Wallet Wars: A “Win-Win Revolution” Reshaping the Web3 Hardware Wallet Landscape

2025-08-29

When the Web3 world was still stuck in the single-threaded debate of “which hardware wallet is the most secure,” GoPlus, a core service provider in the Web3 security field, launched the “Wallet Wars” event. With an industry-wide practice that reached millions of users, it provided a brand-new answer — there is no absolutely optimal wallet, only choices that fit different scenarios.

This event, which brought together six leading hardware wallet manufacturers (in alphabetical order: CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal), was not a “competition and ranking” in the traditional sense, but a collaborative exploration centered on user needs and aiming at industry standards. By building an independent and objective evaluation system, it not only helped users break free from “choice anxiety” and solve problems ranging from secure purchase to secure use of Web3 hardware wallets, but also pushed the industry from “ambiguous security marketing” toward “scenario-based value competition.”

I. From “Single Evaluation” to “Scenario Adaptation”: A Disruptive Breakthrough in Anonymous Black-Box Testing

For a long time, Web3 hardware wallet reviews have fallen into the trap of “one-size-fits-all”: measuring security only by parameters such as “chip level” and “encryption algorithm,” while ignoring the vast differences in real user needs — from airdrop-hunting studios operating 50–500+ addresses daily, to VCs managing tens of millions in assets, to “diamond hands” holding mainstream tokens for the long term.

To break this dilemma, GoPlus partnered with an Anonymous Expert Group (consisting of Web3 security auditors, veteran asset managers, and former offensive/defensive security professionals; not relying solely on vendor-provided internal data but instead conducting tests based entirely on real-world user scenarios). Together they built a multi-dimensional, tiered, scenario-based evaluation system. The expert group formed a closed loop of “user profile — evaluation criteria — wallet adaptation,” designing eight core evaluation dimensions, each corresponding to a typical user scenario, ensuring the results are independent and of reference value (note):

1. Portable Encryption Form Innovation Award — CoolWallet

Core Advantages: CoolWallet Pro: Equipped with an E Ink display and Bluetooth (BLE) for smooth, convenient connectivity.CoolWallet Go: A screenless NFC model designed for effortless connection, no maintenance required. Security: Built-in EAL6+ Secure Element (SE) chip, ensuring top security protection.Versatility: Supports 35+ blockchains, covering everyday crypto management needs. Also supports all EVM compatible chains. Together, these features break away from the ordinary design of traditional hardware wallets, delivering a truly portable “carry-your-signature” experience that redefines mobile crypto asset management. Target Users: Ideal for everyday investors who want simple operation and reliable security, making it especially suitable for daily transactions.

2. Security On-the-Go Benchmark Award — imKey

Core advantages: Deep integration with imToken, instant Bluetooth pairing with mobile phones, delivering a “convenient anytime, anywhere” experience. Equipped with an EAL6+ secure chip and maintaining a record of zero security incidents, ensuring reliability. Supports Rabby Wallet, expanding and completing the ecosystem. Covering both mobile and desktop, it meets the daily interaction needs of ordinary users while also adapting to high-frequency operations of studios, serving as a benchmark for mobile crypto ecosystem integration.

Target Users:

Users who value convenience and cost-performance, especially those managing digital assets on a daily basis and seeking portable security.

3. TP Ecosystem Security Specialization Award — KeyPal

Core advantages: Seamless integration with TokenPocket, NXP MCU + SE security foundation, coverage of 1000+ chains matching TP user needs. Accurately matches TP ecosystem users’ high-frequency operations and small-to-medium fund management needs, representing “security + usability” specialization within the ecosystem.

Target users: Risk-averse, stability-seeking ordinary users, suitable for standard storage and simple transaction scenarios.

4. QR Air-Gap All-Scenario Security Award — Keystone

Core advantages: Full QR air-gap process with top rating, PSBT/EIP-712 field frame-by-frame readability, high scores in VC vault adaptation, best choice for high-value asset signing. Implements QR air-gap security across all usage scenarios, showcasing high quality in security, functionality, and hardware, leading the high-end crypto wallet QR market.

Target users: High-end investors with large funds, demanding wallet quality, insensitive to price; suitable for complex operations and long-term large-scale storage.

