Tangem cards.
Tap ‘add wallet’ in settings, scan all the cards, and enter the access code. Select ‘this is my wallet’.
Then ‘wallet 2’ will appear with your account balance.
Tangem Token Support Lacking But NFTs Added
Tangem has over 1,000 compatible coins and tokens listed on their website. This is a significantly less compared to competitors.
The company recently added NFT support for Ethereum and Solana, adding a more diverse budget option for NFT storage.
Tangem Security: One Massive Flaw With No Hacks
Tangem claims over 4 million cards sold with no hacks since creation.
Credit where credit is due.
As for how Tangem cards work, there are two internal parts.
Firstly, the Samsung secure element EAL 6+ chip handles cryptographic actions, such as generating private keys.
An NFC chip is also implanted inside the card, allowing users to tap on their phone to sign transactions.
Since there’s no screen, we can think of Tangem as a warm wallet, somewhere between cold and hot.
This is because Tangem doesn’t have a screen to confirm details are correct on both devices before confirming transactions.
We have to mention there was a recent scare where Tangem was logging users’ private keys in support emails. Super scary but the bug was fixed quickly.
Read more about that here and come to your own conclusions.
There have been two third party audits for Tangem so far.
The first was in 2018 by the Swiss company Kudelski Security for the Tangem 1.0 finding “no backdoors or vulnerabilities, is not updatable, and contains no hidden algorithms”.
Similar results came from a second audit in 2023 by Riscure. This time for the current Tangem 2.0 card.
Neither audit was publicly released.
As for open sourcing, most of Tangem’s software is, as can be seen on their public Github here.
But since the card uses a Samsung secure element chip, this requires an NDA agreement. So as with many other hardware wallets, the chip itself is closed source.
Tangem Stealth Reputation & Reviews
Tangem was founded in 2017 in Zug, Switzerland. Between 2017 to 2021, they focused on the B2B crypto market, until finally going B2C from 2021 onwards.
The current Tangem 2.0 card was released in 2023.
In terms of ratings, the hardware wallet brand holds a 4.1 out of 5 on trustpilot.com with 721 reviews.
For the Tangem Stealth card itself, the device has garnered a 9.3 out of 10 on 99Bitcoins.com, a 4.6 out of 5 on cryptonews.com and a 4.5 out of 5 on Amazon.com.
To get a true representation of Tangem’s reputation, consult their socials, metrics and read what other users are saying.
As mentioned in many reviews, the brand only has email support, which is quite surprising for such a successful and popular company.
Let’s hope the brand will add a chatbot and 9-5 live support in the near future to bump their reputation up even higher!
Tangem Stealth Vs. Other Crypto Wallets
How does the Tangem Stealth ($70) differ from other popular hardware wallets we’ve reviewed?
Tangem
- Tangem card ($70): 2 blank cards, otherwise same as Tangem stealth
- Tangem ring ($160): same as Tangem card
CoolWallet
- CoolWallet Go ($69): same as Tangem with slightly better app
- CoolWallet Pro ($149): weak battery, small screen, clunky, slow
Ledger
- Ledger S ($59): USB only, 2 buttons, better app, security and build quality
- Ledger X ($149): battery powered, bluetooth or USB-C connection, better app, security and build quality
- Ledger Flex ($249): bluetooth or USB C, larger screen, additional features, better app, security and build quality
- Ledger Stax ($399): essentially same as Flex, but with a curved screen and label binding
Trezor
- Trezor Safe 3 ($79): USB-C only, 2 buttons, less token support, better security and build quality
Safepal
- Safepal S1 ($50): QR code scanning, offline, similar app, worse quality
Cypherock
- Cypherock X1 ($149): USB-C only, joystick, 4 card backups, worse app
Secux
- Secux Neo X ($179): USB C or bluetooth, bulky, worse build quality and app
Final Thoughts: Secret Cards For Your Crypto Needs
The Tangem Stealth cards are actually an ingenious way to secure some crypto under the radar.
If for some reason you want to carry a crypto signing device with you, this is the best way to do it, along with the Tangem ring.
The brand is mega user friendly, beginner savvy, and the Tangem app makes it painless to send and receive crypto assets.
It’s also helpful that everyone is familiar with the feel and the shape of a debit card, only now in crypto form.
And if you don’t like black, the color options give a fun way to show personality in an industry that can be far too serious at times.
So should you buy the Tangem Sealth card?
In short, yes.
I don’t put all my crypto on Tangem or any single hardware wallet for that matter, but it’s a great budget option to diversify some tokens, or for new users trying to store some crypto away from exchanges.
If you want to grab one, check the link below for 10% discount.
For more in-depth breakdowns like Tangem Stealth Wallet, explore other crypto reviews on the site.
Thanks for reading and catch ya in the next one!
What the difference between Tangem card, Stealth and ring?
All three of these Tangem devices function exactly the same as a signing devices using NFC connection.
The only difference is the asthetics, such as shape, size and appearance.
Is Tangem open source?
Nearly every part of Tangem is open source other than the secure element chip, which has an NDA agreement with Samsung.
Take a look at their Github here for more info.
Is Tangem Stealth compatible on all devices?
Tangem is mobile only, working on both iOS and Android.
What if I lose my Tangem Stealth cards device?
Tangem gives 3 cards for a reason. If you lose one of them, you can use the other two to recover your crypto.
I’d also recommend generating a seed phrase as well for a second backup in case you lose all the cards.
What is the expiry or shelf life of the Tangem Stealth?
Because Tangem cards have no screen, the devices can last as long as a normal credit card. The brand gives a 25 year warranty, which is significant.
Is Tangem Stealth safe and secure?
There’s a few points that should be discussed. Firstly, sicne Tangem cards have no screen, we can only generate seed phrases within the app on our online device. This can be potentially dangerous.
Another concern is the private key flaw, where the company embedded this info in support emails. This issue was supposedly fixed.
Tangem is great as a warm wallet with fast transactions and minimal crypto holdings, but I wouldn’t personally store all my wealth on one. Diversify!