Category: hardware wallet

Key Takeaway

Pros

• Incredible mobile app
• Instant setup
• Super user friendly
• In-app transaction history
• Great security record

Cons

• Only includes 2 cards
• Cards feel cheap
• Zero reviews
• Low social metrics
• No screen

What‘s Inside The Box?

CoolWallet Go: Basic NFC Card With Cool Design

Let’s take a look at the $69 ‘device’.

The credit card sized wallet is made of a common plastic material.

We’re a big fan of the faded logo called ‘echo pulse’, pretty epic. There’s also other cool designs to choose from on their site.

The cards are of decent quality, but we can feel they’re significantly more bendy than the Tangem cards they’re based on.

Normal wear and tear could reduce the shelf life if taken on the go.

As has been popular recently, these cards are using NFC to tap on phones the same way digital credit cards work. This means that there’s no worries about battery or bluetooth.

In reality we’re using these cards as a signing device to approve crypto transactions. This means no charging, as well as quick and easy setup.

And the company includes two of these because if we lose one, the other works as a backup allowing us to access our crypto.

To be a bit safer, three backup cards would be better in case we lose one. But unfortunately, there’s no option.

CoolWallet also offers a lifetime warranty for $39, but that seems a bit pricy for a plastic card. Most hardware wallets include a 1 year warranty, and Tangem offers free 25 year warranties!

CoolWallet Go Is The Quickest Setup In Crypto

Coolwallet Go is compatible with both Android and IOS, meaning mobile only.

Diving in, the craziest part about this wallet is that setup is faster than Tangem, which takes three to five minutes on average.

Firstly, download the app. Once inside, click ‘set up my card’.

Select Coolwallet GO. Then create new wallet.

Now tap the card on the back of your phone to activate it. Do the same for the backup card.

Next, create a secure password.

The card allows two different options to set up our private keys: generate by card or by app.

If generated by the card, we can’t see the seed, its stored inside the cards secure element chip. This option isn’t as safe because if we lose the cards, that’s bye bye crypto stack.

Generating by app is the traditional written seed phrase option, which we personally prefer as a safer option.

Generating the recovery phrase gives us a 12 word seed phrase, which we must write down and store safely. A 24 option would have been better here.

Reenter the words on the app.

Tap both cards using NFC again and we’re all set up.

As for generating with card, the benefit is a much quicker setup and no exposure to seed phrases.

Active your cards, enter a password and tap ‘generate by card’.

Then tap both cards again.

In less than a minute, we’re already in the app.

Wild… even the Flash would be impressed.

CoolWallet App: Smooth, Pain Free Crypto Wallet

Speaking of the app, the UI and UX is clean and easy to use. Start by adding your favorite blockchains or tokens.

To add some crypto, tap ‘receive’ and copy the address.

I sent over some Solana and USDC, but USDC wasn’t currently a token on Solana. As you can see, the $10 of USDC isn’t showing right now in my wallet.

To fix this, you can add custom tokens by going to ‘add coin/token’, finding the token contract address and clicking add.

Kind of annoying, as most crypto wallets should do this part for you. Let’s hope Coolwallet fixes this for such common tokens.

Sending is a piece of cake. Enter the address and amount.

Then the app will ask for biometrics and to tap the card.

One advantage over the similar Tangem wallet is that transaction details are clearly recorded and easy to access at all times on all chains.

Users can also stake, swap, view trends and prices, as well as read top news articles in the Cryptoverse.

Click the ‘explore’ tab to browse compatible dapps for DeFi.

It’s seamless to connect to sites such as OpenSea directly through the app, but who’s buying NFTs anymore?

Don’t check my Solana history!

Decent Token Support Except NFTs On CoolWallet Go

Coolwallet supports thousands of coins and tokens. Remember that it’s easy to add custom tokens, as shown earlier, but is a pain.

If you’re a big NFT user, there’s only support for Ethereum so far.

CoolWallet Security Record: 11 Years With A Serious Hiccup

As previously mentioned, CoolWallet has gone 11 years without any hacks.  

