A Crypto wallet is an digital wallet that allows you to easily make payments online or on apps directly from your smartphone or laptop. But which wallet to choose and how to configure your Crypto wallet? Find out all you need to know about wallets below.
In recent years, with the development of digital technologies and the digitization of financial assets, online portfolios have developed, with new major advances. Although the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies can be done through specialized platforms, the secure custody of portfolio assets often requires new features. This is how we have witnessed in recent years the emergence of a large category of "wallets", physical or online, in order to secure digital assets. Wallets now even make it possible to secure NFTs, that is, assets such as digital works of art.
WHAT IS A CRYPTOCURRENCY WALLETS?
A cryptocurrency wallet is a digital system intended to receive, send and especially keep its crypto currencies. Initially used with applications such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay through traditional currencies (euro, dollar, etc.), wallets have proven to be particularly innovative in the cryptocurrency sector. The objective of active crypto wallets is to make the holding of its cryptocurrencies as secure as possible using specialized software, which is essential given the fact that most crypto exchange platforms are not available. not wallets.
The use of wallets around the world is growing. According to Juniper RESEARCH, an analyst of tech industries, nearly 2.3 billion people used cryptocurrency wallets in 2019. The number of users could grow by 75% by 2024.
HOW DOES A CRYPTO WALLET WORK?
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, a wallet allows you to secure what we call your private keys, that is, the code that ensures ownership of your assets over the network. Take the example of Bitcoin: it is secured by two digital keys. A first key is public and attests to the uniqueness of the cryptocurrency held in the computer network. The public key allows the user to have other cryptocurrencies sent to them, much like the RIB for a regular bank account. Then, a second private key allows the holder to keep his assets and to ensure the "ownership" of the crypto currencies in question. The private key thus allows access to its cryptos in the wallet. A private key is generated randomly, by a sequence of 256 digits of 0 or 1. The preservation of the private key is the key issue behind the security of cryptocurrencies.
There are currently two types of crypto wallets: hardware wallets (physical wallets) and software wallets (online wallets: application, software, web, etc.). Crypto wallets are software contained on the equivalent of a secure USB key to keep your keys and access to your wallet. The advantage of physical crypto wallets is their great security, but some wallets require you to connect the device to the computer each time you use them. For their part, software wallets are platforms available online (mobile application, site, etc.) allowing you to keep your various keys securely. Software wallets are more easily accessible and easier to use, but the risks are a bit higher.
WHAT TYPE OF WALLET TO CHOOSE?
Depending on the size of your portfolio in cryptocurrencies and the part intended to be secured, it may be more or less advantageous to go for a hardwallet or an online crypto wallets. While hardware wallets, are open to everyone, and are generally more popular with very large wallets. At the same time, software wallets, which are easier to access, are generally more popular with smaller wallets looking for flexibility and security. We will come back here to 3 Hardware wallets and 3 online crypto wallets available to date.
3 FAMOUS HARD WALLETS CRYPTO
The hardware wallet market has seen the arrival of many professional investors in recent years. Several brands stand out, including mainly the French Ledger which has sold several million copies, or Trezor and some less well-known brands such as KeepKey.
Ledger
The French brand Ledger, created in 2011 and developed from 2017, is one of the best-known brands in the world of crypto wallets. Sold over three million copies, the most famous key is the Ledger Nano, with two models (Nano X and Nano S). The much requested Ledger Nano S key secures the main cryptocurrencies available today. Access also allows you to view your wallet on a smartphone in a completely secure manner, all operations being validated physically on the key.
More upscale, the Ledger Nano X key can secure and use more than 1,800 cryptos and tokens. Access to his wallet is also available with a Bluetooth connection between the application and the key, which prevents the risk of hacking.
Trezor
Trezor is a competitor to Ledger and offers relatively similar solutions. Trezor was launched in 2014 and offers two main models: Trezor One and Trezor T. Trezor One provides access to its keys via smartphone or computer and provides access to more than 1,000 cryptos and tokens. On the other hand, Trezor offers a very high-end and very secure model with Trezor T, which provides access to keys only via the wallet and has more elaborate security systems. The level of security and flexibility thus depends on the model chosen.
KeepKey
Less famous but offering a physical crypto wallet, the KeepKey wallet also offers to secure its assets. The interface can be managed using the associated platform, Shapeshift. While the supply of crypto assets is smaller, the features and security systems used are relatively comparable to Ledger or Trezor.
3 FAMOUS ONLINE CRYPTO WALLETS
For users of cryptocurrencies looking for flexibility and security, it is possible to have access to online crypto wallets (mobile application, site, software, etc.). More exactly, there are mobile wallets like Trust Wallet (application), online wallets like Guarda or Coinbase Wallet (website), or even Software wallets stored on its devices like Exodus or Eluctrum.
Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase has opened up an online wallet offering, offering to store private keys outside of its servers. With the ability to secure and exchange over 500 cryptos and tokens, Coinbase wallet allows you to transfer your crypto assets from the Coinbase platform free of charge. Coinbase wallet is a solution with great flexibility for a large number of users, but nevertheless remains a connected wallet.
Trust Wallet
With more than 10 million users and launched in November 2017, the Trust Wallet application is specially designed to secure, buy or sell digital assets. Trust Wallet provides access to a wide range of crypto currencies and also allows staking. We will highlight the flexibility and speed offered by this solution, the security of which is more important than on simple platforms. However, Trust Wallet remains a connected application and can show flaws. In addition, there is no website that would allow you to access your wallet via the Internet.
MetaMask
With more than a million users worldwide, MetaMask is a wallet specializing in crypto currencies based on Ethereum technology (ETH) and which secures numerous assets. MetaMask allows you to buy, sell, and transfer your assets. Accessible free of charge, the wallet is also available on smartphone, Chrome, Brave, etc. Note that it is also possible to transfer assets directly to hardware wallets, in particular to Ledger Nano S and Trezor.