Account Security Is Hard. The Edge Wallet Does It Right.
The business I co-founded over 10 years ago (FoxyCart) has focused extensively on the complexities of online security. Having processed over a billion dollars through our platform and managed encrypted credit card numbers and customer data for many thousands of stores and their customers, I get how hard it is do it right.
I think the Edge Wallet does it right.
Previously called Airbitz, Edge is a simple to use, secure cryptocurrency wallet for your phone. I was really impressed with their team which I met at Anarchapulco. They had a booth set up and were giving away a bit of free cryptocurrency to anyone who installed the wallet. I tried it out and loved it! No, they didn't ask me to do a review, but after I spoke at length with RJ Ricasata, their QA and support manager and later with Paul Puey (@paullinator), the CEO and Co-Founder, I knew I wanted to.
Here's a basic overview of how they handle security from their website:
The way they encrypt information directly on the phone and use that login and password to securely encrypt and secure a password recovery solution really impressed me.
As I started working through the app, I liked it even more. I took some screenshots while I was setting it up and really liked the on-boarding flow which also educates the user:
The Edge Wallet supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, Ethereum and all ERC20 tokens.
On my last day at Anarchapulco, I had lunch with @jonathanmohan, and he paid me in Dash using the Edge Wallet (he didn't have to pay me back, but I think we both just wanted an excuse to use it). It's really slick.
I've been involved in cryptocurrency since January of 2013 and so many applications in the blockchain space are just too complicated for every day "normal" users to figure out. The Edge Wallet, I think, makes things simple with an elegant user interface without sacrificing account security.
They've also extended their model so other systems can use their authentication APIs instead of rolling their own. If you're a developer in this space, definitely check them out: https://edgesecure.co/developer/. Examples of projects which have already integrated with Edge for authentication include Augur, Wings, and Open Ledger.
If you're looking for a good, multi-currency crypto wallet for both IOS and Android, I'm going to be recommending the Edge Wallet. Keep in mind, no security system is perfect, so always stay informed about the tools you use and keep your software up-to-date as this environment is constantly evolving.
I hope this review helps you if you're looking for a good mobile wallet to store some spending cryptocurrency. Find out more including where to download it here: https://edgesecure.co/
If you haven't seen my video from Anarchapulco 2018 yet, you can find it here.
I always think about trust whenever I see an app like this. I "trust" my bank because I have to trust a bank and have been with them for long enough that based on their past history I'm relatively certain that they won't rip me off. And even if they do, I assume that the federal goverment's consumer protections will protect me (though we can obviously have a conversation about whether that's a good assumption).
One of the problems that I've had getting in to cryptocurrency is this trust. While I can trust the math as much as I'm able to understand it (though I'd be lying if I said I completely understood it) as a developer I have a harder time putting trust in a software package from another developer and my phone.
Without being a security expert, how do you go about vetting a wallet such as this to know that when they say they have no access to my currency that they really don't?
It's a good question, Omni. For me, "trust" in the banks is completely lost because I've been paying attention to what they've been doing worldwide and because the purchasing power of the dollar is constantly being eroded. Some who are living pay check to pay check are fine with that, but they don't realize how much value is being stolen from them. For those who can ride the volatility waves, cryptocurrency is the future, we're just a bit too early right now for price stability as a daily currency until the market cap grows much, much larger.
As to trusting the software installed on a phone, that's a really big deal. That's why, up to this point, I haven't ever recommended a mobile wallet app. Having met their team and the CEO and talked with them directly about the security model they've implemented, I felt it was worth giving them my trust. Am I able to look at the source code of the binary that is directly installed on my phone? No. Ultimately, I do have to trust someone in that regard. For that matter, I have to trust the phone itself also. At the same time, I don't store much money on my phone anyway. Most of my holdings are on a Ledger Nano S, but even then, I have to trust that manufacturer and all the software vendors they work with.
Ultimately, I trust the cryptocurrency system more than the banking system because government regulations, from what I've seen, don't protect consumers as much as they create monopolies. When HSBC got their hand-slapped for outright drug cartel money laundering, it barely phased them. They just keep on doing whatever they want to do. At least in this space, reputation matters because we have choice.
I guess that's why I convert so much of my fiat money into liquid assets (beer).
In all seriousness though, the problems I've had with the banking system seem like they'll only get worse going forward, and I trust the US banking system more than I might trust some outside of the United States. With inflation working against saving as it does, a little more volatility isn't necessarily a bad thing for me. You can't have a whole lot of upside without facing some risk.
As for using cryptocurrency as a daily currency, the lag with Bitcoin makes it really difficult to take seriously. Whether I'm transferring it to an exchange to convert to USD or sending to a reseller, the amount of time it takes to process compared to just entering a credit card number is a pretty big hurdle. Steem seems to be snappier by design from what I've read, but I'm not enough of an expert to really know if that's really a feature of the network or just a byproduct of popularity.
