SecuX V20 hardware wallet review

The Taiwanese company SecuX presents on the Russian market a new model V20, the flagship of its line of hardware wallets. An investor who has large amounts of cryptocurrencies and actively uses them in life needs a reliable storage for cryptoassets. Unlike a bank account, where the bank is responsible for storing money up to certain limits, it is impossible to restore a cryptocurrency wallet if private keys are lost, and if they are compromised, anyone can “steal” the coins. Specialized hardware wallets are considered to be the safest way to store crypto assets and conduct transactions.. It is almost impossible to get coins out of them, even with physical access to the device. The market for hardware wallets for cryptocurrencies can already be considered established, and “new faces” rarely appear on it.. Therefore, the emergence of new models inevitably arouses interest. In 2021, a small family of hardware wallets was replenished with SecuX V20, the flagship of the line from the Taiwanese company of the same name.. It entered the Asian market in 2018 and is now expanding into the Russian market. In Russia, SecuX wallets are sold through the local online store Cryptonist.ru. This improves product localization and reduces shipping costs for the end customer compared to ordering directly from the manufacturer. The recommended retail price of the SecuX V20 wallet is $139, which is significantly more expensive than the “younger” models, W10 and W20. It differs from the younger models of the manufacturer in design, case material and some additional features.. What is the reason for such a difference in price and what interesting novelty can offer users? Features of SecuX V20 Unlike most competitor devices, made in the format of a flash drive or a bank card, the SecuX wallet is closer in size to a small tablet of an unusual shape. Outwardly, it is a dodecahedron with a distance between opposite sides of 9.8 cm at a height of 1.5 cm. Despite its impressive size, the wallet weighs only 120 g. The main part of the case is made of aluminum, the front side is made of tempered black glass, and the bottom is covered with an anti-slip rubber pad. The front panel of the wallet is mirrored. When considering a wallet, do not forget that your tokens look at you from the other side. The power button can create some inconvenience – it protrudes from the side and therefore is not protected from accidental pressing, for example, when carrying a wallet in a bag. For the first time on the big screen One of the main features of SecuX wallets is the screen. This is the first hardware wallet with a full touchscreen. SecuX V20 is equipped with a 2.8” color touch screen, which significantly increases its information content and ease of operation compared to small screens and “push-button” controls of competitors. The touch screen offers many advantages. The most important of them is that many operations can be carried out directly on the offline wallet without connecting it to a computer or phone.. For example, check balances and spend most of the settings. Large screen shows more information. On it you can see the entire cryptocurrency addresses, as well as in the form of a QR code. The SecuX V20 screen contains information about four accounts at once, that is, you can see their balances at once, without scrolling, and without connecting the wallet to the computer. Apps and connections The SecuX web app is based on the Chrome browser and also runs on compatible Brave and Opera. Mobile app available for iOS and Android. Thus, you can work with the wallet from almost all common devices, stationary and mobile – from a Windows PC to any smartphone. The “physical” connection of the SecuX V20 to all these gadgets can be wired or wireless.. The USB-C cable is also used to charge the battery of the wallet, both during connection and through any charger with a USB connector. Wireless connection is implemented using the economical Bluetooth BLE5 protocol with AES256 encryption with dynamically generated passwords. Therefore, the transfer of transaction data and keys is quite safe even “over the air”. Hidden Wallet All SecuX devices, including the flagship V20, support one of the industry standard crypto security solutions, the hidden wallet.. This feature is based on the use of a separate passphrase. Private keys for a hidden wallet are generated separately, “on top” of the base one, based only on the seed phrase. Thus, the wallet stores two independent sets of private keys. There is no access to a hidden wallet in the interface and applications by default. To see it, you must intentionally enter a different PIN, the presence of which is not indicated anywhere. For example, if the attackers kidnap the owner of the wallet and force him to enter a PIN, they will only see the “base” wallet and can take money from it. But they will not know anything about the presence of a hidden wallet. Later, access to a hidden wallet can also be restored from a backup, the presence of the device itself is not necessary for this. Other features The wallet supports key generation based on seed phrases of 12, 18 and 24 words (according to BIP32, BIP39 and BIP44 standards). During the initial setup, a phrase of 24 words is created, but when importing, it is possible to use shorter ones. SecuX wallets support the independent Wallet Connect protocol for hardware wallets used by many DeFi platforms. Also in mobile and web applications, you can buy cryptocurrencies for fiat through the Coinify service. Support for coins and tokens SecuX supports more than 1000 cryptocurrencies and tokens, including “classic” blockchains: Bitcoin Bitcoin Cash Litecoin Ripple Cardano Dogecoin Stellar Dash Digibyte Groestlcoin ) Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Tron (TRC10 and TRC20) In this way, DeFi and NFT users will also be able to enjoy the benefits of a hardware wallet. Of the common smart contract platforms, SecuX V20 does not yet support Solana. Accounts (accounts) On