CoolWallet Go functions using two parts: an EAL 6+ secure element chip and an NFC chip. 

The Secure element chip handles all cryptographic tasks such as generating private keys, while the NFC helps us sign and confirm transactions, quite similar to how we use biometrics to confirm actions.

And as we previously mentioned, if one card is lost, the second card can still recover the wallet and crypto.

This is because each card has a unique number connected to our wallet, verifying its authenticity.

Showing fully transparency, Kraken Security Labs found a flaw while auditing the CoolWallet S in 2020.

“The Android application stores the wallet’s PIN, pairing password, and hardware seed in plaintext.”

To read more into this discovery, check out Kraken’s statement here, as well as CoolWallet’s response blog. 

The company was audited by Eshard, proving there are no vulnerabilities to fault, side-channel or software attacks.

In May 2023, Coolwallet open sourced their secure element code for the Coolwallet Pro. But there’s no specific infomration about the Go, meaning it’s not 100% open sourced.

View any open sourced content on the company’s Github here.

CoolWallet Go Reputation & Reviews

CoolBitX, the company behind CoolWallet was founded in 2014 in Taiwan.

The brands first hardware wallet, the S, was launched in 2018. This was then followed by the Pro in 2021, and the Go in 2025.

In terms of ratings, the wallet brand holds a 4.0 out of 5 with only 8 reviews on trustpilot.com.

As for the CoolWallet Go device specifically, the wallet currently has zero ratings on any third party review platforms.

It doesn’t happen often, but there are literally no user comments or reviews about the Go. Odd for a company that’s over 10 years old.

Errrmmm… well that’s awk.

To get a true representation of CoolWallet’s reputation, consult their socials, metrics and read what other users are saying.

To contact support, this can be done inside the app or by clicking the chat icon on the bottom right of their website.

CoolWallet Go Vs. Other Crypto Wallets

How does the CoolWallet Go ($69) differ from other popular hardware wallets we’ve reviewed?

CoolWallet

• CoolWallet Pro ($149): battery, small screen, clunky, slow

Tangem

• Tangem card ($70): same functionality, slightly worse app, better brand reputation, more NFT support
• Tangem ring ($160): same as Tangem card

Ledger

• Ledger S ($59): USB only, 2 buttons, better security and build quality
• Ledger X ($149): battery powered, bluetooth or USB-C connection, better security and build quality
• Ledger Flex ($249): bluetooth or USB C, larger screen, additonal features, better security and build quality
• Ledger Stax ($399): essentially same as Flex, but with a curved screen and label binding, better security and build quality

Trezor

• Trezor Safe 3 ($79): USB-C only, 2 buttons, better security and build quality

OneKey

• OneKey Classic 1S ($99): 4 buttons, bluetooth or USB C, more token and NFT support

Safepal

• Safepal S1 ($50): QR code scanning, offline, more tedious, not as user friendly

Cypherock

• Cypherock X1 ($149): USB-C only, joystick, 4 card backups, worse app

Secux

• Secux Neo X ($179): bulky, less user friendly, worse app

Final Thoughts: Decent Alternative NFC Wallet

Although CoolWallet Go is essentially a one to one copy of Tangem wallet, it’s just as easy, if not easier to use.

Setup is quick and user friendly, the app is smooth and interacting with the cards to send and receive crypto is a breeze.

Also, having in-app transaction history is a huge plus in my book, a feature that should be a crypto wallet standard.

So should you buy the CoolWallet Go?

Although screenless devices aren’t as secure as screened ones, this wallet has some legs.

If you were looking at Tangem already, but worried about their recent security scare, CoolWallet has a long hackless history with a proven track record.

Although there’s only two cards for backup, as long as you’re careful it’s still manageable.

Most importantly, I wouldn’t personally store much on any screenless device though, DYOR!

But it’s an okay option for some token storage variety.

If you want to grab a Coolwallet Go, check my link below.

Thanks for reading and catch ya in the next review!