I'll probably be trying the Edge wallet since I need something on my phone, and the implicit trust I have in you using it is better than I have in any of the other wallets I've heard of. I imagine the volume of currency you'd be dealing with on your wallet is an order of magnitude greater than what I'm dealing with, so if you don't get ripped off I probably won't either.
Well, as I said, I don't put more than a little spending money on a mobile wallet. Most of my holdings are in hardware storage.
STEEM (3 second confirmation times) is much faster than BTC because it uses DPOS (you can read more about that here) instead of POW. It's cooperation instead of competition.
For the record it is open source which means that anyone can inspect the code. There are vetted teams integrating Edge into their applications, including Augur & Wings and a growing list of teams.
The Edge team has invited security experts to inspect their code, but you can also never be 100% certain that something is completely secure.
While open source is awesome and I trust it more than closed source for security, just because the code is able to be audited doesn't mean that someone with the skills to do so have actually audited it. How long was that OpenSSL bug around last year before it was found?
I mean, I'm still going to try this one out, but how a technical end user that is not a security expert properly vets something like this is not an easy problem!
Paul and the Airbitz (now Edge) team have been leading voices in San Diego for blockchain stuff.
They're doing a good job offering novel encryption approaches and I'm glad to see them getting the recognition they deserve.
I really enjoyed hanging out with Paul. We talked at length about the cryptocurrency space, DPOS vs. POW, and so much more during the pool party in Anarchapulco. I really liked him and hope to hang out with him again at some point in the future.
Yess! :) #pioneers
Wow, heard about edge wallet but I never knew it has such strong encryptions. I love the part it says
Thanks for throwing more light @lukestokes
Thanks for sharing this detailed review @lukestokes. I have heard of the Edge wallet, but never really gave it a chance. I try to stay away from mobile wallets, as I'm pretty big into security when it cryptocurrencies!
When it comes to wallets, I generally use a hardware wallet, and have some other things that I do to secure my cryptocurrencies. The issue with this is when I want to pay for things! For example, a cryptocurrency cafe has opened up in Dublin, where they accept cryptos. I realised when I was there the other day that I actually did not have any crypto that I could access on my phone, so had to pay with FIAT: I think that I'll download this wallet, test it out, then put enough money for a few weeks worth of cups of coffee in it if it goes well!
Thanks again for sharing this, I'm finding your posts really useful!
Can you blog about your experiences using it in a few weeks, assuming you actually do that? I don't know of a single physical location around me that takes any form of cryptocurrency, but the concept of being able to exchange it for something tangible in realtime fascinates me and seems like the biggest roadblock of serious real-world adoption.
I will yes, it will be interesting to see how well it works! There are very few places where I am from, maybe 10-20 max in a city of over one million people! Have a look at OMG, if they do what they say they can do, they could solve this issue. It's a big if though!
I'm glad you do! I hope you find this wallet helpful as well.
Cheers!
The Edge wallet one the the securest wallet. The Edge wallet also integrates with Shapeshift allowing you to easily swap between supported coins without having to send your funds to an exchange. Thanks for overview
Yeah, I didn't mention that feature because I haven't used it yet, but it's pretty neat, that's for sure.
Thanks for sharing @lukestokes
You really did justice to that by narrowing it down to a layman like us....
Thanks for showing us better and secure way to store some of our spending cryptocurrency
thats funny... I hope @lukestokes doesnt get a heart attack...
...huh?
check the name he wrote... @lukestrokes
just a small mistake that made it funny, kindof...
Ah! Now I get it. :)
Thanks for clarifying.
I did try to install and use edge wallet, design is attractive, how they handle security is 9 out of 10. However, there downfall, it doesn't compatible with some old android phone. Compare to other wallet who offer the same security, coinomi does. It support even the lowest version of android phone and old os android 4.2.0.
Ah, looks like they don't support IOS yet (which is what I use).
yap coinomi don't support IOS, that's it's downfall too.
Thanks for the info. I will try it out. From the explanation, it seems near to perfect.
will be worth a try since security is one the most essential aspect in keeping your cryptos out of reach from hackers now a days.
That is the key, isn't it? 9 out of 10 I talk to about cryptos in real life don't have a clue about the goings on and are too intimidated to try. They key thing for mass adoption is to make it accessible to normal users. I'm so happy for the new products that are popping up these days. They're so simple to use because they obfuscate any complexity involved. The only thing people need to be careful of is to learn how to distinguish those services that are genuine from the fraudulent. I just took a look at Edge and it looks like a very cool product. The authentication they use seems really innovative. Thanks for sharing it, Luke! I hope that it adds support for more coins soon, so that the battle of the multi-currency wallets would be a competitive one.