A Bitcoin wallet is a type of software in which the Bitcoins are stored. The Bitcoins cannot just be stored in any place. The bitcoins have a secret number that is unique for every Bitcoin address that is stored in the Bitcoin wallet. The Bitcoin wallet can be used in either transferring or receiving Bitcoins. One can transact the Bitcoins where he can either send or receive them. Bitcoin wallet does exist in different forms according to the suitable form. There are four main types of Bitcoin wallet which include;
- Hardware
- Mobile
- Web
- Desktop
This digital wallet needs to be well established for one to be able to process and obtain the Bitcoins. The Bitcoin is very analog compared to a physical wallet. Where storing Bitcoins, it doesn’t literally mean one storing the Bitcoins. Storing the Bitcoins means storing sufficient information that will entail secure private keys that will be used in retrieving the Bitcoins.
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Hardware wallets are ranked to be the best means of storing Bitcoins. The Hardware wallet does store the Bitcoins on a physical structure or an equipment type of structure. This physical structure is usually plucked into the computer through the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port in the computer.
This port facilitates communication between a host controller such as a desktop or personal computer and other devices. The Hardware wallets are very invulnerable to malicious attacks such as the viruses and due to this Bitcoins cannot easily be lost or damaged. These types of wallet are the only ones that need to be purchased since one cannot get them for free. Hardware wallets are relatively expensive and their price ranges between $100 to $200 in electronic shopping outlets.
The Mobile Wallet is more upgraded than the desktop wallets since they have better features The mobile wallet are fixed in one place where they can efficiently operate from. They exist in the form of application which needs to be purchased or subscribed for. One can run the apps in their
Smartphones and execute different operation effectively. The mobile wallet operates the same way as the desktop wallet operates. The mobile wallets enable one to pay via the phone, and one can use it in physical stores to make different payments. The payments are made through the use of “touch to pay” where it can be scanned using the NFC scanning a QR code. There are many examples of mobile wallets, for example; Mycelium Bitcoin, Hive Android, Bitcoin Wallet, and many others just to mention a few.
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Web wallets, on the other hand, to enable one to use the Bitcoins from everyplace on any mobile or browser. When selecting the web wallet, one needs to be careful since the web wallet does store the private keys online hence rendering a great risk to the user. Blockchain and the Coin base are special examples of the providers of the Web Wallet.
Desktop wallets are Bitcoin wallets that are installed on a desktop computer. These wallets do offer the user complete control over the wallet. This type of Bitcoin wallet, allow the user to be able to create an address that he/she will use in receiving or sending Bitcoins. The private key can also be stored in the Desktop wallet since they have those special features. Numerous Desktop wallets are in use and they include; Electrum, Bitcoin Core, Armory, and many others.
The wallets help the Bitcoin Profit users store their Bitcoin safely since the hackers can steal the bitcoins. Security needs to be enhanced while storing the wallets. One has to instill safeguard measures that will help in protecting the wallet and this includes; storing it offline and using a strong wallet to encrypt the wallet.
