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Best Self-Custody Wallets · Rank 06 of 8
Shared treasuries and anything requiring multiple signatures
Last verified August 14, 20264 scored axes
Documented, with gaps
Safe scores 8.5 out of 10 and ranks #6 of 8 in the best self-custody wallets table, strongest on key handling (9.6) and weakest on signing clarity (7.5).
The multisig standard that secures more on-chain value than any other contract wallet, with modules, spending policies and a governance-grade audit trail. It is infrastructure for organisations, not a personal wallet.
4 axes, weighted as published in the table’s methodology. Each score below is read from the fact printed under it.
7.5/ 35% of the score
Every proposal is displayed with decoded calldata and cannot execute until the signature threshold is met — but display is exactly what failed in February 2025, when a compromised Safe{Wallet} developer machine was used to serve tampered JavaScript that showed Bybit's signers a routine transfer while altering the transaction underneath, producing the $1.5bn theft. Investigators found no flaw in the contracts; the interface was the attack surface.
9.6/ 25% of the score
No single key controls the account; signer set, threshold and modules are configured on-chain and visible to anyone.
9.4/ 20% of the score
Contracts and interface are published under open licences, and the contracts are the most audited in this table.
8.0/ 20% of the score
Deployed across the major EVM chains and usable through several interfaces, not only the official one.
Safe secures more on-chain value than any other contract wallet, with modules, spending policies, role separation and a full audit trail for every proposal and signature. For a treasury, a DAO or any arrangement where no single person should be able to move funds, it is the default and deservedly so.
A compromised Safe{Wallet} developer machine was used to serve tampered JavaScript that showed Bybit's signers a routine transfer while altering what they were actually approving. Roughly $1.5bn left. Investigators found no flaw in the contracts — and that is precisely the lesson: a multisig protects against a rogue signer, not against every signer being shown the same lie.
Signers on a serious treasury should verify calldata on a hardware device rather than trusting the interface, and large transfers deserve an out-of-band confirmation. The threshold protects you only if the people meeting it are seeing the truth.
Gas costs and signer coordination make it overkill for personal use, and the contracts are open source and deployed across major EVM chains with several usable interfaces.
Threshold and signer distribution, then the modules and spending limits that constrain routine transactions. A three-of-five spread across people and devices is worth more than any additional software control.
Not its contracts. A compromised developer machine was used to serve tampered JavaScript through the Safe{Wallet} interface, which displayed a routine transaction to Bybit's signers while altering the underlying transfer.
Its contracts remain the most audited and most widely used in crypto. The 2025 incident argues for verifying calldata on hardware devices rather than trusting any web interface, including this one.
Usually not — gas costs and signer coordination make it heavy for personal use. It is built for treasuries, DAOs and shared custody.
8 services in best self-custody wallets