5. Full-Link Trusted Security Flagship Award — OneKey

Core advantages: Pro camera air-gap + 4×EAL6+ SE scored high, open-source reproducible builds locked, high scores for VC cold vault and primary vault adaptation. Employs EAL6+ secure chip, private keys never touch the internet, open-source code open to supervision, achieving full-link trust from hardware to ecosystem.

Target users: Professional investors, institutions, and long-term holders of large crypto assets with extremely high security requirements.

6. Dual-Track Security for Air-Gap and High-Frequency Award — SafePal

Core advantages: S1 Pro camera QR air-gap + EAL6+ with top-grade rating for primary vault, X1 Bluetooth adaptation for high-frequency operations, 200+ chains covered, balancing security and efficiency. The dual-track design of “air-gap safe + Bluetooth high-frequency” meets both VC weak-network security and studio bulk efficiency, achieving seamless dual-scenario adaptation.

Target users: All types of crypto users, suitable for both beginners and experienced investors, applicable for daily transactions and storage.

II. Planning Logic: Achieving Both Traffic and Value Through “Constructive Transparency”

“Wallet Wars” became a phenomenon in the Web3 security field because GoPlus stepped outside the framework of “marketing-oriented reviews,” connecting “professional value” with “user reach” through “constructive transparency.” The six vendors (in alphabetical order: CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal) were not merely “review subjects” but “co-builders of industry consensus.” This positioning avoided “malicious undermining” while ensuring precise dissemination.

1. Transparent Conflicts: Delivering Value by Not Avoiding Weaknesses

Unlike traditional reviews that only highlight strengths, GoPlus and the anonymous black-box expert group proactively disclosed scenario-specific limitations of each wallet. Based on real test results, they objectively presented each wallet’s performance and scores under different scenarios, making users clearly aware of product characteristics and applicable boundaries. This candid “risk disclosure” approach did not trigger brand disputes but instead won trust through “respecting users’ right to know” — for Web3 users, “clear risk boundaries” are far more valuable than “hearing perfect marketing.”

In the warm-up stage, GoPlus published 8 scenario-based explanatory articles via its official account. The six vendors (CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal) reposted and interpreted highlights based on their user base characteristics: OneKey guided community discussions on “efficiency optimization in high-frequency operations,” Keystone focused on the “security value of Air-Gap technology,” while imKey shared “how ecosystem linkage improves user experience.” Ultimately, the top article reached 22,000 views with over 650 interactions, with over 80% of interactions coming from potential users intending to purchase hardware wallets, achieving “precise reach rather than generic traffic.”

3. Immersive Communication: Making Technical Parameters “Perceivable”

Two Twitter Space livestreams became traffic focal points: the first on August 13 attracted 350,000 listeners with over 4,000 concurrent users; the second on August 14 drew 240,000 listeners, totaling more than 5 hours. During the streams, GoPlus invited representatives of the anonymous black-box expert group to explain evaluation logic, and the six vendors (CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal) responded to user concerns — for example, SafePal clarified the scenario differences between S1 and S1 Pro, CoolWallet explained the positioning of its Go model for “small backup,” and imKey shared details of integration with imToken. This “expert interpretation + vendor Q&A” format made obscure technical concepts such as “Air-Gap” and “EIP-712” understandable, while also allowing users to appreciate the real-world significance of “scenario-based security.”

III. Industry Value: From “User Guide” to “Prototype of Standards”

“Wallet Wars” was not a short-term marketing campaign, but rather a long-term value asset left to the industry by GoPlus in its role as a “Web3 security hub.” These achievements were possible thanks to GoPlus’s commitment to “solving real problems” and the six vendors’ (CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal) support for “industry transparency.”

1. Data Value: Broad Outreach of the Scenario-Based Security Concept

The entire event cycle covered more than 3 million users, with total views of warm-up content surpassing 150,000 and cumulative interactions exceeding 3,000; the two Twitter Space sessions had nearly 600,000 total listeners, making it one of the most widely covered Web3 security events in recent times. Behind these numbers lies GoPlus’s accumulated security ecosystem resources (including security service experience with hundreds of thousands of users and collaborations with over a hundred project teams), effectively spreading the concept of “choosing wallets by scenario” to Web3 core users and lowering cognitive barriers.

