NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR COINS

What’s a cryptocurrency wallet?

A crypto wallet is a software that lets you store, send, and receive crypto. There is a secret key and a secret key for every wallet. Your wallet can be found on the blockchain by its public key. Your general key is similar to an email address.

If someone wishes to transmit cryptocurrency, they have sent it to this address. A 12-word seed phrase can be used to make a 64-character string that is your private key. It’s like your public key’s password. It lets you get to the encryption that goes with your key.

Not your keys and not your money.

This is an old saying in the cryptocurrency world, and it means that you can’t control your crypto without having the private key to your wallet. If, for example, you keep your coins on an exchange, the exchange technologically has control over them, and a shady interaction could run away with them.

Someone could hack their dataset to get users’ private keys if your exchange is reliable. So, if you have a lot of cryptos, you should get your wallet with a private key that only you know.

What kind of wallets are there?

You should use one of four main kinds of wallets. If you want to hold a lot of coins, you shouldn’t be using web wallets or exchanges. The more you want to keep in your wallet and how long you want to keep it, the safer it needs to be.

Hardware/Offline/Cold Wallets:

This is a special device for keeping your cryptocurrency. This is among the safest ways to keep your cryptocurrencies. Ledger and Trezor are the two best hardware wallet brands. Please only buy this kind of wallet from a valid seller if you decide to buy one.

It would help if you never bought a used or second-hand wallet because some scammers maintain the private keys for themselves rather than wait until the buyer puts crypto into the device to steal their assets.

Mobile Wallet

Mobile wallets are applications that you can get for your phone and use to store money. Be careful about which apps you use because some can be custodial, which means they can keep your private key and regulate your coins. Don’t use these wallets.

Most cryptocurrencies have their very own official wallets, and the websites of most of them list trusted wallets. If you have many various types of cryptocurrency, you could use wallets that can hold more than one type. Both Exodus and Atomic are reliable apps that can be used to store a wide range of crypto assets.

Desktop Wallet

These are similar to mobile wallets, except that you set them up on your desktop instead of your phone. Desktop wallets are generally more advanced than digital payments, and they often have more features that can make transactions more private or give you more options when signing them.

Paper purse

When you publish your public and private keys or a QR code (so you can quickly scan it to add people to a software wallet) and keep them on paper, this is called a paper wallet. This is a safe way to keep your keys since the paper can’t be broken. If you go this path, you must import your keys into a software wallet to complete a transaction.

The Top Wallets for Cryptocurrency Holders

The two pocketbooks I recommend are the Ledger Nano and the Atomic Wallet. The Ledger Nano is a hardware wallet, and the Atomic Wallet can be used on your phone or computer. Each one is talked about in more depth below.

Ledger Nano is recommended as a hardware wallet (S and X)

This is the brand of hardware wallet that people worldwide use the most. They sell 2 distinct sticks right now. The Nano S is cheaper, but the Nano X can hold more cryptocurrencies. You should know that in July 2020, Ledger was the target of a cyberattack that led to a data breach.

Many private customer details were leaked, such as postal addresses, last names, first names, and phone numbers. But not a single coin was snatched because Ledger has no secret keys, so hackers can’t steal your crypto. This shows that a hardware wallet is a safe place to keep your money.

As was already said, you should never buy a used hardware wallet. Instead, buy a brand-new wallet from a seller you can trust to ensure that no one else has your healing seed.

Recommendation for a mobile/desktop wallet: Atomic Wallet

Atomic Wallet is a decentralized wallet that works with many different currencies and lets you switch between them. Atomic also lets you stake certain cryptocurrencies, which means you can accrue interest on them.

Need a Cryptocurrency Wallet?

A wallet is needed to send, receive, and store cryptocurrency. How you plan to use your coins should determine what kind of wallet you get. Use a hardware or paper wallet if you like to keep them for a long time.

If you want to use and have spent your coins, you can use a mobile or desktop wallet. You could also put most of your cryptocurrency on a Blockchain and maintain some on your phone. Be cautious with your assets and keep your keys where only users can find them. Good luck holding!