When you purchase Bitcoin for the first time, it’s important to decide where to put it. A Bitcoin wallet is important to act as a secure digital wallet, along with being the app that you use to manage your cryptocurrencies. The best Bitcoin wallets allow you to send and receive Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, trade between different coins, interact with smart contracts, discover new ways to use your cryptocurrencies and get market news and updates. Here are some of the main things to consider when choosing your Bitcoin wallet.
Security
When choosing a Bitcoin Wallet, the security of the service is one of the main things to consider. After all, the main reason for using a dedicated wallet is to keep your digital coins as secure as possible. It’s important that the wallet app you use has a first line of defence in the event that your device ends up in the wrong hands. As a result, it means that your wallet should require that you unlock it each time you want to use it. It’s a good idea to use a wallet with fingerprint or facial recognition, which makes it easier to access and harder for the wrong person to hack into.
Reputation
The reputation of the wallet brand or maker is another important factor to consider. This is because it is possible for a Bitcoin wallet to have some built-in security flaws, either by accident or by design, that might put your coins at risk. You can check that the wallet has a good reputation by searching for it on popular forums to see what people in the know are saying about it.
Private Key Access
Another main consideration to make before choosing a wallet is whether you will get access to the private keys. If you do not have access to these, you technically do not have full control over your own Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Private keys for Bitcoin addresses are made up of randomly generated twelve or twenty-four word passphrases, with each Bitcoin address having its own private key. When you’re in possession of the private key, you’ll also have full control over any cryptocurrencies associated with that address.
Backups
The best Bitcoin wallet options make it easier to manage and back up all of your private keys. While making sure that you have access to the private keys to your Bitcoin is important, bear in mind that managing them can be difficult. This can be much easier when you are using a wallet with backup features and private key management features. Cloud backup is one handy feature, which saves all your private keys in the cloud automatically. The key storage is encrypted, and you can decrypt them with one single password of your choosing.
Storing your Bitcoin securely is an important factor to consider when you decide to invest in cryptocurrency. The best way to do this is to use a secure, reputable private wallet that offers a range of features for key management and full control over your coins.