2. Content Value: The First Practical Scenario-Based Security Guide

The event ultimately delivered the “Web3 Hardware Wallet Security Report”, which integrated “anonymous black-box test data,” “scenario-based adaptation charts,” and a “red-line pitfalls avoidance guide.” Based on each wallet’s actual scores and characteristics, the report recommended suitable products and combinations for users with different needs (such as airdrop-hunting studios, high-net-worth individuals, etc.). It became a truly practical tool — “users can apply it immediately” — breaking down the barrier between “review conclusions” and “real-world use.”

3. Standard Value: Breaking Through the Industry Pain Point of “Ambiguous Security”

Previously, the term “security” in the Web3 hardware wallet market was mostly vague marketing rhetoric — vendors emphasized “use of encryption technology” without explaining “in what scenarios it is secure.” Based on the anonymous black-box evaluation results, GoPlus clarified the security baselines for different scenarios (such as cold vaults, operational hot signing, small backups, etc.), which were recognized by the six vendors (CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal). Some vendors even expressed plans to strengthen “scenario-based security” features in future product designs. This marks the beginning of the Web3 hardware wallet industry’s transition from “parameter competition” to “standard co-construction.”

IV. GoPlus’s Role: Evolving From “Security Tool” to “Industry Hub”

As the initiator of “Wallet Wars,” GoPlus’s core logic was not simply to “run a review,” but to fulfill its mission of “making Web3 safer.” From its early launch of Web3 security APIs and phishing detection tools to today’s establishment of a scenario-based evaluation system, GoPlus has continuously driven the evolution of “security capabilities” from “passive defense” to “active empowerment.”

1. Solving Industry Pain Points: Bridging the Gap Between “Vendor Capabilities” and “User Needs”

Currently, the Web3 hardware wallet market faces two core contradictions: (1) information asymmetry (vendors avoid discussing weaknesses, users struggle to identify real suitability), and (2) lack of standards (“security” is undefined, users are easily misled by marketing). By initiating this event, GoPlus broke information gaps through “anonymous black-box evaluations” and established a prototype of standards through “scenario-based baselines.” This move demonstrated both its insight into user needs and its value as an “industry hub” connecting “project teams” and “users.”

2. Strengthening Industry Positioning: From “Tool Provider” to “Standard Promoter”

Even before “Wallet Wars,” GoPlus had already served hundreds of thousands of Web3 users with phishing address detection and contract security scanning services. Its security APIs have been integrated into more than 200 Web3 projects, making it widely recognized as “security infrastructure.” In this event, GoPlus extended “security capabilities” further into the “standards layer”: by building an evaluation system, partnering with experts and vendors to deliver guides, and clarifying security baselines, it not only consolidated its status as a “Web3 security authority” but also propelled itself from being merely a “provider of security tools” to a “promoter of industry standards.”

3. Practicing the Security Mission: Delivering Awareness of “Rational Security”

GoPlus has always believed that Web3 security should not be about “absolute slogans,” but rather “scenario-based choices.” The essence of “Wallet Wars” was a large-scale Web3 security education campaign — through real test cases, users learned the suitability of different wallets for different scenarios, such as the boundaries of screenless wallets and Air-Gap wallets. Delivering this awareness of “rational security” has much greater long-term value than simply promoting “a certain wallet is the most secure,” and this is precisely the concrete practice of GoPlus’s mission to “make Web3 safer.”

V. Industry Insights: Web3 Hardware Wallets Enter the Era of “Scenario-Based Security”

The significance of “Wallet Wars” goes far beyond being an industry event — it marks the official farewell of the Web3 hardware wallet industry to “parameter overcompetition” and its entry into a new stage of “scenario-based value competition.” Behind this trend are the segmentation of user needs, the upgrading of vendor cognition, and the driving force of industry hubs like GoPlus.

1. User Needs: From “Seeking All-in-One” to “Seeking Adaptability”

As Web3 user groups continue to diversify, the era of “everyone uses the same wallet” is over: airdrop-hunting studios require “high throughput + multi-address management,” cross-border travelers need “Air-Gap + offline upgrades,” and ordinary users want “portability + ease of use.” In the future, wallets that can precisely match specific scenario needs will be more competitive than “all-in-one” wallets. This trend is already visible in the strategies of the six vendors, and GoPlus’s evaluation has provided users with a clear path of “choosing wallets by scenario.”

