Decentralization is a term attracting a lot of media attention in recent years. Studies state that only 1 out of 10 people who buy cryptocurrencies know what they do exactly, even with many websites available to learn about decentralization and the crypto world.
One of the top concepts that the masses have been embracing in 2024 has been ‘DeFi’ which stands for decentralized finance, and knowing how to invest in DeFi can be similarly confusing. Before looking at some of the best DeFi wallet options, let us get a gist of what DeFi means.
DeFi offers financial instruments for users without relying on intermediaries such as centralized brokerages, exchanges, or banks by using smart contracts on a blockchain. This means that there is no single authoritative figure who can make or change the governance of the whole system.
In the past two years the interest has peaked so much, that as of early 2022, approximately $92.3 billion worth of crypto was locked up within these various DeFi platforms in total.
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Top DeFi Wallets – Quick List
Before reviewing the best DeFi wallet options in detail, these are the top picks already widely used by millions of users all over the world:
- Best Wallet – Overall Best DeFi Wallet of 2024
- eToro – Regulated by ASIC, CySEC and FCA
- OKX – A Versatile Web 3 Wallet
- Bybit – Flexible Wallet Suitable for Beginners
- Huobi – Provides yield generating opportunities
- Crypto.com – One of the fastest growing crypto wallets / exchanges
- Binance – Highest trading volume crypto exchange
- Coinbase – Highest number of users
Best DeFi Wallets – Full Reviews
Below we take a closer look at some of the top DeFi wallet providers:
Best Wallet
At the top spot, we have a DeFi wallet that has already made several strides thanks to its unique technologies. Featuring a wide array of security protocols, Best Wallet is a secure wallet. And due to its nuanced UI, it is suitable for both veteran and beginner-level traders.
Supporting multiple chains, Best Wallet allows one to store multiple crypto assets. And as it supports multiple chains, you will also be able to use this wallet to interact with a wide variety of decentralized applications, including crypto staking protocols and yield farming.
The biggest selling point of this wallet, however, is the AI chatbot. Modeled using the latest tech in artificial intelligence, this chatbot offers users a unique way to interact with the market. It also goes above and beyond to give users valuable insights about the market.
And when it comes to security features, it has implemented multi-factor authentication, security encryptions, and biometric identification to make sure that you can interact with the crypto market in a secure fashion.
Best Wallet also has its own token – $BWAT – that you can stake to earn perks such as zero gas fees. For further details, check out our Best Wallet review here.
Overall, there are enough offerings here to gain the attention of most crypto investors. Those who wish to use it must join the waitlist because there are limited spots at launch.
eToro
eToro was founded as RetailFX in 2007 by brothers Ronen Assia and Yoni Assia along with David Ring in Tel Aviv. The very first version of eToro was designed to serve as an online trading platform for the forex market.
In 2009, the company launched its intuitive trading platform through the WebTrader, which is designed to appeal to both novice and professional traders, providing them with the tools they need. eToro has increased its cryptocurrency trading capabilities substantially in recent years.
Also worth considering is eToro’s social trading platform, which helps those who don’t have the time or experience to trade themselves. Through this functionality, users can view the portfolios of the platform’s best traders, and copy their trades in real-time. It comes with a user-friendly interface, positioning it as one of the best crypto wallets for beginners.
While eToro doesn’t claim to be a DeFi wallet per se, the exchange does consist of DeFi tokens like AAVE, UNI, COMP etc, that can be bought and traded. The company boasts of its scrutiny towards following the regulations set in place by various financial institutions.
As of today, several trusted governing bodies like the ASIC, CySEC and FCA regulate the working of the exchange. Available in over 140 countries, eToro recorded about 20 million registered users as of 2024, making it one of the most regulated and trust crypto wallets available.
Your capital is at risk.
OKX
OKX is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, ranking at #6 at press time on CoinMarketCap. The OKX offers a unique DeFi wallet that allows users to easily interact with the different aspects of Web 3. Users can use this wallet to trade cryptos via spot trading, margin trading, or derivatives trading, create, buy and sell NFTs, as well as interact with over 50+ blockchain networks.
OKX has listed over 350 cryptocurrencies that one can trade by paying the standard maker/taker fee. The fee charged is based on the type of trading and the number of OKB tokens held in the user’s trading account.
When it comes to security, OKX has taken many measures. It has gated most of the user information behind SSL encryption, and to protect users’ assets, it has implemented OKX Risk Shield. The OKX risk shield is an asset-risk reserve fund in which a percentage of the user’s holding is allocated. So, if funds are lost by any hacking event, part of it can be recuperated through these funds
Overall, OKX is a good DeFi Wallet for those looking for versatility as well as flexibility. It is an excellent companion for beginners and veterans looking for simplicity when interacting with Web 3.
