What Is Arculus? The Metal-Card Crypto Cold Wallet Explained

Arculus is CompoSecure's crypto product. Its legal entity, Arculus Holdings, L.L.C., is a subsidiary of the group ⁶. CompoSecure's public parent changed its name to GPGI, Inc. after buying Husky Technologies, a deal that closed on January 12, 2026. The stock has traded on the NYSE as "GPGI" since January 23, 2026 ⁶. Resolute Holdings Management, whose officers include David Cote, runs the CompoSecure business under a 10-year management agreement ⁶.

The company's annual report describes Arculus as a new entrant in digital assets. It also notes the product depends on third-party partners for transactions and liquidity, and that its security measures carry "no guarantee" ⁶.

The card contains a secure element, a tamper-resistant chip that stores your private keys. The card talks to your phone over NFC at 13.56 MHz ³⁵. Arculus stresses that it is not a simple NFC tag ³.

Here is a typical transaction ³⁵:

1. You build a send or swap in the Arculus Wallet app (iOS or Android).
2. The app asks for your biometric and your 6-digit PIN.
3. You tap the card to the phone. The card signs the transaction, and the app broadcasts it.

The phone acts as the screen and the network connection. That differs from screen-based devices such as Ledger, where you check the destination address on the device itself. With Arculus you are trusting the phone's display. For general background, see what is a hardware wallet and public and private keys.

One card works with one wallet. The card can hold multiple coin accounts in 512KB of memory ³.

When you set up the wallet, you get a 12- or 24-word recovery phrase. Arculus does not store it and cannot recover it for you ³. The phrase, not the card, is your real backup:

• Lost phone: install the app on a new phone, choose "Restore Wallet", set a new PIN, enter the phrase and tap your card ³.
• Lost or stolen card: buy a new card and restore from the phrase. Someone holding the old card would still need your PIN and biometrics ³.
• Lost phrase while the card still works: your funds remain usable, but you have no backup. Moving them to a new wallet with a fresh phrase is the practical fix. That last step is general self-custody practice and does not come from an Arculus instruction.

Arculus will never ask for your recovery phrase ¹. See how to store crypto safely.

Arculus says it supports more than 10,000 coins and tokens across 27 blockchains ¹. The current list is on its coin-support page.

Inside the app you can ³:

• buy and sell crypto in USD, AUD, CAD, EUR or GBP;
• swap tokens;
• stake ADA, SOL and ATOM.

For DeFi apps, you can connect the wallet through MetaMask or WalletConnect ¹.

The card carries a $99.00 list price. It was on sale for $59.76 on October 23, 2026, before tax ⁴. Silver, Black and XRP-themed cards are offered, along with a two-pack ¹. No subscription is mentioned ⁴.

Arculus charges no fee to send or receive. You pay normal network fees ³. Buying, selling and swapping go through partners (OnRamper, Transak and Changelly), and their fees show in the app before you confirm ³.

The question "is Arculus safe" comes down to three layers:

• The chip. Keys are kept on the card's secure element ⁵. Arculus displays "Common Criteria EAL 6+ Certified" and "SOC 2 Type II Audited" badges, but its pages don't name the certified component, the lab or the audit period ¹⁵. SOC 2 covers a company's operational controls, not the card's cryptography.
• Three factors. A thief needs the card, your PIN and your biometric together ³.
• The phone. The app shows addresses and amounts, so a compromised phone or a fake app could mislead you. Download only from the official App Store or Google Play listings linked from getarculus.com ¹.

What it does not protect against:

• losing or leaking the recovery phrase;
• signing a malicious approval on a DeFi site;
• phishing (see crypto phishing).

Arculus has not published whether its firmware is open source or updatable.

These are differences in design, not a ranking:

For a scored comparison, see the hardware wallet ratings.