2. Vendor Direction: From “Hardware Stacking” to “Ecosystem Collaboration”

The evaluation results show that the core competitiveness of hardware wallets is no longer about “how many SE chips” they have, but whether they can “integrate into users’ existing workflows.” Examples include OneKey Pro’s linkage with PSBT tools, Keystone 3 Pro’s compatibility with MetaMask/Rabby, and imKey Pro’s deep integration with imToken — all of which became core advantages in their respective scenarios. This indicates that future vendor relationships may involve more collaboration than competition — for example, “cold storage wallet + operational wallet” combinations or “cross-vendor multi-signature ecosystems” may become new industry directions, with GoPlus’s evaluation highlighting the value of “ecosystem collaboration.”

3. Industry Standards: From “Vague Consensus” to “Transparent and Verifiable”

Based on the practice of “Wallet Wars,” GoPlus plans to partner with more industry institutions and wallet vendors to promote the scenario-based evaluation system as an industry reference standard. In the future, vendors may be required to disclose “reproducible build processes” and “firmware hash values,” transforming “security” from a marketing slogan into a verifiable, quantifiable metric. At the same time, scenario dimensions will be further refined (e.g., “DeFi high-frequency operation wallets,” “NFT collector wallets”), making evaluations closer to user needs. In this process, GoPlus will continue, in its role as an “industry hub,” to drive the Web3 hardware wallet industry toward greater transparency and standardization.

Conclusion

“Wallet Wars” is not a “zero-sum war,” but an initiative to “reconstruct industry value.” It overturned the logic of Web3 hardware wallet evaluations, broke the binary “either/or” mindset of competition, and ultimately achieved a three-way win: users choosing the right wallet, vendors finding their positioning, and the industry establishing standards.

Here, we extend sincere gratitude to the six leading hardware wallet vendors — CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, SafePal. Their support for industry transparency, respect for user needs, and open collaboration during the evaluation process laid the foundation for this event; their participation turned “scenario-based security” from concept into practice, injecting crucial momentum into the maturation of the Web3 hardware wallet industry.

For GoPlus, “Wallet Wars” was an important milestone in realizing its positioning as the “Web3 Security Hub.” For the industry, it marked the beginning of the era of “scenario-based security.” In the future, when users again ask, “Which hardware wallet is the best?” the answer may no longer be a single brand, but rather: “First clarify your scenario — the answer is in the Web3 Hardware Wallet Security Report, within the scenario-based ecosystem built by GoPlus together with CoolWallet, imKey, KeyPal, Keystone, OneKey, and SafePal.” And this is the most valuable legacy this evaluation leaves for the Web3 world.

Note: Controversial Premises That Must Be Clarified

This evaluation was based on “scenario demand matching” as the core logic, forming a reference analysis from expert experience, industry standards, and real-world test data. However, limited by differences in expert cognition, certain dimensions inherently contain subjective judgment. The final results are the consensus of the expert group after comprehensive scoring, intended to provide “scenario-based references” rather than absolute standards or definitive conclusions.

Evaluation basis and framework: The report strictly followed 8 preset dimensions (hardware security, transaction security, open-source verifiability, etc.) and weight systems (e.g., hardware security accounts for 30%).
Subjectivity and limitations: Despite striving for objectivity, some assessments inevitably reflect expert experience and judgment (such as in “usability” and “community reputation”). Different users may also weigh “security vs. experience” and “function priority” differently, so report results should be dialectically referenced based on personal needs.
Dynamic nature reminder: Firmware versions, feature iterations, and security mechanisms of hardware wallets are all subject to continuous updates. The conclusions of this report are valid only for the product state at the time of evaluation (as marked by the publication date); subsequent upgrades may change results.
Disclaimer: This report does not constitute any investment or purchase advice. Users should make independent decisions based on their own usage scenarios (e.g., asset scale, operation frequency, technical familiarity). GoPlus assumes no responsibility for any direct or indirect decisions made based on this report.