Trezor, made by Czech firm SatoshiLabs, is one of the oldest hardware wallet brands — founded in 2013 — and its defining pitch is a fully open-source firmware and hardware design that anyone can audit, in contrast to the closed secure-element firmware some competitors ship. It is a self-custody, cold-storage device. We have not completed a hands-on test and publish no current price until confirmed on Trezor's own site.
Open-source design and secure element
Trezor's whole appeal is transparency: firmware and hardware schematics are published, and the community — not just SatoshiLabs — can audit the code. That is a genuinely different security posture from a certified-but-closed secure element. The trade-off is that the original Model One and Model T have no dedicated secure-element chip, relying instead on the open design and physical device security; the newer Safe 3 and Safe 5 models add an EAL6+ certified secure element while keeping the firmware open, closing that historical gap.
Which model suits you depends on whether you weight full auditability or certified tamper-resistant hardware more heavily — the Safe 3/5 line offers both.
Backup and recovery
The standard backup is a 12–24 word recovery phrase depending on model and configuration, written down offline. Newer Trezor models also support Shamir Backup, which splits the recovery secret into multiple shares (a subset of which are needed to restore), reducing the single-point-of-failure risk of one physical seed card. As with any hardware wallet, buy only from Trezor's own store or an authorised reseller and never enter the recovery phrase into a website or app.
Everyday use
Trezor Suite, the companion desktop and web app, handles portfolio view, sending/receiving and firmware updates; staking support is more limited than some competitors and depends on the model and the connected third-party app. There is no dedicated browser extension — Trezor Bridge and Trezor Suite handle the browser-dApp connection instead. We publish no current price or exact supported-asset count; check Trezor's own site for the live figures.
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
- Fully open-source firmware and hardware design — independently auditable, unlike closed-firmware competitors.
- Newer Safe 3/Safe 5 models add an EAL6+ certified secure element on top of the open design.
- Optional Shamir Backup splits the recovery secret across multiple shares.
Limitations
- Original Model One/Model T have no dedicated secure element — a real trade-off against certified-chip competitors.
- Staking support is more limited and model-dependent versus some rivals.
- We have not completed a hands-on test, so we publish no current price or exact asset count.
Frequently asked questions
Does every Trezor model have a secure element?
No. The original Model One and Model T do not have a dedicated secure-element chip; the newer Safe 3 and Safe 5 models add an EAL6+ certified secure element while keeping the firmware fully open-source.
What is Shamir Backup?
An optional recovery scheme on newer Trezor models that splits your recovery secret into multiple shares, a subset of which are needed to restore the wallet — reducing reliance on a single physical seed card.
Is Trezor's firmware really open-source?
Yes — both firmware and hardware design are published, which is Trezor's central differentiator versus closed-firmware hardware wallets.