What's New With Your Arculus Cold Wallet
If you've been using the Arculus cold wallet for a while, you might have noticed some big changes rolled out not too long ago. The team behind this sleek metal card wallet pushed a firmware update that added new blockchains, staking features, and a way to export your transaction history. I wanted to break down what changed, why it matters, and what you need to know if you're still on the original card.
The Arculus cold wallet is a hardware storage system built around a metal card and a mobile app. It uses NFC - that's near-field communication - so you tap the card to your phone to sign transactions. The card never touches the internet directly. No Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, no USB cable. Your private keys stay encrypted on the card the whole time. That's the core idea behind this thing, and it hasn't changed.
What did change is what the card can actually do. Let me walk you through the update piece by piece.
New Blockchains and Tokens Added
The firmware update brought support for several new blockchains that weren't available before. If you've been waiting to move Solana, Hedera, Cardano, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Stellar into cold storage, you're in luck. Those chains were all added in one go.
On the token side, new ERC-20 support included TON, LDO, wETH, stETH, and LEO. Here's the thing though - access to these new blockchains required upgrading to the new edition Arculus Card. The original card kept working for whatever you already had on it, but anything new needed the upgraded hardware. The new ERC-20 tokens were accessible even without the upgrade, which was a nice touch.
With stETH support came another feature: the ability to stake your ETH directly through Lido. Your staked assets flow right back into your Arculus Wallet. So if you've been looking for a best cold storage wallet for crypto that also lets you earn yield without moving funds to an exchange, this update made Arculus a lot more competitive.
Why a New Card Was Actually Necessary
I know what you're thinking - why couldn't they just push a software update and call it a day? Good question. The answer comes down to how the card is built.
The Arculus team locked the firmware on every card they shipped. That means no one - not even you - can load custom firmware onto it. That's a security decision. It removes a whole category of attack where someone tries to flash malicious code onto your hardware wallet.
But it also means that when they wanted to add new cryptographic capabilities - like support for additional elliptic curves and signing algorithms - they needed new physical cards. The first-gen cards simply didn't have the base cryptography to handle the new blockchains. The new edition cards were built with significantly more cryptographic headroom, which the company says is meant to "future-proof" them.
The company stated that with the new cryptographic capabilities, further updates to supported blockchains would be delivered through app updates rather than requiring additional card upgrades.
That's a big deal. It means you shouldn't need another card swap every time they add a new chain. Future additions should come through the app. At least, that's the plan.
How the Card Upgrade Process Worked
If you already owned an Arculus Card, you were eligible for a free upgrade - but only for a limited time. The free upgrade window had a deadline, and the process varied depending on where you bought your original card.
Upgrade requirements by purchase location
- getarculus.com: email address used for the order and shipping zip code
- Amazon: zip code, email, and Amazon order number
- Other authorized retailers: contact Arculus support via website ticket or email at support@arculus.co
People who picked up their card at the Bitcoin Conference 2022 didn't qualify for the free upgrade. That's worth knowing if you got yours at an event.
To start the upgrade, you went into the app settings and selected "Card Upgrade Info" or visited upgrade.getarculus.com. After verifying your order info, you got a one-time checkout code. The new card shipped free via FedEx 2-day. Once it arrived, you went back to the app, selected "Upgrade with New Card," and restored your wallet using your recovery phrase paired with the new card. That gave you access to everything - new chains, staking, the works.
For new users setting up a wallet, the process was also updated. You could now choose between a 12-word and a 24-word seed phrase. And if you were coming from another platform that used a 24-word phrase, you could restore your wallet directly.
Transaction History Export
This one doesn't sound exciting until you need it. The update added the ability to export your transaction history straight from the Arculus Wallet app. If you've ever tried to sort through crypto transactions for tax purposes or just to track your portfolio, you know how painful it can be without a proper export feature. This was a highly-requested addition, and it's one of those quality-of-life improvements that makes a best crypto cold wallet for beginners a lot less intimidating to actually use day to day.
Arculus Security Model
Let's talk about how this thing actually keeps your crypto safe, because that's the whole point of a best hardware wallets for crypto setup.
The Arculus system has two parts: the Arculus Key Card and the Arculus Wallet App. The card contains a CC EAL 6+ secure element - that's a certified security chip - that signs transactions using a private key that never leaves the card. You sign by tapping the card to your phone. One tap, NFC, done. No cables, no wireless connections beyond that single tap.
