When we talk about the best BTC wallets, they may be different, according to your priorities, goals, and level of experience. We offer you our version of Top wallets for Bitcoin. Keep reading to know what our list of the best BTC wallets is and what makes them stand out!
Best BTC Wallets: Some History
Bitcoin is the first and so far the biggest crypto in terms of market cap. Its developer was Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains unknown. This name might stand for a person, a group of persons, or even a group of companies. Whatever he or they were, Satoshi’s idea was to offer a decentralized alternative to the traditional centralized banking system.
Bitcoin came to help us:
- send and receive funds in a peer-to-peer manner;
- reduce the costs of transactions;
- make money transfers faster and easier;
- protect users’ financial records and personal data;
- eliminate intermediaries (banks and payment systems) from the transfer process.
As you know, Bitcoin has no material form. There are some physical coins, but you cannot use them to pay for goods and services, they are pure collectibles. Thus, to be able to do all these wonderful things, we should have one of the best BTC wallets available on the market.
Best BTC Wallets: Basics
We can group all of them into 2 big categories — hot and cold. If you are not familiar with this topic, we recommend you reading this wallet guide.
Depending on its type and purpose, a BTC wallet may look like a device, desktop software, sheet of paper or mobile application. Our list of the best Bitcoin wallets will contain 2 hardware wallets and 2 mobile ones.
Okay, now we can start.
Ledger Nano S Hardware Wallet: Overview
No list of top wallets for Bitcoins is complete without Ledger Nano S.
It’s a hardware wallet that is extremely popular among cryptocurrency users. It happens for a reason. Ledger Nano S is 99,99% secure because your funds stay offline and thus are totally immune to a hacker’s attack. All the devices by this well-reputed French manufacturer run on BOLOS operating system.
Setting Up Ledger Nano S
This procedure is easy even for a beginner. Find the cable in the package the wallet comes in and connects the device to your PC. It will offer you to create a new wallet and set a PIN-code for it. Don’t forget this code — you will need it every time you use the device.
The same box contains a blank list (24 numbers for twenty-four words). You must write down the given words in the right order. Together, they form your private key. When you forget your PIN-code (it happens to all humans), you will get this list out of a safe or a bank vault and regain access to your BTC holdings. It would be enough to enter the word the device ask you for. For instance, #17.
What Coins It Supports
The list of supported coins is impressive. It includes 1184 cryptos if you believe the manufacturer. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Ledger Nano Pros
- Extremely easy to set up and use;
- Elegant but humble design;
- Allows installing up to 18 third-party applications;
- Can store over a thousand coins;
- Compatibility with many different software wallets;
- In the hardware sector, one of the best Bitcoin wallets for such quality ($59).
Ledger Nano S Cons
- It’s not open-source hardware (in case it’s important for you);
- If your recovery list gets lost, you have a problem.
Trezor One Hardware Wallet: Overview
This compact wallet comes second in our Top BTC wallets list. Unlike Ledger, it doesn’t look like a generic flash drive. The design of Trezor is rather recognizable. You can see it as a pro or con, depending on your character and environment.
Trezor works with Android devices running Trezor Wallet and similar apps. This hardware wallet lets any BTC holder sleep well at night — your private keys never leave the device and thus never face the dangers of the Internet. Even if malware finds its way to your laptop or PC, the money will remain unreachable for hackers.
Your PIN-code also stays within the wallet. This code is up to 9 digits long. If an outsider (or yourself, it makes no difference) enters a wrong PIN, your Trezor will make them wait until they can try again. The more incorrect guesses there are, the bigger the delays. It’s a very effective protection measure — normally, attackers or thieves cannot wait for months to lay their hands on your funds.
The wallet generates a special recovery phrase that consists of 24 words. It’s an offline process — the phrase never gets exposed. To recover access, the device will ask you to enter these words in random order, so it would take yours to crack it.
Setting Up Trezor One
Using Trezor One is simple, you can do without any instructions. But here they are.
Connect your Trezor to your computer. Wait till a PIN-code appears on the screen of the wallet and enter it. For your fund’s safety, this code changes every time you send anything. Due to this measure, a hacker is unable to grab your money, as he won’t know the fresh PIN.
