CoolWallet S Hardware Wallet Review
By: Alexander Reed | Last updated: 1/6/24
CoolWallet is a mobile hardware wallet that is designed to look and feel like a credit card, fitting inside your wallet. How does it stack up? Keep reading for a full hands-on review of the CoolWallet S.
CoolWallet S Review Summary
CoolWallet S is a hardware wallet focused on combining security and portability. The wallet offers a unique credit card-style design and is controlled solely by a mobile app via a Bluetooth connection. It is clean and simple to use, with a growing selection of supported cryptocurrencies, plus an inbuilt exchange.
That’s the CoolWallet S in a nutshell. For a more detailed review, keep on reading. Here’s what I’ll cover:
- Company Overview
- My CoolWallet S Review
- Supported Coins
- Price Tag
- Customer Support and Reviews
- Conclusion
Don’t Like to Read? Watch this Short CoolWallet S Overview
1. Company Overview
The CoolWallet S is made by CoolBitx, a Taiwanese company established in 2014. Founded by Michael Ou, CoolBitx aims to create the world’s best mobile wallet for digital assets.
The company was born just a week before the infamous Mt. Gox $450 million hack after which Michael Ou knew that creating secure cryptocurrency wallets was a priority.
Following a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, the original CoolWallet was born. The CoolWallet S followed in 2019, a mobile hardware wallet storing a wider coin selection with increased energy and cost-efficiency.
The original CoolWallet
CoolWallet’s credit card style design has caught the eye of many in the industry and has been praised for its portability. The wallet is also waterproof, tamper-proof, and bendable.
2. My Personal CoolWallet S Review
The CoolWallet S hardware wallet is impressive from the start. It really is the size of a credit card with a neat inbuilt screen and button. The screen is an important feature, since it means that no sensitive information will be shown on your mobile, which may be compromised.
The card wallet feels solid yet lightweight; it is almost hard to believe you can store and send cryptocurrency from within – and it’s also waterproof. It took a few solid clicks to get the button working (a continuous issue I’ve been having since I reviewed the initial model), but after that, it went nicely.
I did think the tiny basic screen would be frustrating, but it is easy to read, plus most control is done through the mobile app (available for iOS and Android). On the card, you simply use the button to scroll through wallets/currencies and confirm transactions.
Wallet values and battery symbols are easy to read, so you know quickly when you’re running out of battery… And money.
Charging is easy; simply slide the card into the provided USB dock, and it can hold a charge for up to three months.
Wallet Setup
Getting started with the wallet is quick and painless; you can have it done in under 5 minutes. Connection is made via Bluetooth, which pairs almost instantly.
The CoolWallet has an AES256 (Advanced Encryption Standard) encrypted Bluetooth connection to communicate only with the authorized device. The tamper-proof CC EAL5+ chipset also provides full control over your crypto assets.
The CoolWallet S only transmits non-essential transaction information. Even in the highly unlikely case that the Bluetooth encryption is cracked, neither the private key (protected by a secure element, as you will know) nor any important information will ever be exposed.
A seed phrase for backups is set using your phone or directly on the card for added security. It’s really easy to scroll through using the screen on the wallet itself.
To check the seed phrase is correct, you then need to add up all the numbers and input the total outcome. This could expose your phrase a little if you require a calculator (which you probably would).
It actually took me three times to get this calculation right. The numbers are very complicated (e.g., 61346, 52488, 40718, etc.), and when you add up 16 numbers, you tend to make some mistakes, I guess.
CoolWallet uses numbers to ensure that non-native English speakers don’t make any spelling mistakes, for example, writing to instead of too or fire instead of file. One could argue this is worth the hassle overall.
Most calculators are on internet-connected devices like phones or laptops, so be a little careful. Once the seed phrase is confirmed, you are up and running.
CoolWallet S Mobile App
The wallet is controlled using the app so its functionality is a really important feature. There are three main tabs to look at within the platform – Wallet, Receive, and Trade (or “Send” on iOS).
Wallet Tab
This first tab shows your various wallets, balances and total asset value in your chosen fiat currency.
From this dashboard, you quickly see public addresses attached to each cryptocurrency. Its tactile nature is enjoyable, allowing you to reorder your favourite currencies in seconds. A nice addition is the live market coin value of each cryptocurrency wallet.
Receive Tab
The receive tab contains an important feature along with all the usual wallet functions.
Asset selection, QR codes, public address, link sharing and the ability to hold multiple keys fill this tab to make depositing cryptocurrencies a breeze.
It took me a while to realize the importance of the little refresh button at the top right. This is used to refresh balances directly on the card wallet, which is important as they don’t update automatically.
A lack of automation for this frustrated me at first, but upon further research, it ensures the cold wallet is not constantly connected to the internet without permission.