SecuX V20 for you can create up to 500 accounts (in fact, separate wallets) with personalization settings. Moreover, for each coin or token, several independent accounts can be created. Getting Started Now let's take a look at a specific instance of SecuX V20 provided by Bits.media. Delivery set Due to the solid size of the wallet, the box is also not small and resembles a box from a tablet or other comparable gadget. In addition to the wallet itself, it contains: Black velvet case; USB-C cable for communication and recharging, the charger itself is not included; Two paper cards for writing down a seed phrase of 24 words and one for writing down a passphrase to a hidden wallet; Getting Started Guide. First use and setup When you first turn on the wallet, as expected, shows the welcome screen. Then he asks you to enter the main PIN code twice, which can contain from 4 to 8 digits. The next step is to set the device name.. It is worth noting here that the screen is still too small for a full-fledged keyboard, and it is not easy for a person with large fingers to enter it without typos.. Therefore, you must carefully monitor the input of each number and letter. During the initial setup, you can choose to create a new or use an existing wallet. In the second case, you will need to enter your own seed phrase, and here the choice is wider – you can use not only 24, but also 12 or 18 words. Choose to create a new wallet. The device warns that it is necessary to write down a seed phrase of 24 words, for which two sheets are provided. There are 6 words on the screen. Reserving a seed phrase is extremely important, and not only in case of theft or loss of a wallet. The fact is that, for reasons of protection against physical hacking, the wallet is “reset” to a new state after five errors when entering a PIN code. And it can even be the result of childish pranks.. Therefore, take the seed phrase seriously. At the last step, each of the words is tested by choosing from four random options.. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes, but it is necessary to avoid accidental recording errors, which can subsequently lead to the impossibility of recovery and the loss of crypto assets. After successfully verifying the seed phrase, a new wallet is created, almost ready for use.. To complete the procedure, you need to create accounts for the cryptocurrencies that you will use. Before creating accounts, only the Settings menu is available in the upper left corner of the screen. Here you can check the seed phrase, enable or disable Bluetooth, view device information, create a hidden wallet, reset (i.e. reset the private key storage), etc. Creating accounts for cryptocurrencies For beginners, the wallet offers to go to the site to read the instructions for creating and managing accounts, experienced users can immediately start working. You can create accounts only through a web or mobile application by connecting the wallet via wire to a PC or laptop, or to any device with Bluetooth support. If your OS sees the wallet, it will appear in the application immediately when connected to the slot. This review shows how to connect a wallet by wire and work with a web application. It is located in a special section of the site for working with the wallet and does not require installation.. To create an account, a few simple steps are enough: Once an account is created, it immediately appears on the wallet screen, it contains four accounts. Clicking on the account opens the text and QR code of the address to receive the corresponding token. Now the wallet is ready to go. In the web application, you can see the history of transactions. It cannot be stored on the wallet itself, as there is no additional storage on it for security reasons. Firmware updates are also available through the web application over an encrypted connection. Benefits of the SecuX Wallet The flagship SecuX V20 wallet will certainly be of interest to active cryptocurrency users who are demanding both in terms of security and convenience in everyday work. The “heart” of the wallet is the Infineon SLE CC EAL5+ security chip, which stores the user's private keys and PIN. It protects the owner's assets even if the wallet falls into the wrong hands. A full touchscreen that turns the wallet into an interactive mobile device rather than an app to app with two buttons. Bluetooth and USB-C communication with the ability to connect to any modern PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone. Up to 500 accounts for over a thousand cryptocurrencies and tokens. Support for many blockchains, including those with smart contracts. Ability to work with DeFi and NFT platforms. 600 mAh lithium-polymer battery, providing up to 7 hours of continuous operation and up to 6 months in standby mode. Inevitable Cons Every advantage has a downside.. The specimen in question did not escape this either.. However, they can hardly be called critical. Increasing the size of the case allows you to place more “stuffing”, and the large screen provides a convenient interface and allows you to display more information.. But this makes the wallet less portable and difficult to carry in your pocket. The overly protruding power button can be easily pressed by accident. This can lead, for example, to a faster battery drain. Multiple typos when entering PIN codes and passwords during the writing of the review showed that developers need to pay attention to fine-tuning the touchscreen and interfaces. The glossy front panel easily collects not only dust, but also fingerprints, thereby helping security cameras to deanonymize the owner, even if he wears a mask. And a small warning Although hardware wallets are one of the safest ways to store cryptocurrencies, do not forget to backup your seed phrase and password for a hidden wallet if you use one.. A backup copy (it is better if there are several of them) must be stored in inaccessible places. Remember that just a photo of the secret phrase is enough to steal cryptocurrencies!