You can also set up a passphrase and enter it every time after the correct PIN-code, for better protection. There’s no way you can recover this passphrase if you lose it, so keep it secret.
What Coins It Supports
This wallet supports 1064 coins, making crypto investors with diverse portfolios happy. Among them are:
Trezor One Pros
- One of the best BTC wallets for a dummy, really easy to set up and use;
- Compatible with all the major OS;
- Your private key stays hidden;
- Random 9-digit PIN-codes add protection;
- Cool appearance;
- Good price ($75).
Trezor One Cons
- We miss popular coins, including XRP;
- The recognizable design lets people know that you are dealing with crypto.
MyCelium mobile wallet: Overview
This mobile app was born back in 2008. These were the early years of Bitcoin, and few people knew what it meant. The group of MyCelium developers believed in the bright future of blockchain and decided to create an application for dealing with crypto through a mobile. It still remains on of the best BTC wallets for mobile devices.
Public opinion (4.5 stars in the Google Play Store) reflects the popularity of MyCelium wallet. There are thousands of happy users with positive feedback and a few disappointing ones. So, we can say MyCelium is a Bitcoin community favorite.
Setting Up MyCelium
Open the app and have a look at your BTC wallet. There are buttons for creating a QR-code, sending/receiving funds, and view your transaction history. This history is attached to the blockchain explorer, so you can check the status of your transfer with a click. For your convenience, MyCelium also displays the exchange rate.
Like most wallets, Mycelium uses a PIN-code. You need this code to open the app, make a money transfer and export your private keys. There is also a backup phrase of 12 words. It will restore access to your private keys if you forget your code/lose/damage your phone. As you see, Mycelium uses the same protection system as the top-secure hardware wallets. It’s a big plus for those paranoid about safety.
MyCelium offers an advanced system for key management. You can monitor the balance of any of your wallets, including hardware and paper models. In the second case, just scan the QR code from the paper with your phone.
This wallet comes with various features to make every function easier. For instance, if you are in a dark BTC-friendly bar, you can use a backlight to scan their QR code. There are also many settings you can use to make the wallet more personalized.
MyCelium Pros
- Suitable for both beginners and pros;
- Advanced features for more experienced users;
- High level of security;
- Good review, big community;
- The convenience of use.
MyCelium Cons
- As any hot wallet, it cannot guarantee 100% protection of your funds;
- No push notifications;
- The address book could have more settings.
Channels Mobile Wallet: Overview
Finally, we want you to meet a new decentralized wallet by Exscudo. It’s a dark horse, but worth betting on. Let’s see what makes it so special.
Channels users can easily manage a wide range of popular currencies, both digital and fiat. The list includes BTC, ETH, XRP, USD, EURO and EON (in-house currency that fuels the Exscudo blockchain).
Channels app features an advanced security level due to the very structure of the Exscudo network. But probably the best thing we love about Channels is a seamless match of a crypto/fiat wallet and end-to-end encryption messenger. It allows sending and receiving money right from the chat.
Another advantage of Channels is fast speed — it normally takes several seconds to process a payment.
Setting Up Channels
- Download the Channels version for your phone OS.
Open the wallet and swipe your finger around the grid that appears on the screen. The wallet uses this freestyle pattern to create a unique private and public key. - Create a unique username (it’s not really hard). Then, enter a PIN-code of 4 digits. The wallet will also ask you to provide your phone number and send you a one-time SMS code to confirm it. When it’s done, click on the Wallet icon. In this section, you have all the available wallets and can view the transaction history.
- To start a conversation, click on the Chats icon. As you are a new user, your contact list is blank. You can contact your Channels friends by sending them your EON-ID. Otherwise, you can give the app access to your contact list.
- For any question or problem, you have in-app customer support. To start a chat with support guys, go to Settings and click on Support.
Channels Pros
- Decentralized wallet with all ensuing benefits;
- Supports most popular crypto and fiat currencies, BTC included;
- Clear interface, ideal for daily use;
- In-app private chat for talking about money and making transactions;
- In-app support chat.
Channel Cons
- Decentralization means a higher personal responsibility level;
Originally published at Exscudo Blog. Check it out for more articles on crypto, blockchain, finance, trading, and technology.
