Crypto Wallets & Bitcoin Wallets

What is a Bitcoin Wallet?

A so-called "Bitcoin wallet" is the place where you store your Bitcoins. Basically, a Bitcoin wallet is no different from a regular wallet where you keep your money. There are differences, however, just like with traditional money storage, which is usually either in our bank account, savings account, or wallet. In Bitcoin, the mobile Bitcoin wallet is the wallet in your pocket, the hardware Bitcoin wallet is the bank, and your lending account is your passbook. Then there is the Bitcoin desktop wallet like electrum bitcoin wallet or bitcoin core which is only recommended for experienced users and the Bitcoin online wallet like Coinbase.

How to get a bitcoin wallet?

Getting a bitcoin address is very easy because all you need to do is register with Binance or Coinbase and you have your own bitcoin wallet. The simplest way is not the most secure because bitcoin wallets have a public key which is your bitcoin wallet address and a private key with which you can access the bitcoins and the latter is held by the exchange in this case! A bitcoin hardware wallet is the safest way to store bitcoins because you get both the public and private keys secured by the device.

How does a Bitcoin Wallet work?

On the blockchain, which acts as a kind of common public ledger, all Bitcoin transactions are carried out by all Bitcoin wallets. So when you send Bitcoin, there is an exchange of value between at least two wallets! The respective Bitcoin wallets then use their secret data to sign and validate transactions! Through this process, called Proof-of-Work, you don't have to trust any bank, but trust is replaced by verification!

How Much Does a Bitcoin Wallet Cost?

This depends pretty much on where you have made a Bitcoin Wallet. All Bitcoin-Wallets except the Hardware Wallets, which are also the most secure ones, are free of charge aka for Free! Even the Best Hardware Wallets are in between a $60-$120 price range.

What is a Crypto Wallet?

A crypto wallet is not very different from a Bitcoin wallet because technically Altcoins (Alternative Coins) are all either hard forks or soft forks of Bitcoin and if not then they have taken the idea from Bitcoin and therefore technically you don't really distinguish between a Bitcoin or crypto wallet.

Understanding Crypto Wallets

Just like traditional wallets, Crypto and Bitcoin wallets come in different designs and styles! These types of Bitcoin wallets are available:

Desktop Wallets

Desktop wallets are programs that are installed on the computer and in most cases first download the entire blockchain history to synchronize the wallet. There are also "light" versions of desktop wallets where you don't have to download the whole blockchain and the wallet is ready to use faster. This type of wallet lets you store your private keys, but is also not protected against hackers and computer damage, so a backup should always be made. The most popular Web Wallets are Bitcoin Core, MultiBit, Armory, and Electrum.

Online Wallets

Web wallets are websites where you can access your cryptocurrency from anywhere you have internet. As mentioned above, however, the motto "Not Your Keys, Not Your Crypto" applies here. Very popular Online Wallets are Coinbase or Blockchain!

Mobile Wallets

Basically, desktop and mobile wallets do not have much in terms of functionality, except that a desktop wallet is not as portable as a mobile wallet where you can scan a QR code (Quick Response) with your cell phone to pay in stores. There is a lot of scam/malware in mobile wallets so we recommend using only the good and big ones like TrustWallet (belongs to Binance) or Coinbase!

Paper Wallets

Paper wallets are not so trendy anymore and are only used by experienced users. On bitaddress.org you can generate the address and then get private and public keys print-ready. It is recommended to do all this on an offline PC that never goes to the Internet to increase security!

Hardware Wallets

Our favorite and the most secure bitcoin wallet by a long shot because let's face it, everyone buys a leather wallet to keep their credit cards and money safe and it's the same with Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies because they are safest in your hand and with a hardware wallet you hold the Bitcoins in your hand! If you lose the wallet you have thanks to the seed and the password still access and could secure your coins! These devices are also immune to hacker attacks because the hacker has to steal the device itself and then still needs the password! The Best Bitcoin Hardware Wallets are from Trezor and Ledger!

How to move Bitcoin from Coinbase to Wallet?

You need to send the Bitcoins from Coinbase to the Wallet Address of your choice. The Bitcoins are always in your Wallet on Coinbase and can only be moved by sending it to a Hardware Wallet for example. We recommend always checking the first 5 and last 10 digits of your Bitcoin Address to ensure you have the right one as once the Bitcoins are sent there are gone!

How to recover a bitcoin wallet?

This depends very much on the type of Wallet you are using! In general, every Wallet you create/install has a Seed Phrase which is in most cases 20 or 30 different random words in a specific row. This Seed Phrase needs to be written down and stored safely. If you now install a new Wallet the software asks you "New" or "Existing Wallet" and from there it is an easy way!

How to add money to a Bitcoin Wallet?

Loading money onto a Bitcoin Wallet varies from nation to nation. In Germany, for example, you can deposit on Coinbase with your bank and on binance, for example, the whole thing works both with bank and credit card. We do not recommend sending money anywhere that is not established in this industry otherwise you run the risk of losing everything.

What to consider when choosing a Bitcoin Wallet?

Below we list a few points that will make it easier for you to pick the right Wallet for the right use-case

How do you plan to use Cryptocurrencies?

This is key for not getting Hacked! You should always keep the main amounts of your Bitcoins or any other Cryptocurrency in the safe haven territory on a Hardware Wallet! A small amount can be kept on the mobile wallet for daily transactions.

Reputation and Reviews

Always Check Reviews about Wallets and their Reputation on Portals like this here and never use Wallets where you find even one bad Reputation or Review!

Backup possibilities

Many Desktop Wallets have a file as a Wallet File which we recommend you to backup which makes it all safer. Backups are also your Seeds which we mentioned above should always be kept in a safe place and ideally backed up separately.

Key Management

Take care who is in control of your Private Keys of the Bitcoin Wallet you use as the one who controls them is also in control of your bitcoin same as you are and can eventually lead to a loss. The best-case scenario is that you choose a Crypto or Bitcoin Wallet where you are in control of the Private Key to not get compromised!

Bitcoin wallets and security

Potential problems:

Losing the Private Key (Paper Wallet) Losing the password (Desktop Wallet) Losing the seed (Hardware Wallet) The Exchange or Wallet Provider Scams you (Online/Desktop) Hackers (All Wallets) Viruses that compromise you Keys (Trojan) Losing the Mobile or Laptop where the Wallet was installed (Mobile/Desktop)

Recommendations:

Use always a Backup Use Hardware Wallets on safe Computers You must always have the seed 2 times to be sure Check everything twice, it costs you nothing!

Conclusion

All in all, we find Bitcoin wallets much better than a bank account because with Bitcoin wallets you become your own bank and the trust we give to banks is replaced by verification. That is the beauty of the blockchain and Bitcoin! There is a wallet that is perfect for every occasion because in a bar you pay with your phone and rarely have your hardware or desktop wallet with you.

We recommend everyone the mobile wallet from "Trust" because Binance is behind it, the whole thing is not only decentralized but also bombproof and protected by biometric!

For the lion's share of your cryptocurrencies, we strongly recommend a hardware wallet from Ledger or Trezor, which can be seen quasi like the Trezor in the bank!

Desktop wallets are in our opinion dinosaurs and are therefore no longer used as often as, for example, mobile wallets that were very trendy at the time.