Your capital is at risk.
Bybit
Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange that, after being launched in 2018, had to wait for almost four years to get the appreciation it deserves. The platform has climbed as one of the top five cryptocurrency exchanges on CoinMarketCap, and on Coingecko, it is among the top 3.
Bybit Wallet has been given the name Bybit Web 3. This DeFi wallet allows users to interact with the different components of Web 3. And the leading utility it offers is staking. Users can stake on assets like ETH, USDC, USDT, stETH, and wBTC through this wallet and earn up to 6.5% APR (Annual Percentage Return).
Other utilities of this DeFi wallet entail a market overview that ranks projects based on their performance. These projects are divided on the base of their niche. For instance, you will find the best DeFi project as well as the best GamFi project on this platform.
The Bybit wallet also offers standard swapping facilities as well as access to the latest crypto IDO. There is also a rewards program that can be accessed through wallets, which rewards users once they complete the listed Web 3 tasks.
Your capital is at risk.
Huobi
Founded in 2013 by Leon Li and Du Jun, Huobi is a very popular exchange that is praised tremendously for various offers, and events within their ecosystem. Keeping all security features in mind, Huobi has positioned itself to be one of the top exchanges in the world.
Huobi wallet was founded under the umbrella of Huobi Group – the world’s leading blockchain company – and is a multi-chain wallet designed by security experts.
As a member of Huobi’s ecosystem, Huobi Wallet provides a secure, easy-to-use and professional digital wallet that supports almost all mainstream public blockchains and many of the tokens on these chains. Huobi Wallet integrates a variety of DApp interfaces, allowing users to manage their assets across multiple chains, track their DeFi mining income in real-time, and claim rewards in just a few clicks.
While DeFi has been seeing consistent growth, Huobi noticed that majority of these users are new to the ecosystem. For many users, maintaining a non-custodial wallet, which requires the owner to maintain a private key, can be a challenging process. The owners are also not able to retrieve their assets in the future if they lose or forget their private key.
Cloud Wallet allows users to securely store their digital assets without having to manage a private key. As a result of a third-party management system that safeguards users’ private keys through key escrow, a secure method of storing cryptographic keys, users can ensure that their assets are secure and easily retrievable.
Cloud Wallet also syncs properly with Huobi Global as it is integrated for the same so that users can indulge in the DeFi space using their existing Huobi Global account. Moreover, users of Huobi Global can transfer their assets to Cloud Wallet easily, enabling them to participate in the same DeFi projects with more safety and convenience.
Users can also directly participate in select HECO(Huobi Public Chain) projects via Cloud Wallet without switching between decentralized apps (DApps). With over 300 cryptocurrencies listed, the Huobi wallet provides an excellent option for storing or trading DeFi tokens.
Your capital is at risk.
Crypto.com
This up and coming exchange attracted millions of new users with their excellent marketing strategies and solid safety protocols. While being one of the first crypto organizations to receive an Electronic Money License and a Virtual Financial Asset License, Crypto.com managed to gain trust with their announcement of an industry-leading insurance policy worth $790 million.
Founded by Kris Marszalek in 2016, Crypto.com doubled its userbase since early 2021, thanks to its on-point advertising and revolutionary campaigns.
Crypto.com took a versatile approach to engage and educate its potential userbase about them through getting into partnerships with high viewership sports organizations like the UFC, F1 and other major events like football, esports etc. The company made headlines with the renaming of Staples Center in Los Angeles to Crypto.com Arena, following a 20 year deal with the management.
The Crypto.com DeFi wallet offers the users, a medium to buy cryptocurrencies for as low as $1 and is a completely non-custodial wallet. The organization states that the idea of their wallet was to give total autonomy to the users over their cryptocurrencies. Their assets can be sent or received at their preferred speed or fee.
Crypto.com also offers a custodial wallet within the exchange wherein you can store the cryptos you hold on the app itself, under the insurance provided by the company. The crypto.com DeFi wallet provides a unique seed phrase which is the only link to the wallet. It does not store any other data regarding an individual.
When creating a wallet, writing down and keeping your recovery phrase safe is essential, as there are no other means to access your wallet if your account is lost or the device gets broken (for hardware wallets like a Trezor or Ledger Nano S). A wallet providing a private key means that the user has full control over their cryptocurrency funds, and they are completely responsible for it.
A custodial wallet however is a digital wallet that keeps a user’s private keys stored within the organization’s database and provides backup and security for their assets. Crypto.com offers that service.
