Metal wallets or steel seed phrase storage plates are increasingly popular among (long-term) crypto hodlers. Billfodl and Cryptosteel are currently leading the ever-growing pack of different providers like Blockplate, Cobo, CryptoTag etc.
In this article we will cover main differences of Billfodl and Cryptosteel metal wallets and help you choose the one that suits you better.
What you'll learn 👉
What is Billfodl?
Billfodl is a metal (stainless steel) device about the size of a wallet that is made to safely store your private keys and wallet recovery words offline. When you set up a crypto wallet, you will get a 12-24 word seed phrase or a private key, which works like a password to access your funds in case you lose access to your wallet.
Crypto users normally keep these on a fragile piece of paper (offline), which puts their crypto funds at risk in case they lose it or if it is destroyed.
When that happens, anyone in that situation will never be able to recover access to the crypto wallet in the cause unless they can remember the 12-24 words or the private key). This is where the Billfodl offline backup device comes into place.
It is specially designed to withstand the elements of nature, such as water or fire, and it is obviously a better alternative to having a piece of paper as your wallet backup. In terms of safety, the Billfodl device is %100 hacker proof since it keeps your word seeds and private keys offline at all times.
What is Cryptosteel?
Just like Billfodl, Cryptosteel is a pocket-sized cryptocurrency wallet backup device made out of stainless steel. Cryptosteel sells two main products: the capsule and the cassette. These are devices that are made to store valuable information offline safely (like your private keys or seed words for your cryptocurrency wallet) without the need for a third party.
According to Cryptosteel.com, the device has been tested to be fireproof (1200°C), waterproof and shockproof, and like Billfodl, it is a much better alternative than using a piece of paper, which can be thrown away by mistake or can easily get destroyed by accident.
Cryptosteel was invented back in 2015 by Wojtek Stopinski, who has described the device as “The ultimate cold storage wallet.” Wojtek has used a Kickstarter campaign in partnership with TREZOR, one of the largest crypto hardware wallet makers in the world, to fund and launch Cryptosteel.
Main features – Billfodl vs Cryptosteel
Billfodl comes with a set of over 300 laser-engraved tiles, which can be used to form and store your 12-24 words (needed to recover or access your crypto wallet). Laser-cut technology ensures that these tiles fit perfectly into the metallic chassis of the device, making it easier to use and more resilient to fires.
Billfodl is compatible with hardware wallets using hexadecimal or BIP39. For a 24-word wallet recovery seed, you only need to spell out the first 4 letters of each word when loading them to the Billfodl device.
Billfodl can be purchased on the ledger.com website, or on privacypros.io, at a total price of $99 + shipping. For customers from the USA or those who order two Billfodl backup devices, the shipping cost is free.
Cryptosteel can back up BIP39 (12-word recovery seeds), SLIP39, BIP32, WIF private keys, and Monero mnemonic seeds. Hexadecimal strings of up to 123 characters and random ASCII strings (55 characters) are also supported, covering %99 of hardware wallets. It can store up to 96 characters, the exact amount needed to store 24 words (4-letter abbreviations) in BIP39.
The Cryptosteel solo capsule costs about the same amount ($100), and the Cryptosteel cassette solo device costs $142 on cryptosteel.com. Worth mentioning is that both devices can also be purchased on eBay, amazon.com, and other websites.
Major differences between Billfodl. vs Cryptosteel?
Billfodl and Cryptosteel are very similar offline backup tools in how they are built and function. However, there are a few key differences between the two.
👉 Firstly, the metal used to build the Billfodl device is Marine-Grade 316 stainless steel (a high-quality alloy of iron that is more resistant to rust and corrosion), while Cryptosteel uses 304 construction steel, which is of lower quality in terms of resilience.
👉 A second difference between the two backup devices is the price, with Cryptosteel’s second product (the cassete), at $142 compared to Billfodl’s $99.
FAQs
Both devices (Cryptosteel “Capsule” and the “Cassette”) work with engraved stainless steel character tiles, used to introduce data to be stored as a backup for your wallet. To store more than 12 words, a 4-word abbreviation is supported.
Cryptosteel’s devices are waterproof, rust-free, and heat-resistant, so they can be used to store valuable data almost anywhere, including in the grown. Given the utility of the devices, they can be used to store other types of private data as well, such as a password.
All you need to do is open your Bildfold device and read the laser-engraved character tiles.
Feedback from the community shows that Cryptosteel backup devices are popular products worth the price and have been adopted as a wallet backup solution by many crypto users worldwide. The value comes from how fragile a normal paper wallet is, compared to stainless steel.
To read the Cryptosteel capsule, you can slide the device open just as for Bildfold, and for the Cryptosteel cassette, you need to slide the character tiles (onto the core), one by one, to read the words in order.
Firstly, you need to unscrew the cap to open the capsule. Add your wallet’s seed words to the device by sliding the first four letters of each word onto the core, and then screw the cap back on firmly. Store the device in a safe place, and most importantly, remember where you have stored it.
Seed phrases are perfectly safe as long as they are kept secret from everyone else and never shared online. Paper wallets are so widely used because they can’t go online, something that would expose them to potential threats.
The best way to store a seed phrase is on a solid backup device like Cryptosteel or Billfodl in an offline location known only by yourself. Bear in mind that if you forget that location, or if you ever share your seed phrase online, you can lose access to your wallet and crypto assets forever.
I had both versions in my hands, but unfortunately, it seems that the aluminum rivet caused my Billfodl to fall apart. On the other hand, Cryptosteel feels like quality, and that satisfying click 🙂