ZachXBT’s Hardware Wallet Criticism Ignites Debate Over Crypto Self-Custody

ZachXBT has sparked debate after claiming on his Telegram channel that hardware wallets are “complete garbage” for serious crypto use. According to him, people who often handle huge amounts are better off using a spare iPhone as a sign-in device. ZachXBT Details the Daily Struggles of Hardware Wallet Users The crypto investigator’s Telegram message was blunt: “Hot take: All hardware wallets are complete garbage and I do not advise using them for important tasks like signing transactions or storing funds,” he wrote.

He went further, arguing that a separate iPhone used only as a wallet could provide a better experience than any hardware on the market right now, while he specifically criticized Ledger. “Ledger is the worst and Ledger Live has regular updates for UI/apps for no good reason that break simple actions,” claimed ZachXBT. Back on X, he listed several problems that hardware wallet users could face when making a typical time-sensitive high-value transaction.

The issues included dead batteries, obligatory upgrades of the device and software, UI changes, and site bugs that prevent signing multisig transactions. Soon after, security researchers, wallet developers, and regular crypto users began responding to ZachXBT’s post. Axel Bitblaze agreed with the on-chain detective’s criticism of hardware wallets but questioned whether a phone was really a better replacement for them, since they would still leave the user with “one device and one seed as the single point of failure.”

Instead, he recommended a 2-of-3 Safe multisig setup with separate signer devices. He also advised crypto holders to store their seed phrases offline and to do a test before moving large amounts, while keeping spending wallets separate from long-term holdings. Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm also chipped in, agreeing with the idea behind ZachXBT’s proposal but arguing that mobile wallets lack one important feature: BIP39 passphrase support.

The developer, who is facing a lengthy prison ter