You can also earn up to 14.5% APY (annual percentage yield) on your holdings within your wallet. The highest crypto interest can be earned on Polkadot (DOT), which some DeFi projects are built on.
Your capital is at risk.
Binance
Binance is arguably the most well-known cryptocurrency exchange in the industry. Founded by Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, Binance rose in ranks as an exchange at a parabolic pace, and captured the market to such an extent that the total trades put on the exchange is more than the sum of trades put in the order book of its four rival exchanges combined.
An ex-high frequency trading software creator CZ launched his idea of Binance successfully in Hongkong. Since its release in 2017, Binance has been subject to several law barriers across various countries and has managed to get past almost all of them. Used by over 22.6 million investors all around the globe as of 2021, Binance has one of the most secure and trusted wallets used within the industry.
The Trust wallet and the Binance smart chain wallet are two of the top DeFi wallet offerings by Binance. The entirety of the BSC smart chain is supported on these wallets and have been widely used to buy into several projects that have skyrocketed since. The Trust wallet was acquired by Binance in 2018 and has since been running with the BSC wallet parallelly.
The Trust wallet, like any other wallet, acts as a bridge that connects to isolate blockchains via nodes set in place. A privately owned set of public addresses is present in every blockchain. The users’ cryptocurrency is encrypted and stored in these same addresses.
Whereas, the Binance Chain Wallet acts as an easy transition between both the exchange and the wallet. While Trust wallet is an excellent option and is owned by Binance, the Binance Chain wallet is the official wallet by the organization.
It offers easy access to BSC, Binance chain and Ethereum Networks. Swapping BNB(native token for Binance), minting NFTs and yield farming can all be done easily on the browser extension wallet. The wallet currently supports chrome, firefox and brave search engines.
The Binance wallet isn’t however, one without special perks. This wallet that looks like any other available in the space, has a few aspects that make it stand out. The extension wallet is a haven for existing Binance users since it can be easily linked to the wallet using Wallet direct, a feature within the Binance exchange.
Since a wrong address could result in assets being lost forever, this feature that doesn’t require copy-pasting provides for extra safety and assurance regarding the withdrawal or deposits on the app.
Your capital is at risk.
Coinbase
Created in 2012, Coinbase was one of the firsts to have gained immense trust and popularity as a cryptocurrency exchange. Founded by Brian Amstrong, an ex-engineer at Airbnb, the idea of Coinbase resonated with the audience that was; at that time, not as educated about cryptocurrency.
The motto was to run the economic world in a set standard, that cannot be manipulated by any company or country. This way, they aspire the populace to accelerate economically and thus made the world a free and fair place. And the company has strived towards achieving this same goal ever since.
The wallet offering of Coinbase is the Coinbase wallet, which can be installed on mobile phones as an application and can be used as a browser extension on desktop devices. Users can explore the decentralized web with a dapp browser using the Coinbase Wallet app, a separate, standalone application that allows them to store crypto and manage it.
It does not require a Coinbase account to use. By storing their crypto assets directly on their devices, the wallet enables users to manage their private keys, not through a centralized brokerage or exchange.
However, neither the wallet nor your bank account can be used to purchase cryptocurrencies with US Dollars or fiat currencies. The extension can be downloaded and used at any corner of the world as the only thing linked to the wallet is the private key, no credentials of any kind will be taken by the company since Coinbase.com wouldn’t have any connection to the decentralized wallet. To add to its features, the Coinbase wallet also consists of six-digit pins or biometric security to further safeguard the user’s assets.
As of 2022, Coinbase hosts a whopping 89 million verified users, 185,000 ecosystem partners, 11,000 institutions in over 100 countries. With over 8.8 million monthly active users, Coinbase has seen tremendous growth over the years.
The hot, as well as the cold wallets by Coinbase, are received by the masses positively as the ratings for the same on several surveys were noticed to be much better and higher in terms of safety compared to its rival counterparts.
Your capital is at risk.
What is Decentralized Finance?
Decentralized finance or DeFi is an upcoming technology that is based on secured distributed ledgers, just like those used by cryptocurrencies. The system excludes financial institutions and banks have on money, financial services, and products
The attractions of DeFi to various customers and investors include:
- It eliminated all the fees which banks and financial institutions charge for their services.
- The money is safe in a digital wallet just like the cryptocurrencies.
- Anyone can use it, without needing anyone’s approval.
- Fund transfer is very swift and convenient.
Centralized finance vs DeFi
In centralized finance, all the money is held by banks and financial services, and all the transactions are done by a third party. The end goal for all these institutions is basically to earn money, they all charge a certain amount of fees for all of their services.
