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The Curio crypto blog

Original analysis plus every exchange and wallet review we publish. Where we have run the numbers ourselves, we say so and show them, cross-checking against primary data sources like CoinGecko and Google Trends rather than repeating secondhand figures.

Posts

Data August 16, 2026 6 min read

Crypto search demand fell by half this year

We pulled twelve-month search data on 66 crypto keywords. The median fell 56 percent, and the three that grew all point the same direction.

Read the piece →
Analysis August 16, 2026 5 min read

"Low fees" is the most misleading phrase in crypto

Every exchange claims them. The published schedules say something more specific, and the gap is where your money goes.

Read the piece →

Reviews

Exchange and wallet reviews

Every review is scored against a published weighted rubric and dated to the day we last verified its figures against the operator's own fee schedule.

Exchanges

Exchange 4.0 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Kraken Review

Cheap at volume, ordinary at retail size. The security record is the real reason to be here.

0.40% / 0.80% entry tier
Exchange 4.6 / 5

Coinbase Review

The easiest on-ramp in crypto, priced accordingly on its simple buy flow.

Highest ease-of-use score
Exchange 3.6 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Binance Review

The cheapest published entry pricing anywhere, on whichever of the two Binances you can actually access.

0% maker / 0.01% taker
Exchange 3.9 / 5 Checked August 17, 2026

Bybit Review

The cheapest entry pricing in the category, on a venue built for something riskier than spot buying.

0.10% flat at VIP 0
Exchange 3.0 / 5 Checked August 17, 2026

Crypto.com Review

Broad and capable, priced behind a token you have to want to hold.

0.250% / 0.500% without CRO
Exchange 3.4 / 5 Checked August 17, 2026

Gemini Review

The strongest regulatory structure in US crypto, at a price most retail buyers should not pay.

0.600% / 1.200% entry tier
Exchange 3.0 / 5 Checked August 17, 2026

Uphold Review

A genuinely unique multi-asset platform, and the wrong place to buy bitcoin.

1.8% to 1.95% spread on BTC

Wallets

Wallet 4.0 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Ledger Nano X Review

A certified secure element and Bluetooth in one device, held back by closed-source firmware.

CC EAL5+ certified, ST33J2M0
Wallet 4.5 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Trezor Review

EAL6+ certified and genuinely open source, at the cost of Bluetooth.

EAL6+, NDA-free chip
Wallet 4.1 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Exodus Review

Free to hold across six platforms, expensive the moment you use the built-in swap.

Swaps from 0.5%
Wallet 4.0 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Trust Wallet Review

The widest chain coverage of any mobile wallet, paired with the least fee transparency.

100+ blockchains
Wallet 3.8 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

MetaMask Review

The default for decentralized applications, and the wrong tool if you only buy and hold.

Universal app support
Wallet 3.8 / 5 Checked August 16, 2026

Ledger Review

Excellent certified hardware from a company people have real reasons not to trust.

Certified secure elements

Also on Curio

Guides

NFT marketplaces

OpenSea, Blur, Magic Eden and more, compared on fees and chains →

Exchanges

Where to buy, compared on what it actually costs →

Wallets

Where to store it once you own it →

The source library behind these articles

Fourteen outside experts, each with their conflicts labelled

Curio publishes under a house byline and cites externally. These are three of the voices you will meet across the archive.

“we can compare them but we can’t rank them.”

LiveOverflow (Fabian Faessler)Security researcher; co-presenter of the wallet.fail hardware-wallet research at 35C3Security researcherLiveOverflow · January 2019

Curio’s read

On hardware wallets. The kind of objection we would rather print than route around — it makes our own comparison pages more useful, not less.

Source, conflicts & caveats

Caveat. Published January 2019.

Why weigh this source carefully. Primary security research, no commercial position in any wallet. Published January 2019 — every device-specific claim describes 2019 firmware and architecture and must be checked against the vendor’s current documentation. His harsher language about specific products is his opinion, quoted as such, and is not Curio’s assessment.

External source, quoted with attribution. LiveOverflow (Fabian Faessler) is not affiliated with Curio, has not contributed to or reviewed this page, and does not endorse it.

Threat Models — Hardware Wallet Research #1

“Hopefully I’ll convince you not to make a web3 game because it’s either too early, too dangerous, too expensive, too criminal or too evil to bother.”

William Robinson, PhDWeb3 games accelerator lead, Alliance; game-studies PhD; former forensic crypto auditorCommercially involvedGDC Festival of Gaming · August 2022 (GDC 2022)

Curio’s read

Delivered at GDC by someone who runs a web3 games accelerator. Insiders arguing against their own sector are the most useful sources in this library.

Source, conflicts & caveats

Caveat. GDC 2022, near the bottom of the play-to-earn collapse.

Why weigh this source carefully. Robinson runs a web3 games accelerator — he is inside the industry he is attacking, which is what makes the talk unusual. Delivered at GDC 2022, near the bottom of the play-to-earn collapse; the market context has moved since.

External source, quoted with attribution. William Robinson, PhD is not affiliated with Curio, has not contributed to or reviewed this page, and does not endorse it.

How Web3 Games Work (and Sadly Don’t)

“There’s seed stage startups out there that have better accounting than this, you know, 32 billion dollar monstrosity.”

Nic CarterGP, Castle Island Ventures; co-founder, Coin Metrics; co-author of the Proof of Reserves whitepaperCommercially involvedCoin Stories (Natalie Brunell) · November 2022~5:13

Curio’s read

On FTX, days after it failed. A reminder that size, funding and press coverage are not evidence of internal controls.

Source, conflicts & caveats

Caveat. The valuation figure is the one reported at the time and is quoted as his phrasing, not as a verified number.

Why weigh this source carefully. Carter is not affiliate-conflicted, but he is a venture investor with sector positions and he co-authored the Proof of Reserves standard he argues for. Recorded on stage days after FTX collapsed, which sharpens the framing.

External source, quoted with attribution. Nic Carter is not affiliated with Curio, has not contributed to or reviewed this page, and does not endorse it.

Nic Carter on Crypto Contagion, Proof of Reserves, FTX Clawbacks?! & Bitcoin Miner Solvency

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