Things you should know about a Bitcoin wallet
by ContributorWhoever wants to get involved in bitcoin needs a wallet to store them. So it is crucial to know about different types of wallets and which wallet best suits your needs. The bitcoin wallets are majorly divided into two categories:
Cold Wallets: Cold wallets are offline wallets and are of two types.
- Hardware Wallets
- Paper Wallets
Hot wallets: Hot wallets are also known as software wallets and three types.
- Desktop Wallets
- Mobile Wallets
- Web Wallets
Bitcoin wallets
Every bitcoin trader needs a wallet to store their bitcoins. If you want to learn about bitcoin trading strategies, register at the free demo account page. You will learn the best in-practice strategies by crypto experts here.
Anyway, let us understand the different types of bitcoin wallets listed above.
Hardware wallets
If you are serious about your bitcoin investments and trading, then using a hardware wallet is beneficial. It is the most secure and reliable form of bitcoin wallet. The private keys are stored in a hardware device (USB device), which can be accessed through your system. However, you have to pay some amount ranging from $80 to $160, and even more.
Paper wallets
For using paper wallets, you need paper or metal. It is a physical form of the wallet that allows you to store your bitcoins. However, if you lose the coin or paper, your bitcoins are lost. We can say, it’s quite similar to normal currencies.
Desktop wallets
Desktop wallets are the desktop applications that can be installed to your system. Here, the private key of your desktop is stored in the hard drive of the system. You need to login to access the private keys and make transactions online.
Make sure you store those files very securely and carefully. If you lose those files or delete them by mistake, it is unlikely that you get them back.
Most of the desktop wallets are compatible with major operating systems like Mac, Windows, and Linux. Here are some of the best desktop wallets listed below.
- Exodus: It is one of the best desktop bitcoin and altcoin wallets. The user interface is user friendly, so suitable for beginners.
- Electrum: It is one of the oldest bitcoin wallets with many features. It is an open-source platform and got a license from MIT.
- Guarda: This is one of the popular bitcoin wallets that allow you to trade other crypto coins. It provides an inbuilt crypto exchange.
Mobile wallets
Mobile wallets are the most convenient and widely used bitcoin wallets. However, these are comparatively less secure than desktop wallets.
As it stores your private key in a third-party app, it can be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. There are different types of mobile wallets available both for android and iPhone. Here are some of the best bitcoin mobile wallets.
- Trust Wallet: This is one of the leading bitcoin wallets supporting multiple crypto coins and bitcoin.
- BRD Wallet: The BRD wallet is the simplest mobile wallet that doesn’t even require any signup process.
Web wallets
Web wallets can be accessed from any location from any device. These wallets are available on the internet. That means you have to visit a website to access these wallets. These wallets are least secure as your money is kept in the cloud, and there are many risks involved in them.
Some of the famous and trusted web wallets are
- Coinbase: Coinbase offers one of the best services in the crypto space. It provides crypto exchange along with wallet services. Coinbase also has mobile apps both for android and iOS.
Conclusion
Finally, I hope the above post helped you to understand bitcoin wallets. Now you can choose a wallet that best suits your requirement. If you are going to make frequent transactions like shopping, trading, sending, and receiving money, then a mobile wallet is best. But if you want to invest and hold it for the long term, a desktop or hardware wallet is the best option. If you are using any wallets, please mention below.