Trade/Send Tab
There is a lot going on inside the Trade tab (or the Send tab on iOS) – the ability to send, exchange and connect to a DEX (decentralized exchange).
The send function is simple to use. Select the currency, recipient, amount and fee/speed – all the standard features to cryptocurrency wallets.
The exchange feature is a really exciting addition, allowing you to swap your cryptocurrencies inside your wallet. It uses a Changelly API so the fees might be a little high, but the convenience is awesome.
I was excited to use this as I needed to make a quick trade. Initially, it didn’t work and repeatedly crashed upon value inputs. After restarting the app it ran smoothly. It was effortless to select my trade, confirm with a fingerprint on my phone and then confirm it on the card wallet. Quick, easy and secure.
WalletConnect is a feature that looks to really future-proof the CoolWallet S. WalletConnect is designed to connect to a DEX like BinanceDEX. Using BinanceDEX, the wallet connected instantly via a QR code scan, allowing me to trade on my PC from the security of the hardware wallet.
3. Supported Coins
CoolWallet S supports these cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- XRP
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Binance Coin
- Stellar
- USDT
- USD Coin
- All ERC20 Tokens
4. Price Tag
The CoolWallet S costs $99 for one device and $159 for two. Compared to the competition, this is a medium-range price tag. For example, you could get the excellent Nano S for only $60 or the TREZOR One also for about $60. Both of these wallets are more established and support a wider variety of coins.
5. Customer Support and Reviews
The CoolBitx customer support team appears very responsive to issues. In my problems getting the inbuilt exchange to work, I sent a support ticket to try and identify the fault. Fortunately, the issue ironed itself out but I received a helpful response from the company within two hours.
Their social media presence is responsive to queries, plus feeds are filled with helpful information from a well-maintained blog.
The CoolWallet S App maintains a 4.6-star rating after almost 500 reviews and 10k downloads. This is a strong sign of a well-designed platform and the team quickly addresses any issues.
Chat around the web is generally positive for the wallet, with users loving the portability and security.
6. Conclusion
The CoolWallet S offers a strong choice of user-friendly features to store, receive, send and trade cryptocurrency all from within the hardware wallet and app. Transaction status and history present clear, concise information along with custom fiat portfolio balance and live market data.
Initially, the CoolWallet software was open-source and can be viewed on GitHub.
Overall, the CoolWallet S is well-designed with a clean user interface and portability in mind. While I enjoyed the wallet, I can’t say it surpasses the established competition of TREZOR and Ledger in its design or user experience. Additionally, it’s a bit lacking on its coin support compared to other alternatives.
Have you used the CoolWallet S yourself? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
CoolWallet
$99
Pros
- Compact and unique design
- Mobile-compatible
- Easy to control
Cons
- Set up process a bit cumbersome
- Limited coin support
The Wallet is not as safe as they say. Mine was hacked and they got a few bitcoin from me. I emailed Coolwallet support but NO RESPONSE. With a wallet like this there should be some type of support. There are better options out there. I would NOT recommend this product if you want to keep your bitcoin safe. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!!!
witch Model was your wallet ? how was it possible to get hacked if I can’t even send from the app without turning on my card. is it possible that your private keys got stolen ? only bringing those questions so I can learn more about this since I do have one.
Hi Alexander, thanks for this detailed review of the 1st-Gen CoolWallet, which was for BTC only. This product is extremely dated now, we have a much better 2nd-gen wallet out. Please consider reviewing the CoolWallet S, released in early 2018 and that replaced the CoolWallet. I think you will be impressed.
The CoolWallet S has a CC EAL5+ secure element, 2+1 factor authentication ( biometric and physical security checks) and supports BTC, LTC, XRP, ETH, BCH, ICX, ERC20 tokens and the best stablecoins. In fact, we’re the official Litecoin wallet. It’s easy to set up and the Bluetooth communication is extremely stable.
From the app, you can also use the CoolWallet S to send or receive assets easily, or trade them with other people through the integrated Changelly and Binance DEX options.
You can find more info here: https://www.coolwallet.io/product/coolwallet/ or please get in touch with us at [email protected]. for reference of “Werner” and I’ll get you set up for a review.
Hi Werner, thanks for reaching out, we will be in touch.
Thanks for the comprehensive update guys, looks great!.Kindly delete my first comment above to avoid confusion thanks!
Would be nice to see supported coin list in wallet reviews.
This is a great suggestion. Noted.
I thought it was cool but not after i was told i couldnt access my bcc with my number seed. But dont worry coolwallet says, the coins are safe with them, yeah i bet they are.
I have 11btc on my balance and can’t spend even 1.
Says “Unable to spend. No available unspent transaction”
Great review. Thanks for your wisdom.