Best Buy Adds Tangem Crypto Wallets: A Trend Toward Self-Custody?

Walking into a Best Buy these days, you might notice something a bit different nestled among the tech gadgets: Tangem’s crypto hardware wallets. It got me thinking, is this the next step in bringing cryptocurrency to the mainstream?

The Expansion: Numbers and Details

Tangem, a Swiss-based company, has made its largest retail push yet in the United States by placing its crypto hardware wallets in over 200 Best Buy stores. This isn't just a small step. It’s a leap into mainstream electronics retail, adding to Tangem's existing presence on platforms like Walmart and Amazon. For a company focused on cold storage, it’s a bold move, especially as more crypto holders are starting to favor self-custody methods.

Why now, you might ask? Well, crypto theft hit a staggering $3.4 billion in 2025, with the notorious $1.5 billion Bybit breach marking the largest single hack in crypto history. That’s a lot of digital money slipping through the cracks, and it's made people wary of leaving assets on exchanges. Around 158,000 personal wallet compromises were reported just last year, pushing many to rethink how they store their digital wealth. This brings us to Tangem’s offering: a credit card-sized NFC card and a Tangem Ring, both designed to keep private keys offline on a secure chip. No server or phone storage here, and backup cards replace the conventional recovery phrase method, though you can still use one if you’re old school.

Implications for the Crypto Market

Now, here's where it gets interesting. What does this retail expansion mean for the broader crypto market? For starters, it shows that self-custody is gaining traction, no longer the domain of just the tech-savvy elite. With stricter regulations and more rigorous identity checks, crypto users are increasingly nudged toward self-managed solutions. Analysts are optimistic, projecting the hardware wallet market to hit $2.25 billion by 2031, a notable climb from the $720 million expected in 2026. Retail shoppers, it seems, are driving this surge.

But it's not just Tangem making waves. Trezor’s simplifying its wallets to lure crypto newcomers, while Block Inc. has launched its own self-custody Bitcoin wallet. The real question is whether placing these products on big retail shelves will convert casual consumers into dedicated self-custody practitioners. Color me skeptical, but I'm not entirely convinced it will be an overnight transformation. Yet, the availability of these wallets in places like Best Buy surely lowers the barrier to entry.

Who Wins and What Should You Do?

So who wins in this scenario? Certainly, companies like Tangem and Trezor stand to gain a wider customer base. But beyond them, any crypto user concerned about security can potentially be a winner. With thefts on the rise, self-custody offers a peace of mind that keeping assets on exchanges simply can't match. On the flip side, traditional exchanges might face a challenge as they try to retain users who are becoming increasingly wary of storing their assets there.

What does this mean for you? If you're holding crypto, it might be time to seriously consider a hardware wallet. The convenience of exchanges can't outweigh the potential loss if your funds get swiped. And with options popping up in familiar retail spaces, the process is getting more straightforward than ever. Granted, nothing in crypto is without risk, but self-custody seems to be gaining its own track record of trust.