Short answer

Three reasonable approaches depending on your activity level. Single multi-chain wallet (Trust Wallet, OKX Web3 wallet, Rabby) — easiest UX, one mnemonic backup covers everything. Per-chain wallets (MetaMask for ETH, Phantom for Solana, Sparrow for Bitcoin) — more setup but better per-chain UX. Hardware wallet + multi-chain coordinator (Ledger Live + Sparrow Wallet) — for serious holdings, single source of truth across chains.

The single-wallet approach

Trust Wallet supports 100+ chains natively from one app. Same mnemonic, derived to BTC, ETH, SOL, TRX, and dozens more. One app, one backup. Tradeoff: each chain's UX is less polished than a dedicated wallet would offer. Trust's Bitcoin support is functional but not as good as Sparrow for advanced Bitcoin features.

OKX Web3 wallet (despite the brand) supports many chains similarly. Same model. Convenient for users who want one mobile app for everything.

The per-chain approach

Best UX per chain, more apps to manage. Typical setup for an active US holder:

  • Bitcoin: Sparrow Wallet (desktop) or BlueWallet (mobile)
  • Ethereum + L2: MetaMask or Rabby (browser)
  • Solana: Phantom (browser + mobile)
  • Cosmos: Keplr (browser)

Each wallet uses its own seed by default. You can use the same seed across all if you want one backup, but each chain shows different addresses, and the mental model is more complex.

The hardware-wallet approach

One Ledger or Trezor, derived to all chains via Ledger Live or Trezor Suite. Hardware-protected signing for every chain. For users with $50K+ across multiple chains, this is the default — the marginal complexity of installing different "apps" on the Ledger device is offset by the much stronger security posture.

Sparrow Wallet handles Bitcoin elegantly; Ledger Live handles 50+ EVM and non-EVM chains. The two together cover almost everything serious holders need.

The recommendation

If under $10K total and active in DeFi: single multi-chain wallet (Trust or OKX Web3). $10K-$100K: hardware wallet + per-chain UI for active chains. $100K+: hardware wallet (or multisig) as primary, dedicated per-chain wallets for active use, periodic consolidation back to cold storage.

Further reading: Cold wallet, Hardware wallet comparison.