Software cold wallet, different from hardware cold wallet, uses pure software to realize the function of cold wallet. Users need to use two mobile phones, one of which is permanently offline as a cold wallet for storing private keys (mnemonics). The other is connected to the internet and used as an observation wallet. Software cold wallet and hardware cold wallet have the same function and similar security level. But there are some significant differences between the two: the software cold wallet can use idle mobile phones without additional hardware; Hardware cold wallet transmits data through data cable or Bluetooth, and software cold wallet scans QR code.
Trusted mnemonic: The software cold wallet can achieve more thorough trust (that is, there is no need to trust the software developer), and users can prove the absolute security of the wallet themselves. In asset security, the security of mnemonics bears the brunt. In terms of the security of mnemonics, the randomness of mnemonic generation is first confirmed. If you use the hardware wallet of the evil hardware manufacturer (or there is a bug), you may lose it in the first step.
When using the cold wallet software, you can choose to trust this software and let it help you generate mnemonics. You can also choose not to trust this software and generate mnemonics elsewhere. Therefore, the security of mnemonics in software cold wallet is higher than that in hardware cold wallet.
Software cold wallet is more flexible than hardware cold wallet. Usually, the software cold wallet can achieve more complex functions than the hardware cold wallet. The flexibility of software cold wallet also makes it more advantageous in asset recovery. If your hardware wallet is damaged, you need to buy hardware from the same manufacturer for hardware recovery. There is no such concern when using a software cold wallet.
At present, the main cold wallet products on the market are mainly hardware cold wallets, but they are being impacted by software cold wallets. Hardware cold wallet: Ledger is the most famous provider of hardware cold wallet solutions; Trezor is another well-known hardware cold wallet provider; Software cold wallet: Ownbit is the first wallet to realize the software cold wallet scheme, and it is also one of the wallets that support the coldest wallet. The odd-even signer is the Ethereum software cold wallet produced by odd-even company; The development direction of things in the future will always be to simplify the complex. More and more cold wallets are being implemented by software.