Decentralized finance, true to its name, can simply be considered as a medium of transaction without any authoritative figure in the middle. It makes use of peer to peer networks that have fixed security protocols, connectivity, software, and hardware advancements. Most imperatively there are no charges in this system.
How does DeFi work?
In the blockchain world, all the transactions are recorded in blocks and then verified by other users. Once the verification is complete, the particular block is closed and encrypted, at the same time another block is created which contains the information of the previous block within it.
The blocks are chained together forming a blockchain. The proceeding locks have the information about the next block. If you want to change the information of any block you need to alter the following block, hence there is no way to alter the blockchain mechanism.
Most of the DeFi financial services can be found on the Ethereum network which is the second-largest crypto marketplace after Bitcoin. By utilizing decentralized apps, or DApps, two or more parties can exchange, lend, borrow, and trade directly using blockchain technology and smart contracts without any third party involvement and also with zero charges.
To trade cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH etc. “DApps” are used where one can buy these cryptos. If one needs to buy a car or some other item using Bitcoin or Ethereum then they can use DeFi financial services to make the transactions without the involvement of any third parties.
In other words, Bitcoin and such cryptocurrencies are decentralized currency, and not financial services, as it operates on their blockchain and is used mostly as a medium of value. Whereas DeFi is a blockchain that is built using public blockchains like Bitcoin / Ethereum.
A smart contract is nothing more than a program that has already been written as code and launched on the Ethereum Network. It’s a collection of code (its functions) and data (its state) that resides at a specific vicinity on the Ethereum blockchain.
To deploy a smart contract on the ETH blockchain one needs to send transaction addresses with EVM bytecode its data field. The code once executed returns the contract code that allows an indirection in its execution, meaning you don’t send the contract code itself, you attach a code that will return the contract code to you.
The contract is only accessible with an address that is derived from the deploy transaction sender’s address. The contract doesn’t have any public or private key, hence money sent to this contract cannot be accessed unless you have a withdrawal method.
What is a DeFi Wallet?
DeFi wallets allow you to completely eliminate reliance on third parties, further revolutionizing the financial industry. In general, DeFi wallets generally operate as Web 3.0 wallets with compatibility with Ethereum or other blockchains. As DeFi wallets act as access points and give their owners complete control over their devices.
A traditional bank on the other hand retains ownership of all of the user’s assets in its holdings and requires user verification and other information to do so.
Apart from their compatibility with DeFi applications, these wallets are also key-based solutions, requiring the users to retain responsibility for the safekeeping of their private keys. In addition, DeFi wallets operate on a non-custodial basis and allow only the wallet owner to access the funds.
This way, tampering of any kind even from someone with maximum authority is impossible, since the wallet does not allow any kind of break-in. These factors make DeFi wallets a winner among the safest solutions on the market. However, the user becomes responsible for their security, so if they lose their login information, there is no entity they can fall back to for support.
A major need for DeFi and DeFi wallets has been seen even recently as banks pose the threat of stopping cash withdrawals or halting services during times of dire need, thus leaving the user stranded. DeFi can serve as a solution to such scenarios since there are no area-based limitations in the case of DeFi.
The DeFi ecosystem basically thrives on the participation and use of DeFi wallets. Most of the wallets store crypto and simultaneously offers a wide range of features, usability and security.
What makes a good wallet
When we ranked the best DeFi wallets we took into account these factors:
- Key based – The most important part of a DeFi wallet is the key string that is provided to every user as an ownership formula for their wallet. These are typically a 12-word seed phrase and are to be taken care of by the user itself.
- Non-custodial – The absolute assurance that only the user will have control over sending and receiving assets to and on their wallets. It also implies total isolation from any centralized exchange or entity that could potentially have a say in the transactions made.
- Accessibility – This potentially indicated being able to facilitate storage and transactions of assets not only on the chain the wallet belongs to, but other chains as well. A huge number of wallets have now resorted to making this possible as the number of users with diverse portfolios and trading settings are being more and more prominent.
- Compatibility – Compatibility implies being able to access decentralized applications or DApps using DeFi wallets. Several wallets are integrating their software to make accessing DApps without having to leave the wallet possible by adding DApp browsers within their wallets for mobile phones.
Just like Bitcoin wallets, picking the right DeFi wallet has to be a decision made wisely. It should be one that supports the right assets and products while offering user’s a minimum level of security, simplicity, guidance and convenience.
As the number of DeFi wallets are increasing tremendously, there are more choices every day, making it more difficult for users to determine which one is the best for them. Therefore, it becomes crucial for users to carefully weigh their options before making a selection.
The most important aspect of choosing a wallet is that it supports the assets that the user wants. Not every wallet supports every asset that a user needs. A reputation for security is a secondary consideration. What measures does the provider take to ensure user safety?
