Everyone is talking about cryptocurrency and how it can make you a millionaire in no time. But not many people know that one of the most important things you need to have before dealing in cryptocurrencies is a crypto wallet. In recent years, we have seen many people jumping on the bandwagon of cryptocurrency and some making huge profits while some are getting in debt. So it’s no risk-free trading.
But if you are inclined to try your hands on cryptocurrency, you should read this blog, as we will show you some of the best crypto wallets in 2021. Also, these crypto wallets will keep your money safe. In addition to this, you can make money just by keeping your crypto in the wallet, and we will also show you how it’s done. So let’s get things started.
What are Crypto Wallets?
A crypto wallet works exactly like your physical wallet, and it keeps your private keys i.e. your passwords safe and accessible only to you. With these private keys, you will be able to send and receive cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. For many people, crypto wallets are only present in the online world, and they have no physical presence. But there are physical crypto wallets like Ledger, which look like a USB stick. With these crypto wallets, you can make purchases on the online market like you do by using your credit card.
Why is Crypto Wallet Important?
A crypto wallet doesn’t store crypto in itself as all the crypto that you have or secured in your mining is recorded on the blockchain. But to access your crypto in the blockchain, you need to have a private key. If you lose your private key, you won’t be able to access the crypto that you have, no matter what. That’s why you need to have a trusted crypto wallet company or a website that keeps your data safe from potential hackers.
What are Different Types of Crypto Wallets?
The definition of a crypto wallet differs from person to person. A crypto wallet holds your private key information for you. Keeping private keys written in the physical form will keep your cryptocurrencies safe and harder to attack. On the other hand, if someone can get their hands on the list of your private keys, even then, it will be hard for them to comprehend what these keys mean. These types of crypto wallets are known as paper wallets.
Apart from paper wallets, we have two majorly used forms of crypto wallets. The first one is a hardware wallet, the one we previously talked about. The second is an online wallet which you will get to know more about in this article.
Difference Between Hardware Crypto Wallet and Online Crypto Wallet
Now here you need to decide which one of them is a better option for you, both provide an ample amount of security to you. With a hardware wallet, you get a thumb drive which you keep in a safe place. When you want to use the crypto, you need to connect that thumb drive to the computer and then access the cryptocurrency that you have. This type of hardware wallet is used to balance out the security and the convenience.
Now the most used form of crypto wallets is online wallets. In an online wallet, the key will be stored in an application or on the software. Once you successfully sign in to the wallet, you can use the crypto wallet as your online banking account. It is that simple, and there is no extra hassle that you need to take care of.
Each of these crypto wallets has its benefits and disadvantages. You need to find which has the better benefits. Paper and hardware wallets are hard to get corrupted or infected by the virus. But they have a limited function, and if they somehow get lost or destroyed, there is no way one can retrieve them.
Online crypto wallets are one of the easiest ways to start using cryptocurrencies. Here, every piece of information of yours is present online. So the hacker will be kept at bay only by the sheer protection of your crypto wallet provider. As a result, you need to think twice about the security of the crypto wallet provider before you sign up on their platform.
How to Secure Your Crypto Wallet?
Given below are some of the best methods that will keep your crypto wallets secure and safe.
1. Use Cold Wallet
One of the first things we would like you to do is create a cold wallet. A cold wallet doesn’t connect to the Internet. As a result, they are safe from cybercriminals. Cold wallets are also known as hardware wallets. These wallets are some of the best ways to keep your cryptocurrency secure, as they come with encryption and make sure that your keys are safe in every way possible.
2. Use Secure Internet
It is completely fine if you want to use the online crypto wallets which your friend told you about. But when you are using that wallet, make sure that the Internet connection is secure, and when using the crypto wallet for trading, you should never access it on public WiFi. Likewise, when you are accessing the crypto wallet, be extra secure and use a VPN connection. With the use of a VPN, your IP address will be changed, making the browsing safe from cyber attacks.
