Trezor Exec Rejects ZachXBT’s Claim That Hardware Wallets Are ‘Complete Garbage’
Trezor’s Chief Commercial Officer, Danny Sanders, has strongly pushed back against blockchain investigator ZachXBT’s recent criticism of crypto hardware wallets.
ZachXBT’s Criticism
In a Telegram post this week, ZachXBT called all hardware wallets “complete garbage.” He advised users not to rely on them for signing transactions or storing significant funds. Instead, he recommended using a dedicated iPhone only for crypto storage and transactions.
Trezor’s Response
In an interview with The Block, Danny Sanders acknowledged the frustrations users face — especially when firmware updates delay urgent or high-value transactions.
“I actually get it, and I agree that we have clunky solutions out there,” Sanders said. “It’s really hard to build on the edge of security and usability.”
However, Sanders argued that ZachXBT’s blanket criticism is unfair. He noted that a single hardware wallet may not suit users managing very large amounts in high-stakes environments, but that does not mean all hardware wallets are useless.
Security Advantages of Hardware Wallets
Sanders highlighted key benefits of hardware wallets over a dedicated iPhone:
- Hardware wallets have a separate screen for verifying transaction details before signing.
- iPhones have more attack surfaces due to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and iMessage.
- Generating keys on an iPhone is riskier than using a hardware wallet.
For average crypto users, Sanders called hardware wallets “the strongest form of self-custody” currently available.
Roman Storm’s Take
Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm partially agreed with ZachXBT. He pointed out that many mobile wallets lack support for BIP39 passphrases — an extra word or phrase added to a seed phrase for extra protection.
Storm urged mobile wallet developers to add:
- BIP39 passphrase support
- Air-gapped transaction signing (signing without connecting to the internet)
“ZachXBT’s got the right idea,” Storm wrote. “There’s just nothing on mobile to actually do it with.”
