BitBox02 Nova review: the simplest open-source cold wallet we tested
BitBox02 Nova pairs open-source firmware with a secure chip, a microSD backup instead of 24 handwritten words, and now Bluetooth for iPhone. We set one up, restored it on a second device and priced it against Ledger and Trezor's entry models.
Our verdict
The BitBox02 Nova is the easiest genuinely secure hardware wallet we have set up for someone who has never held their own keys before. A dual-chip design pairs an EAL6+-certified secure element with open-source firmware, so nothing about the security model asks for blind trust, and the microSD backup removes the most common way beginners botch a 24-word phrase. The Nova's new optional Bluetooth for iPhone closes BitBox's last real gap against Ledger and Trezor, though buyers wanting zero wireless surface can leave it off. At roughly $190 (175 euros on the official shop) it costs more than entry rivals, and that premium buys a wallet we would comfortably hand to a first-timer.
Best for: A cautious first-time buyer who wants open-source firmware and a secure chip without giving up either one
Most hardware wallet reviews spend their opening paragraph on threat models. Ours starts somewhere more practical: what actually goes wrong when a beginner sets one of these up alone, at a kitchen table, for the first time. The two failure points we see most are a mistyped or misplaced 24-word recovery phrase and a closed-source firmware update the buyer has no way to verify. BitBox02 Nova is built around fixing both.
A vault that says so, and means it
BitBox's homepage opens with a standing warning that the company does not offer phone support and will never ask for a wallet's 24 recovery words, a small detail that matters more than it looks. Most hardware wallet scams work by impersonating support staff and asking for exactly that phrase, so a manufacturer stating plainly that it never will is a genuine, if modest, piece of user protection built into the marketing itself. That warning sits above the fold on every page of the site, not buried in a support article nobody reads until after they have already been scammed.
The chip decision that usually forces a trade-off
Every hardware wallet buyer eventually runs into the same fork: a secure chip that resists physical attacks but keeps its code closed, the Ledger approach, or fully open firmware that sacrifices that chip, the Trezor approach. BitBox02 Nova's dual-chip architecture tries to avoid the choice entirely, pairing an EAL6+-certified Optiga Trust M V3 secure element with firmware that stays completely open source and auditable.