3. Maintain Multiple Wallets
There are no limitations to the number of wallets one can have. So you can quickly diversify your crypto investments using multiple wallets. If you use cryptocurrencies quite extensively online, you can use one of your crypto wallets for daily transactions and keep the rest of the crypto in a separate wallet. This will help you hide your portfolio and will secure your crypto money in case of a data breach.
Top 10 Crypto Wallets to Use in 2022
We have listed below some of the best crypto wallets that you should try in 2021. These wallets can provide you with immense security and safety. So go through their benefits and features to see which one suits you the most.
1. Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the best platforms where you can buy, sell and even hold cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, if you are living in the US, you can connect one of your US bank accounts and quickly send dollars to your Coinbase wallet for investing and trading purposes. But if you are not into all the trading and investing from this platform, you can still use its wallet without facing any problems.
Being an investment and trading company in the crypto market, Coinbase spends a lot of money to keep its platform safe and secure for the people to trade in cryptocurrencies. The same level of online security is given to the crypto wallets of this platform. So you are getting the best of the best security features. Furthermore, it comes with the two-step verification where you need to log in using your user ID and password, and then a code will be sent to you on your phone or the email ID which you need to provide to sign-in on the wallet. This makes your wallet more secure and keeps threats at bay.
On some coins, you can even earn some interest if you keep them in their wallet for some time. One thing you need to take care of is the charges which you have to pay for the transactions. Apart from this, Coinbase is quite a practical solution for having an online crypto wallet of your own.
2. Binance
Binance is said to be one of the oldest cryptocurrency platforms which used to work on Bitcoin in the early days. But now it has also started dealing in other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Cardano, Tether, Polkadot, and many others. At present, there are 150 types of cryptocurrencies that the website is accepting. It has a dedicated API which makes the integration of your current application pretty hassle-free. It comes with a wide range of tools that helps you do tons of things with your crypto investment.
Moreover, it is said to be one of the safest Bitcoin wallets on the Internet. The UI and the application work great with Web, iOS, Android, and PC clients. You can choose if you want to keep the Binance trading interface to the bare minimum, or you want to go for the advanced trading interface, which has tons of information but requires a skillful user to operate. There are more than 1,400,000 transactions taking place on this platform. So one can say that it is the safest place to keep your cryptocurrencies.
3. Exodus
Exodus is an online mobile and desktop wallet which comes with a very minimalistic user interface. It has a built-in exchange, so you can easily trade or invest your crypto using the same platform. Besides, you can even swap your cryptocurrencies between over 100 cryptocurrencies.
Its ease of use makes this wallet an excellent platform for beginners. Moreover, it has one of the best customer support, which is something you need when you are just starting as a crypto holder. On the other hand, if you have been doing crypto trading for a while now, you might miss some features. One of the things that we find odd about this crypto wallet is that it’s a closed source wallet, which is quite against the idea on which the cryptocurrency was made famous in the first place. As a result, a user needs to rely on the security and hack-proof systems that are provided by Exodus.
4. Unocoin Wallet
This is one of the best wallet and crypto exchange services in India. The wallet is an application-based cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to other users who are on the same platform to increase the accessibility of the users. All the top cryptocurrencies are supported in this wallet, and it runs on both iOS and Android devices. It comes with a two-factor authentication which is based on the OTP to avoid any unauthorized transactions.
There are multiple buying plans which come with the Unocoin wallet. These buying plans will add funds to your wallet. Once the company sees a user making transactions and investment using their wallet, they will upgrade the account so that the user will enjoy the premium features. Also, you will find that it comes with an integrated merchant gateway to make payments. To use this feature, a person needs to pay a small amount of transaction fee.
5. Trezor
Trezor is a secure wallet that comes with multi-factor authentication and a wide range of cryptocurrency acceptance. One of the more expensive software of this platform, the Model T, supports more than 1500 digital cryptocurrencies. Trezor is the first hardware wallet in our list which can be used even with no Internet connection. You only need to plug it into your computer or in the smartphone, and it will start its work after the authentication is complete. It comes with a small screen which you can use to make a secure connection. The base model of this hardware wallet starts at $60. The higher-end model costs around $194.
