With BTC or bitcoins gaining significant popularity worldwide, more and more people prefer this cryptocurrency to cash. This is especially wide-spread among tech-savvy millennials who consider digital currencies easier to use and safer compared to old-school banknotes.
However, cryptocurrency can’t be stored in a pocket. A special wallet is a must. Moreover, it’s the first thing for beginners to consider. When you are done with reading the article, you will know:
- What is a BTC wallet, and why exactly you need it.
- What types of wallets exist.
- What the top crypto wallets are.
What Are the Best BTC Wallets?
Before moving to a description of BTC wallets, it’s vital to note that there is no fit-all solution. The best crypto wallet is the one that satisfies your needs. Here, you should pay attention to the safety, simplicity in usage, costs, and extra beneficial functionalities of wallet choices.
If you are a beginner, you might include only the first three points in your check-list to select the top bitcoin wallet. Further on in the article, we will cover the main types of digital pouches and review the best BTC wallets.
What Are Cryptocurrency Wallets?
Digital money suffices only with digital solutions. Basically, a wallet for bitcoins resembles your billfold for banknotes. It’s a place where your gained crypto is stored. Whether you mine or buy Bitcoins, as well as other cryptocurrencies, they will be transferred and stored there. Moreover, if you want to spend accumulated resources, the wallet is, again, necessary.
With this in mind, you can think of a wallet for Bitcoins as a digital bank account for traditional funds. You can check your balance and transaction history, as well as receive transfers or send money in one click. A crypto pouch performs exactly the same functions.
The major difference is the filling. While this may sound odd, coins aren’t the most precious thing here. It’s the private keys that you need to guard. Knowing them, you and anyone else can access your crypto resources and carry out the operations with them.
The keys should be securely protected in order to ensure that your digital money is safe. Otherwise, you risk losing them all. That’s why security comes first for crypto investors.
Before moving to the best crypto wallet, one should understand which type of crypto billfold to choose. Today, the market offers two kinds:
- Hot.
- Cold or Hardware.
Let’s drill into their specifics.
Cold or Hardware Wallet
A Bitcoin hard wallet boasts a USB-look and serves as a physical type of a wallet. Basically, it’s a device that only allows you to make use of the accumulated resources as soon as it’s plugged into the PC or mobile device.
The Manifestation of Security
It’s literally impossible to find a more secure option to keep the tokens. Since hardware wallets don’t imply a permanent Internet connection, they don’t expose the funds to hackers. In order to rob you, the cybercriminal will have to obtain the device itself. However, that’s not the limit. You can also set up a password as an additional layer of protection.
Hard pouches are the most secure ones because they can’t suffer from malware-infected PCs. It means that even if hackers attempt to know your codes when the device is plugged into the PC, they will fail.
A small tip: there is no need to stress over losing the hard-crypto wallet. Set up a secret backup code to retrieve the data whenever you need it.
What Hard Wallet Should You Choose?
When choosing the best hardware wallet, pay attention to the following parameters:
- Screen. There, you can observe all the crucial information that your wallet stores. This data is more reliable than the one displayed on the PC; therefore, it’s advisable to select the models that are equipped with a screen.
- Bluetooth. Models equipped with a Bluetooth feature excludes wires from the equation: connect the wallet to any device cordless.
- Price. Hard wallets aren’t free. The pricing differs depending on the equipped features, brand, and release year. However, don’t let the high costs trick you as they may not be the best fit for you.
Here are some popular models that are worth considering when choosing the wallet:
- Leger Nano X. Currently, the model is among the best ones in the market due to two chips that provide increased security, as well as it’s Bluetooth, multi-currency support, and a screen.
- Trezor T. It’s an improved device of the first-generation Trezor, which boasts a touch screen and connects to the devices with a cord.
- Ledger Nano S. This is a popular model with sufficient functionality that comes at an affordable price. It’s very compact and boasts a screen.
Online Crypto Wallet
An online wallet for storing crypto is also referred to as a hot wallet. At its core, it’s a digital crypto billfold that comes in the form of an app installed either on PCs or mobiles. Since this implies constant Internet connection, the wallet is vulnerable to security risks and cyberattacks.
With this in mind, many investors believe that it’s only suitable for daily-routine operations rather than long-term resource storing. Therefore, when looking for the best wallet for bitcoin, don’t rely solely on online solutions.
Online crypto wallets can be installed on various devices. For example:
- PCs – Electrum, Blockstream Green.
- iOS devices – Edge, BRD, etc.
- Android devices – Bitcoin Wallet, BRD, etc.
As you can see, some of them support several operating systems, which is tempting as you can access the account from any device.
The Safest Online Hot Wallets
- Electrum is a good crypto pouch that supports Windows, Mac, and Linux. It has been proving its reliability for almost ten years already. The ultimate features are security due to the offline computer access and hardware wallet support.
- Blockstream Green is on the list as it’s compatible almost with any device (PC, iOS, and Android mobiles and tablets) and is simple in operating.
- Edge is an app for both iOS and Android devices with a simple login procedure and automatic backup.
- BRD currently offers its services to Android owners; however, initially, it used to be an iPhone-specific wallet. The app boasts enhanced integrity and a user-friendly interface.
It’s not a simple task to select a wallet. Although you may think that one type is enough for you, in reality, you will find it more useful to have both. A screen and Bluetooth are key functionalities marking the best hardware wallet, while for hot ones – make security and accessibility your priorities.
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