Bluetooth hardware wallets

A Bluetooth hardware wallet still signs on the device; the radio only carries data to and from a phone or computer. What it adds is one more interface that can have bugs and can be reached by an attacker within radio range.

What does Bluetooth expose on a hardware wallet?

In the designs makers publish, the Bluetooth chip is a relay outside the part that holds the keys. Ledger’s 2019 write-up on the Nano X says its radio chip “simply acts as a proxy” to the secure element, and “Only public data is transported by Bluetooth; critical data (such as private keys and seed) never leave the device.” Trezor’s Bluetooth guide says “Bluetooth is handled by a separate chip that sits outside the secure architecture of the Trezor.” BitBox’s Whisper summary says “The Bluetooth chip cannot access wallet secrets or flash storage”, and Foundation says every message through the Passport Prime’s radio chip is already encrypted.

What does cross the link: the unsigned transaction, the signature, and public keys and addresses, which Ledger says “could raise privacy concerns”. A radio can also reveal that a device is nearby. BitBox says the Nova uses random private addresses “to prevent passive tracking”, and Trezor says its Host Protocol means a Trezor “can’t be passively scanned or tracked by unknown devices”.

The makers’ central claim: a compromised phone, computer or radio link cannot sign alone, because the device shows the transaction on its screen and waits for you. In Ledger’s words, “No transaction signature is issued without your explicit consent.”

Is a Bluetooth hardware wallet safe?

The makers say yes, because keys never touch the radio. Compared with a cable, Bluetooth still changes two things.

The attacker can be nearby instead of on your computer. The Bluetooth SIG’s security and privacy best practices guide assumes “a MITM attacker is present within the radio range of the pairing devices”, and leaves security choices to each implementation. Without authenticated pairing, an attacker who gets between the two devices can read and alter the Bluetooth link, though “the MITM can only decrypt the link while physically adjacent to the attacked devices.” The guide calls that protection essential for data “not protected from eavesdropping or modification by non-Bluetooth mechanisms”; several makers add their own encryption on top (see pairing, below).

Every interface is code that can have bugs. In December 2025 Blockstream disclosed a Jade firmware flaw reachable on an unlocked device over the link used to unlock it: “a Bluetooth connected device is only vulnerable to Bluetooth RPC calls”. The USB interface had the same bug, QR mode did not, and firmware 1.0.37 fixed it.

Coinkite states the case against on its COLDCARD comparison page: “Bluetooth is convenient for mobile use, but it is also a wireless attack surface.” The case for is practical: Ledger’s Nano S Plus page says that cable-only model “does not work with iOS devices”, while BitBox says Bluetooth “enables the BitBox02 Nova to work with iPhone and iPad.” The makers’ defence rests on the device screen and buttons, not on the radio.

How does Bluetooth pairing work on a hardware wallet?

Pairing is when two devices agree a shared key, and when a nearby attacker would try to sit in between. The usual defence is a code you compare on both screens:

• Ledger uses Bluetooth’s Numeric Comparison on the Nano X. It adds that “On older versions of Android, the Numeric Comparison may not be featured”, in which case the device shows a warning.
• Trezor has you confirm a pairing code on the Safe 7 and the host, then enter a one-time code from the device. Its Host Protocol adds an encrypted layer over USB and Bluetooth.
• BitBox says “Pairing requires the user to confirm matching codes on both devices”, with “two layers of encryption: native Bluetooth and BitBox end-to-end.”
• Foundation passes the Passport Prime’s public key to the Envoy app by QR code during setup, so the Bluetooth chip never sees it.
• OneKey’s firmware log says OneKey Pro firmware 4.18.0 (20 December 2025) “Optimized Bluetooth connection process, no need to enter pairing code”. It does not say how a new connection is authenticated instead.

Which hardware wallets have Bluetooth?

Grouped by how the makers implement it (the table above has each source):

• Bluetooth alongside USB-C: the Ledger Nano X, Ledger Flex, Ledger Stax and Ledger Nano Gen5 (BLE 5.2 on all four), the Trezor Safe 7 and the BitBox02 Nova Multi.
• Bluetooth plus QR signing: the Blockstream Jade Plus, the Foundation Passport Prime (Foundation’s QuantumLink) and the OneKey Pro, sold with “end-to-end encrypted Bluetooth”.
• Bluetooth as the signing link: the SafePal X1, listed with “Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity”.

Which hardware wallets avoid Bluetooth?

• Cable only: the Ledger Nano S Plus, the Trezor Safe 3, Safe 5, Model One and Model T, and the KeepKey, listed with “No wireless radios”.
• NFC tap instead: the Tangem Wallet, Tangem Ring and Arculus card.
• QR codes only: the ELLIPAL Titan 2.0, SafePal S1 Pro and NGRAVE ZERO. Our air-gapped wallet guide explains QR signing.
• No Bluetooth radio by design: the COLDCARD Mk5 and COLDCARD Q, which use USB-C, NFC and microSD (and a QR scanner on the Q).

At Ledger and Trezor, Bluetooth is a choice between models: see Nano X vs Nano S Plus and Safe 5 vs Safe 7.

Can you turn Bluetooth off on a hardware wallet?

On most Bluetooth models, according to the makers:

• Ledger Nano X and Trezor Safe 7: both makers say you can turn Bluetooth off and use the USB-C cable.
• BitBox02 Nova: Bluetooth is on by default for iOS. You switch it off in the BitBoxApp over USB and confirm on the device; BitBox notes that “Bluetooth settings cannot be changed from iOS.”
• Passport Prime: KeyOS can turn QuantumLink off, “completely powering down the Bluetooth chip”.
• OneKey Pro: AirGap Mode disables “Bluetooth, USB, and NFC”, and firmware 4.18.0 “Added independent USB / Bluetooth switch”.
• Jade: Blockstream ships each firmware as “Standard or No-radio (i.e. without Bluetooth support)”.

Turning the radio off removes that wireless interface. For the Nova, BitBox adds that “Disabling Bluetooth does not affect wallets, private keys, backups, or funds.”

What we could not verify

• Keystone 3 Pro: Keystone’s site conflicts (one page describes disabling Bluetooth, a homepage testimonial says there is none), so the table shows “Not documented”.
• Block Bitkey: Block lists NFC and USB-C charging but nothing about Bluetooth.
• SafePal X1: we found no SafePal document on how the X1’s Bluetooth link is paired or encrypted.
• OneKey Pro: what authenticates a new Bluetooth connection now that 4.18.0 removed the need to enter a pairing code.
• Ledger Flex, Stax and Nano Gen5: Ledger’s detailed Bluetooth write-up dates from January 2019 and covers the Nano X; we found no equivalent for the newer models.
• Independent review: the security claims above are the makers’ own; we did not review an outside audit of any of them.