To authorize a transaction, you need three things:
Three-factor authentication
- Biometric fingerprint or Face ID lock on your phone
- A 6-digit PIN code
- The physical Arculus Key Card
All three factors have to be present. Lose your card? Without your phone's biometric and PIN, no one can access your keys. Someone gets into your phone? Without the card and your PIN, they're stuck. It's a layered approach, and it's one of the reasons Arculus ranked third overall among cold storage solutions in an ABI Research report.
The wallet app itself is free and includes built-in WalletConnect integration, so you can access Web3 dApps without exposing your private keys. The app never touches your keys when you buy, trade, or sell. Those stay on the card.
Hot Wallets vs Cold Wallets
If you're trying to figure out whether a which is the best cold wallet for your situation, it helps to understand the difference between hot and cold storage.
Hot wallets are software - apps, browser extensions, exchange accounts. They're connected to the internet all the time, which makes them convenient but also vulnerable. Hacks, phishing, malware - hot wallets face all of it. And if you're using a custodial wallet on an exchange, you don't even control the private keys. If the exchange goes under, your funds could be gone.
Cold wallets store your keys offline. They only connect when you need to sign a transaction, and otherwise they're completely air-gapped. That makes them inherently safer from online threats. You can put them in a safe, a lockbox, a safety deposit box - wherever you'd keep something valuable.
Most experienced crypto people use both. A hot wallet for small, everyday transactions. A cold wallet for the stuff you're holding long-term. If you're looking at cold wallet examples , Arculus is one of the more portable options since it's literally a metal card that fits in your wallet.
Hot wallets are free and instant. Cold wallets cost money and add a few steps to every transaction. But that extra friction is the point - it's what keeps your assets safe.
How Crypto Wallets Actually Work
A crypto wallet doesn't "hold" your coins. That's a common misconception. What it holds are the keys - the public address and the private key - that let you access your funds on the blockchain. The actual records of who owns what live on the public ledger.
A wallet lets you view your balances and approve transactions. Self-custody means you alone control the private keys. That's the whole philosophy behind hardware wallets like Arculus.
Centralized exchanges offer custodial wallets where they hold the keys for you. It's like a bank - convenient, but you're trusting someone else with your money. Self-custody wallets, whether hot or cold, put you in full control.
Phishing Threats and How to Protect Yourself
Phishing is one of the most common ways people lose crypto. Scammers send fake emails, build fraudulent websites, send phony texts - all designed to trick you into handing over your login info, passwords, private keys, or recovery seed phrases.
Common tactics include impersonating legitimate wallet providers, sending fake firmware update requests, creating malicious browser extensions that look real, and using urgency to pressure you into acting fast without thinking.
How to protect yourself from phishing
- Verify website URLs before entering any sensitive information
- Enable multi-factor authentication on all accounts
- Bookmark official websites or find them through search engines
- Be cautious of unsolicited emails, messages, or DMs from unknown sources
- Stay informed about the latest phishing techniques
- Contact your wallet provider's support to verify suspicious messages
Here's one that's important: Arculus states it will never ask for your recovery phrase. If anyone asks for it - through email, text, a website, a phone call - that's a scam. Never share your seed phrase with anyone. Not ever.
Hardware Authentication and Why It Matters
Hardware authentication uses a physical token - a card, a USB drive, a key fob - as an extra layer of security beyond your password. The token is unique to you and has to be physically present to access your account.
Microsoft has said that multi-factor authentication reduces the risk of data breaches. Hardware authentication takes it further. Even if someone tricks you into giving up your password, they still need the physical token. And phishing accounts for roughly 90% of corporate security breaches, so that physical component is a real deterrent.
The Arculus card essentially functions as a hardware authentication token. It's a cold wallet best practice made tangible - you literally have to have the card in your hand to move your crypto.
Partnership With Radix
In early 2024, Radix Publishing announced a partnership with Arculus. This brought two things to the Radix community: hardware-based security for the Radix Wallet's multi-factor authentication, and expanded reach for the XRD token through the Arculus mobile wallet app.
The integration was planned in two stages. First, Arculus would add support for the Radix Network and XRD token in its existing mobile app. That gave Arculus users a way to hold XRD and gave Radix users a new wallet option. Second, the Radix Wallet app would support Arculus cold storage cards for DeFi and Web3 dApps. The Arculus card would serve as a hardware signing factor - tap to approve each transaction.
Existing Arculus cards were expected to work with the Radix Wallet once support was added. A limited edition Radix-branded Arculus card was also in the works.
CompoSecure: The Company Behind Arculus
Arculus is made by CompoSecure, Inc., a company founded in 2000 that trades on Nasdaq under the ticker CMPO. They provide pay