Users should also think about which products they would like access to; as previously mentioned, some solutions enable access to crypto staking and yield farming, while others may not. Questions of usability must then be considered after these preliminary concerns have been addressed.
There is still a lack of knowledge about DeFi, how to get started, and how to navigate the finer points, such as managing transactions on a DEX or finding new ways to streamline DeFi. New users will therefore be concerned with whether the wallet provider has streamlined the process to reduce time, energy, and cost concerns. Ultimately, it comes down to user convenience and how easy it is for them to access the tools they need to succeed.
Your capital is at risk
How to invest in decentralized finance
Investing in DeFi has become easier than ever, and everyone wants a piece of it. The returns are excellent most of the time and the process involved doesn’t take up much time or effort. Anyone with a simple wallet, exchange or some assets needed can get started right away.
Considering cryptocurrency as an asset and investing in it could be a smart option to grow wealth. However, to explore DeFi, it is essential to know how and where to invest in the DeFi markets. Some of the ways in which crypto can be used to generate income using DeFi are:
DeFi Assets
Like any cryptocurrency, there are governing tokens or native tokens to DeFi platforms that can be bought and sold for massive returns. Some of the top-performing ones include Uniswap (UNI), Terra (LUNA) etc.
DeFi Staking
Staking isn’t a complex term. One can simply think of it as a hedge against the negative interest rate world. It provides a decent return to any user who locks their respective crypto and thereby facilitate participation in maintaining the operations of any proof of stake (PoS) based blockchain system. Best Wallet is an upcoming wallet, and eToro is a well-established DeFi wallet that offers good DeFi Staking utilities.
DeFi Lending
This is a means of earning passive crypto income. In lending, you simply let another person borrow your crypto through a DeFi platform and earn interest on the assets you have lent consistently. This can benefit both the lender and the borrower. It allows long term lenders to generally earn a better interest over their assets. Users can use lending to borrow assets at a lower-than-market price using fiat currency credit. Anyone can buy assets on a centralized exchange and then move them over to a DEX (Decentralized Exchange) to lend.
DeFi yield Farming
Yield farming is being a part of the decentralized exchange itself. The user is expected to provide liquidity to the exchange so that users can easily carry out trades. The user then gets rewarded a certain amount of sum from the transaction fees levied by the DEX. If there are heavy trades on a certain DEX, it would mean more rewards for the user who provided liquidity. Projects like Aave, Yearn Finance etc. are involved in yield farming currently.
DeFi funds
For every beginner who is new to the DeFi space, several DeFi funds are available. These are a mix of all the DeFi components within the space. There are several respected DeFi funds within the ecosystem currently like Grayscale’s “Diversified DeFi Funds”, Galaxy Digital’s “DeFi Index Tracker Fund” and much more.
Once you have your DeFi wallet set up and ready to go, read our full guide on how to invest in DeFi, and our list of the best DeFi coins to buy.
Our leading recommendations for the top DeFi wallets were Best Wallet and the eToro wallet.
Best Wallet - Manage Your Crypto
- Access DeFi and Web3 Dapps Across Multiple Chains
- Comes With Your Own OpenAI Powered Chat Bot Assistant
- Get Early Access to Upcoming Token Launches & ICOs
- Integrated Decentralized Exchange To Buy & Trade Crypto
- Store Crypto And NFTs With Industry Leading Security
FAQs
What is crypto.com DeFi wallet?
The crypto.com DeFi wallet is a decentralized wallet that has no ties to the centralized exchange of the user. It is a non-custodial DeFi wallet that only links to its owner based on a private key that must be stored safely.
How to transfer from DeFi wallet to bank account?
● Since DeFi wallets have no connection to any individual details, it is not possible to withdraw directly from a wallet to the bank. To receive fiat into one’s bank, the user needs to withdraw the assets to a CEX and convert it into fiat. The fiat can then be withdrawn into the user’s bank account.
How to connect crypto.com to DeFi wallet?
To connect the CEX into one’s Crypto.com DeFi wallet for seamless transactions between them, simply click on the Settings option on the wallet and then on the connect to crypto.com app button. Then enter the email associated with your CEX to authenticate the wallet. You will receive an email confirmation on which you have to select connect. On clicking, you will be redirected to the wallet page where you have to type in your crypto.com exchange passcode. Then click on the “authorize and launch DeFi wallet” button. This way, you easily link your CEX to your Crypto.com DeFi wallet.
Does Crypto.com DeFi wallet offer staking?
Crypto.com offers attractive staking and lets you earn interest on up to 35+ cryptocurrencies.
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