The first step before choosing the Bitcoin wallet best suited to your needs is to understand what a wallet is, and in particular the data it contains as well as its features.
How to secure and hold your cryptoassets is one of the most frequently asked questions by Coinhouse clients. Some people in the crypto community will find that the only secure choice is to install Bitcoin Core, a wallet that contains a full copy of the Blockchain, occupies 215GB of disk space and requires a 24-hour Internet connection. There are fortunately lighter and more accessible solutions available for everyone. We detail it below.
Wallet for beginners
For beginners ready to buy their first bitcoins, it may seem daunting to find themselves in front of new interfaces, which are different for each asset such as Bitcoin or Litecoin.
Coinomi is the perfect wallet for beginners: it is a free mobile application, available on both Android and Iphone, that offers an intuitive and easy user experience. It is compatible with more than a hundred blockchains and the corresponding assets. If an asset is not present on this application, it should be considered as a warning about the quality of the project. Finally, a computer version is also available, but less used.
Wallets for intermediates
For those who already master topics such as “seed”, “private key” or the notion of “gas” on Ethereum, more sophisticated wallets are available:
For Bitcoin, Greenaddress has built a solid reputation within the community by combining security, good functionality, and an intuitive user interface according to the standards in the ecosystem.
Free and open-source, the Greenaddress application is the best choice for users who want better control on their funds and to further explore the possibilities offered by the Bitcoin blockchain technology.
For Ethereum, we recommend two applications. First, mycrypto.com, a wallet on a website that allows in a few clicks to securely generate an Ethereum account and deposit ETHs and tokens, without any application to install. Mycrypto promotes pedagogy through numerous guides on good practices.
To begin to fully use the potential of the Ethereum blockchain and its decentralised applications, the Metamask wallet is essential. It is available as an extension integrated directly into the Google Chrome browser, so it is compatible with all platforms on which Chrome is available.
Metamask allows you to use any decentralised application in a simple and intuitive way, a perfect solution to explore decentralised finance proposals or adopt virtual cats.
Metamask is also natively integrated into the Brave browser, which also allows you to be paid in cryptocurrencies by watching ads.
Wallets for bigger investments
All the other wallets mentioned above are software, which, even if they have a good level of security, cannot ultimately claim to be more secure than the operating system on which they are installed. Unfortunately, viruses and other malwares make new victims every day, and wallets are interesting targets.
For significant investments, we recommend the highest level of security currently available: Ledger, a French firm with recognised expertise using secure ST micro group chips, produces the best solution to date: the hardware wallet. The hardware wallet is no longer a software, but a physical device. The Nano S and Nano X represent the best that is currently available to protect cryptoassets.
These devices are provided with a Ledger Live application that meets the majority of user needs, and Ledger products are compatible with any type of computer for the Nano S or smartphone for the Nano X.
However, care must be taken to order directly from Ledger or from an official retailer such as Coinhouse because saving a few euros for a “second-hand” product can pose serious risks to the integrity of the product.
Coinhouse also provides a step-by-step guide to configure a Ledger wallet.
Each of these solutions addresses different needs and levels of knowledge. It is even possible to use several wallets, for example a Coinomi in your phone, a Metamask on your browser and a Ledger Wallet in your home-sweet-home. The ultimate goal is to control the security of the funds to become its “own bank”.
