The Best Wallets for Storing Crypto and Some Stories of How Carelessness Can Cost Millions
18 de May de 2022
18 de May de 2022
Money has changed a lot throughout history — silver coins, gold bars, notes… And so have changed the places we use to store it — chests, safes, under the bed and other clever hideouts around the house or even scattered around the world, safely kept by a treasure map. The latest one: crypto wallets.
You may not have any token yet but, rest assured, you will soon. Money’s last change is here to stay. Here are some of the wallets people trust the most to keep their crypto safe.
Before we get started with the list of the best wallets to store your crypto, let’s start with something more basic: What’s a wallet? A wallet is a software that allows you to access blockchain and carry out transactions, like sending or receiving cryptocurrencies or tokens.
There’s a great variety of wallets in the world, but we can split them up into three main groups: hot wallets, cold wallets and exchange wallets.
Hot wallets are connected to the internet and work as apps or browser extensions. For this type of wallet you need to create a password from skratch — the famous seed that has 12 random words that you have to put in the correct order in order to prove you are the legitimate owner of the money… and you have to do this every time you log in. But, be careful! There is no “Forgot your password?” button, so make sure you write it down somewhere and keep it safe. You don’t want to end up like Stefan Thomas, a German engineer who forgot the order of his seed and has now one last chance to put the words in the correct order and access his wallet with 250 million dollars.
Cold wallets are physical wallets. Hardware devices with no connection to the internet that allow you to store your crypto, resting assured that no one will hack it… But there’s still the chance you lose it! Like James Howells did with his cold wallet, worth 315 million euros. He has now quitted his job to look for his wallet in a landfill full-time. Cheer up, James!
Exchange wallets are not wallets per se, but they work similarly. Exchange wallets are exchange platforms who guard your crypto and have a wallet option. This is the least safe methodology — so, unless you are as careless as James or Stefan, it’s better if the responsibility of guarding your wallet rests on you alone.
Or, at least, the ones people trust the most.
Electrum
The most popular around the world. Besides being easy to use, this wallet uses Lightning Network, a protocol that allows you to operate with less commission, among other benefits. Electrum uses two-factor authentication, which improves safety and it’s compatible with cold wallets, though not wit iOS.
Bitcoin Core
Another one of the first wallets to exist and who have won the trust of a majority of users. Although usability is not as intuitive as Electrum, security and reliability make up for it. Bitcoin Core is only available for computers, but there’s also Bitcoin Wallet, which is like an alternative for smartphones.
Metamask
Metamask is the most used Ethereum wallet around the world. This wallet allows you to carry out transactions with Ether, Ethereum and NFTs. It’s compatible with different ecosystems, like Binance Smart Chain and cold wallets, offering a great variety of options for its users.
MyEtherWallet
Aka MEW. This is an open source platform that allows you to create wallets for Ethereum tokens. Many users have MyEtherWallet and Metamask at the same time, since they can be linked to each other and, in this way, they can take advantage of the functions offered by MEW and the compatibility possibilities of Metamask.
Coinomi
One of the safest wallets in the market. No doubt about it. Independently of the coin or token you want to store, this wallet will help you, since it supports more than 1770 blockchain assets, even exclusive coins.
Exodus
One of the most popular multi-crypto wallets in the world. If you have different currencies and tokens and you want to store it all in the same place, Exodus is a great choice. Its customer service is one of its highlights. But, on the down side, it has no two-factor authentication, which makes it a bit more vulnerable.
Ledger
This wallet works as a pendrive. In order to use it, you will have to install a piece of software on your computer. After that, you will be able to store up to 30 different types of crypto or tokens.
Trezor
The cold wallet par excellence, without a doubt. It has a touchscreen with a very intuitive interface. Security is one of its most valuable characteristics and it has a recovery seed.