How to Choose a Bitcoin Wallet

 Introduction:

A bitcoin (crypto) wallet is a device or a program that we can use to interact with a blockchain network. There are many types of crypto wallets that can broadly be divided into: 

• Hot or Cold Wallets

• Soft or Hard Wallets

• Online or Offline Wallets

Hot, Soft or Online wallets are those which are directly connected to the internet and usually exist in soft form. E.g. Trust Wallet, Meta Mask and Binance Wallet etc.

While Cold, Hard or Offline wallets generally are in physical form and are not directly connected to the internet. E.g. Nano ledger, Safepal, Trezor One etc.

How to Choose a Bitcoin Wallet:

Choosing a bitcoin wallet generally depends upon the requirements/needs of the user. We will see the difference of Wallets and choosing them according to few conditions.

1. Amount of Bitcoin:

The amount of bitcoin helps us to decide a Wallet. If you need to store a small amount (small amount is generally referred to as the amount which is not painful for you to lose) you can use a Hot or Online Wallet but if you need to store a large amount you must use a Cold or Offline Wallet

2. Security:

If you are concerned about the security and want to safeguard your assets you must use Cold Wallets as they are much more secure than the Hot wallets.

3. User Experience:

If you need to use your wallet frequently and want a user-friendly experience you should use Soft (Online) wallets as Cold wallets don’t have much functionality.

4. Cost:

Hot or Online Wallets are generally free to use and everyone can make a wallet and connect to it. However the Cold Wallets are not free and usually, you need to spend hundreds of dollars (depending upon the nature) to buy a Cold (Physical) wallet.

5. Usability:

If you need to spend bitcoin (on shopping etc.) or transfer bitcoin to one another you need a soft wallet, whereas hard wallets are only used to store the bitcoin.

How to Choose a Specific Wallet:

Now if you have decided whether you need a soft wallet or a Hard Wallet which specific wallet you should choose? As there are so many Hard Wallets as well as Soft Wallets are available in the market.

Well it again depends upon the choice and requirements of the user. However you should keep few things in your mind while choosing the wallet.

• Do these wallets allow you to store Bitcoin only or all crypto currencies as you may want to invest in other currencies in the future?

• How secure are they? Please enable 2FA and other steps to make your Wallet secure.

• Is there any backup mechanism?

• Is the wallet trustworthy? Research different forums.

Conclusion:

Whichever Wallet you choose keep in mind that wallets are fundamental part of using Bitcoin and other crypto currencies. Each wallet type has its pros and cons, so it's important to understand how they work and what functionality they provide before moving your funds.