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Cryptocurrency is more popular than ever, with a global user base numbering more than 290 million people. When you buy crypto, you need a safe place to store the digital keys that secure your assets. Crypto wallets are the best tool for the job, although they work differently than tucking cash into a billfold.
With countless options, selecting the right type of crypto wallet for your needs is the first step. Crypto wallets support different types of coins—most hold Bitcoin (BTC), some only handle Ethereum (ETH)—and they come in two main flavors: Hot wallets are connected to the internet, while cold wallets live offline.
Creating a Bitcoin wallet is as easy as installing software on your mobile device or laptop/desktop.
When you install the app, your Bitcoin wallet is automatically created. You can then receive bitcoin to your wallet immediately, store it safely, and use it as you please.
These are few recommended and trustworthy platforms where you can create a trustworthy crypto wallet and secure connection to your bank account.
Blockchain technology has made digital currency transactions increasingly useful, practical and accessible. However, as the number of crypto users has gone up, so has the rate of cyber theft related to cryptocurrencies. That’s why it’s important to understand how to safekeep your crypto by learning about crypto wallets, how they work and what to look for in one, whether it’s digital or physical.
Cryptocurrency wallets, or simply crypto wallets, are places where traders store the secure digital codes needed to interact with a blockchain. They don’t actively store your cryptocurrencies, despite what their name may lead you to believe.
Crypto wallets need to locate the crypto associated with your address in the blockchain, which is why they must interact with it. In fact, crypto wallets are not as much a wallet as they are ledgers: They function as an owner’s identity and account on a blockchain network and provide access to transaction history.
Cryptocurrency exists as nothing more than a string of code on a larger blockchain. When you purchase a crypto, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, your proof of ownership is based on a public key and a private key.
The public key is like your bank account number: It tells you where your crypto is, but it doesn’t provide access to it. The private key identifies you as the “true owner.”
If you lose the private key, you could lose access to your crypto. Likewise, any person who gets ahold of your private keys has full access to your crypto.
There’s a popular expression in the crypto world, “Not your keys, not your coins.” If you don’t control your keys, you don’t have full access to your crypto assets.
When someone sends bitcoin, ether, dogecoin or any other type of digital currency to your crypto wallet, you aren’t actually transferring any coins. What they’re doing is signing off ownership thereof to your wallet’s address. That is to say, they are confirming that the crypto on the blockchain no longer belongs to their address, but yours. Two digital codes are necessary for this process: a public key and a private key.
A public key is a string of letters and numbers automatically generated by the crypto wallet provider. For example, a public key could look like this: B1fpARq39i7L822ywJ55xgV614.
A private key is another string of numbers and letters, but one that only the owner of the wallet should know.
Think of a crypto wallet as an email account. To receive an email, you need to give people your email address. This would be your public key in the case of crypto wallets, and you need to share it with others to be a part of any blockchain transaction. However, you would never give someone the password to access your email account. For crypto wallets, that password is the equivalent of your private key, which under no circumstances should be shared with another person.
Using these two keys, crypto wallet users can participate in transactions without compromising the integrity of the currency being traded or of the transaction itself. The public key assigned to your digital wallet must match your private key to authenticate any funds sent or received. Once both keys are verified, the balance in your crypto wallet will increase or decrease accordingly.
Crypto wallets can be broadly classified into two groups: hot wallets and cold wallets. The main difference is that hot wallets are always connected to the internet while cold wallets are kept offline.
Hot wallets are digital tools whose connection to the internet cannot be severed. Users can access these pieces of software from a phone or desktop computer to monitor their currencies and trade them. Some hot wallets are also accessible through the web or as browser extensions, meaning you can use them on a wide variety of devices.
The greatest advantage of hot wallets is their convenience. Your public and private keys are stored and encrypted on your wallet’s respective app or website, so unless they're limited to a specific device, you can access them anywhere with an online connection. This ease of access makes them ideal for those who trade more often and are considering spending bitcoins.
Because hot wallets are always accessible online, they also face a greater risk of cyberattacks. Hackers can exploit hidden vulnerabilities in the software that supports your wallet or use malware to break into the system. This is particularly dangerous for web wallets hosted by crypto exchanges, which are bigger targets overall for crypto thieves.
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Cold wallets store your digital keys offline on a piece of hardware or sheet of paper. Hardware wallets usually come in the form of a USB drive which lets you buy, sell and trade crypto while it’s connected to a computer. With “paper” wallets, your keys may be accessible via print-out QR codes, written on a piece of paper, or engraved on some other material, such as metal.
Cold storage wallets are deliberately designed to be hard to hack. Unless the wallet owner falls for some sort of phishing attack, hackers have no way of obtaining the owner’s keys remotely. For something like a hardware wallet, a thief would first have to obtain the USB drive used to access your crypto and then somehow crack its password.
This high level of security may lend itself to mistakes on the part of wallet owners. If you lose your USB drive or sheet of paper and don’t have your private key backed up somewhere, you’ve effectively lost access to your crypto. Compared to hot wallets, which make it possible to regain access through a seed phrase, recovering access on a cold wallet is impossible in most cases due to the two-key security system.
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Setting up a cryptocurrency wallet is a generally straightforward process that takes no more than a couple of minutes. The first step is to determine the kind of wallet you want to use since hot wallets and cold wallets have different set up processes. Then, you’ll need to do the following:
For hot wallets…
For cold wallets…
When looking for a crypto wallet, it’s very important to first ask yourself:
After exploring the above questions, we put together some general suggestions for what to look for in a crypto wallet:
What is the best crypto wallet?
The best crypto wallet should be easy to use and support a large number of coins and tokens. Hot wallets should include strong security tools, like two or multi-factor authentication and multi-signature support, while charging minimal or no fees. Cold wallets should be available at a reasonable price point and supported by a variety of hot wallets to facilitate trading.
According to our research, some of the best crypto wallets are Coinbase Wallet, Ledger, Exodus and Trust Wallet.
How to get a crypto wallet
The first step is to understand the types of wallets to know which one fits your trading needs. To get a "hot" or software wallet, you must download the software to your mobile or desktop device and, in the case of custodial wallets, go through the registration process. To get a cold crypto wallet, you'll need to buy the physical product, which is generally done through a brand's online store, and wait for it to arrive at your home.