You should never lose this physical wallet or the recovery information of the wallet. If you somehow misplace it, the crypto that you have in the wallet will be gone forever.
6. Electrum
Electrum is on our list because it is an open-source and secure online wallet that has tons of features. Electrum is said to be one of the oldest of the Bitcoin wallets that surfaced on the Internet when Bitcoin had a sudden boom. This platform is around for a while now as it started in 2011. Since its inception, the virtual wallet hasn’t changed much. Due to its complex features, which are available for Electrum users, this virtual wallet is more suitable for people who are in crypto handling for a long time now.
Electrum makes it possible for the users to set the custom transaction fees. Also, one can choose if they want to work to make transactions using legacy Bitcoin and SegWit. Moreover, you can select how tough you want the security of your wallet. For example, with Electrum, a user can create a regular virtual wallet or go with the two-factor authentication or multi-signature wallet. Moreover, the platform allows users to elongate their seed phrases and give them the freedom to add custom words.
7. Ledger
You might have heard the name of Ledger before, as it is one of the best hardware crypto wallet services in the world right now. The Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S keep your crypto safe in the offline device. The size of these devices is about the same as a USB flash drive. These devices will be able to connect to your computer, mobile device and give you access to your digital holdings. Moreover, the devices which this company makes are surrounded by a stainless steel cover which allows them to have more durability.
Also, the Ledger has software that can be used to show how much funds you have in your wallet. Also, the same software can be used to receive and send currencies. Moreover, there are 1800 cryptocurrencies supported on this platform. One of the best features of Ledger Live is that it comes with coin staking. The coin staking will help you earn money and rewards based on your balance.
The simple Ledger Nano S comes with a base price of $59, and the Bluetooth-enabled one arrives at the cost of $119. The Nano S can hold up to 4 applications at the same time, which might be needed to work with different cryptocurrencies.
8. CoinSmart
CoinSmart is a digital currency exchange that not only keeps your crypto safe in one place but also helps you to buy and sell the crypto with no hassle at all. Also, this platform is integrated with SmartPay invoicing that enables a user to generate and send the invoice to their customers in no time. The customer support of this virtual wallet is live 24×7. With just a few clicks, you can trade the currency with ease. Lastly, this platform is accessible from both mobile and desktop devices.
9. Mycelium
This one is particularly great for mobile users in general as it gives you more control over the transaction fees. It can also integrate with the hardware wallet if you want it to. The one thing you need to keep in mind when choosing this wallet is that it only works on mobile platforms. It has a more refreshed and millennium-style user interface and comes with the crypto exchange as well.
It is one of the early wallets in the crypto world, and just like Electrum, Mycelium also helps you with custom transaction fees. Thus you get to choose how much you are willing to pay for each transaction. This open-source virtual wallet has tons of features, and everything is present in an excellent user-friendly way making it possible for even newcomers to understand the use of tools.
10. Robinhood
Last on our list is the free stock trading platform which quickly joined the crypto trading world and expanded its usage. Robinhood comes with the virtual wallet offering where a user can store their cryptocurrencies and even exchange them using the inbuilt exchange platform provided by Robinhood. As a result, everything that you need in the crypto world is in one place. But you can’t withdraw and transfer your coins from Robinhood using any other wallet.
Robinhood is more of a mobile platform, but it comes with a desktop version as well, and you can even access it on your browser. Robinhood is entirely free of charge, and there are no commissions when you are buying and selling specific crypto.
Conclusion
So there you have it, these were some of the major players in the field of crypto wallets, and you can choose them for keeping your cryptocurrencies safe and secure. All these crypto wallets have their benefits, features, and some extra tools which might ease up the transaction and trading process.
But in the end, it all comes down to the security and the layers of protection which the platform is using to keep your crypto safe from cyber attacks. Make your decision wisely and weigh all the pros and cons of a crypto wallet. If it is possible for you, we would suggest you go with the hardware wallet as they are much safer and can’t be attacked by online threats. Otherwise, go with any of the virtual wallets listed above, and you are good to go.