Tangem
Card-shaped hardware wallet; private keys never leave the chip
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About Tangem
Tangem is a Swiss hardware wallet provider specializing in card-shaped and ring-shaped cold storage devices. Its core product is a payment-card-sized wallet with no screen, battery, or USB port, powered by NFC when tapped against a smartphone. The private key is generated and stored inside an EAL6+ certified secure element chip that never connects to the internet, and the device is IP69K rated, waterproof, and dustproof, with a lifespan of over 25 years.
The main market pain point Tangem addresses is the complexity and vulnerability of traditional hardware wallets: seed phrase backups are easily lost or stolen, and devices with screens and batteries require charging and firmware updates. Tangem eliminates seed phrases entirely through a multi-card backup system—users buy 2 or 3 cards that share the same wallet, so losing one card does not mean losing funds. The setup takes about two minutes, and the app supports 85+ blockchains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and major L2s.
In the past six months (February to August 2026), Tangem expanded its US retail presence to over 200 Best Buy stores, making hardware wallets available to mainstream consumers. The Tangem Pay card added ATM cash withdrawal via NFC, allowing users to spend USDC balances at any contactless ATM. The app also introduced direct DEX swaps for Bitcoin through LiFi and SwapKit, plus a virtual US bank account feature that lets users receive salary payments directly as USDC on Polygon. Tangem Pay launched tiered membership plans with lower fees for higher tiers. In 2025, the company faced a community complaint about its closed-source firmware, which it defended by citing independent audits from Kudelski Security and Riscure.
Tangem's journey began in 2018 with the launch of its first NFC-based card wallet, introducing tap-to-sign self-custody. In 2022, the v2 wallet expanded to multi-asset support with an optional seed phrase, while the app was open-sourced on GitHub. 2024 saw the Tangem Ring, a wearable hardware wallet using the same secure element. 2025 marked Tangem Pay, bridging on-chain spending with everyday payments. Security milestones include over 8 million devices distributed with zero successful hacks reported, independent audits by Kudelski Security (2018) and Riscure (2023), and the firm's response to Ledger Donjon's laser fault injection research, which acknowledged the attack's impracticality—requiring physical access, lab equipment, and high costs—while reaffirming the chip's tamper-resistant design. Tangem's philosophy of immutable firmware and on-chip key generation has remained consistent throughout its evolution.
Co-founder & CEO: Andrey Kurennykh. He created the Tangem Wallet concept and led its development from prototype to global launch. Previously, he served as Head of Mobile Development at Alpari (2016–2019), overseeing iOS and Android teams. He holds a degree from Moscow Aviation Institute.
Key executives: Darya Karpukova (Chief Commercial Officer), Anton Afanasyev (Chief Information Security Officer), Amir Rosner (Head of Product), and Stepan Nilov (Head of Communications). All are currently active at Tangem, based in Zug, Switzerland.
Tangem has recently welcomed two growth leaders. In May 2026, Brandon Nebeker joined as US Growth Lead, bringing over 13 years of Web3 experience focused on ecosystem growth and go-to-market strategy. In August 2026, Sean Kim, former APAC Growth, Community & Partnerships Manager at Uniswap Labs, joined to lead APAC growth and drive Asian market expansion. This team expansion reflects Tangem's efforts to strengthen its global presence, particularly in the US and Asia-Pacific regions.