Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, crypto enthusiasts don’t seem to get enough of it. People are still obsessed with their features and the market. It’s the people who backed the crypto-coin initially that it’s valued so high right now. One Bitcoin is worth $17,000 almost. As it starts to come closer to its record high value, more people are getting interested to own the crypto-coin. Most experts believe that the digital asset will certainly create a new record value this time around as the pandemic lockdown situation is slowly subsiding.
As Bitcoin’s demand is ever-increasing, we need to look at the possible methods to safely store Bitcoin. So, in this article, we’ll look at the six most secure Bitcoin wallets in 2020. Before going into the details, you must know that there are primarily two types of Bitcoin wallets- cold and hot.
Hot wallets are the kinds of Bitcoin wallets that work when connected to an Internet connection. You can send and receive cryptocurrencies on such wallets. There’s a private key securing your transactions. But as they’re linked with the Internet, they’re known to be more prone to hacking and frauds than cold wallets.
Crypto wallets that work without being connected to the Internet are called Cold wallets. So, it’s an offline wallet. These are physical wallets basically where the user stores all the assets and transactions in a USB stick. As the physical USB stick is with you always, cold wallets are much more difficult to be hacked than hot wallets.
As the user, what type of wallet seems more suitable for your requirements depends upon you. Hot wallets are more convenient and cold wallets more secure, so study about them extensively before you decide on a wallet.
Now, let’s look at the top hot and cold Bitcoin wallets of 2020 and the features offered by each.
Hot Wallets
Mycelium
Mycelium is the most popular hot Bitcoin wallet designed for mobile users. It’s a mobile-only and open-source cryptocurrency wallet. Currently, you can only store, send, and receive Bitcoin on Mycelium. The features offered by the wallet are quite close to them provided by the popular Electrum wallet. An in-built crypto exchange, mobile-only users, and better customer interface are some of the main differences between them.
Similar to Electrum, it’s one of the oldest Bitcoin wallets in the crypto space. Also, as in the Electrum wallet, you can customize transaction fees on your own in Mycelium. It allows you to set the amount of time you wish to wait for a transaction to get completed.
Another unique feature is the “hardware wallet support”. Using this, you can store your Bitcoins in an offline device and see your holding on the wallet’s interface.
Summing up, if you’re a mobile user, you can use Mycelium even though the features might seem a bit tough to understand initially.
Electrum
Electrum is the oldest and most advanced Bitcoin wallet. Two years after the creation of Bitcoin, this wallet was created. Since 2011, it has not been changed much. This wallet compromises the user interface sometimes because of its loyalty to Bitcoin. This surpasses the primary function. Electrum suits professional users more because of its complicated options.
This is an open-source that allows you to customize the transaction fees. This allows you to select between Segwit and legacy Bitcoin. It provides you with the high standard security that you wish. You can make a regular wallet in two ways, one with a multi-signature wallet and two-factor authentication. It is possible to stretch the seed phrase elongates with customized words.
Electrum provides you with easy customization and great security features in an easy layout.
Exodus
Exodus is an Internet-based crypto wallet that offers a built-in exchange and a convenient, easy-to-use user interface. It supports several crypto assets and it has the ability to quickly swap between them. Presently, it supports the exchange of over 100 different cryptocurrencies.
Exodus is the best crypto wallet on the Internet for beginners. It has a great customer support service, so any beginner can easily call, and direct their queries to them.
As the developers of Exodus have kept the features convenient to work with, advanced crypto users may find the app lacking and restricted. One of the major limitations of the software is that it’s closed-source. This goes against the fundamentals of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. A closed-source network may also create security issues as it isn’t accessible to the public. Therefore, the developers of the Exodus wallet are accountable to ensure there are no security concerns.
You can customize transaction fees on your own and make sure your transaction is completed quickly.
Cold Wallets
Trezor Model T
One of the best features of the Trezor Model T is that it allows the swap between hundreds of cryptocurrencies. It supports more than 1400 cryptos currently. It’s one of the most popular cold wallets in the market with Ledger Nano X. The “T” model of the wallet is the second generation of offline physical wallets developed by the creators. A Trezor user will be able to access Changelly and Shapeshift, significant third-party exchanges, on the platform directly. This is indeed an effective and convenient feature.
The platform is quite expensive to start with though. You’ve to pay a heavy price of $170 to start using the software.
It’s a touch-screen software that is simpler to use for novices than the earlier button-supported models. It also has a slot for a microSD card that allows you to protect your device from attacks by encrypting your wallet.
You can connect your offline wallet to a computer or mobile phone using a type-C cable that comes with the box. Because of the Bluetooth connectivity feature in other cold wallets, many developers believe Trezor Model T is more secure than them.
Ledger Nano X
This is an advanced cold wallet from the leading French company, Ledger that has been engaged in the digital currency arena for a long time. Ledger Nano S was the first hardware wallet introduced by this company and it was the most-used cold wallet for many years. Now, Ledger has designed its second-generation wallet called Ledger Nano X that costs $119.
Nano X looks like a small USB drive and can be connected to your device through USB or Bluetooth. Its USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is that it can connect with any iOS or Android device also, so you don’t always need a computer and use it on the go. A USB Type-C cable is provided with this hardware wallet so that you can even connect it to a desktop computer or a smartphone if you don’t want to use the Bluetooth option. As for connecting with Bluetooth, many users believe that this may be a likely source of virus attacks and frauds so they find the USB option more viable.
This cold storage wallet comes with unique software, Ledger Live, that gives the users an interface for all their holdings. This software is free of cost and available in the public domain. As the Nano X supports over 1500 plus cryptocurrencies, the users don’t have to buy separate wallets for different crypto currency holdings and hold all their digital currency assets conveniently in a single place.
Presently, the Ledger Nano X cold wallets are the most popular in the industry because of its innovative and user-friendly interface and the convenience of managing a portfolio of multiple cryptocurrencies. It also provides community support and the opportunity to download 100 applications at a time at a very reasonable price.
Ledger Nano S
This is the first hardware wallet from Ledger and is available at $59. It was amongst the first hardware wallets and introduced just after the first generation from the Trezor. The Nano S can also support thousands of cryptocurrencies and access the Ledger Live open-source software.
The first-generation wallet from Ledger has a normal USB cable and can be connected with computers and smartphones. But users having smartphones with USB Type-C may have problems connecting to Nano S. Other differences with its successor are that this cold wallet does not have Bluetooth connectivity and it can store only 18 wallets at a time compared to the 100-wallet storage offered in Nano X. But this may not be a problem as you can always delete one wallet and add another. Even if you hold some cryptocurrency in the deleted wallet, it is not lost as your cryptos are stored permanently on the blockchain and you can access it once again. You can view the cryptocurrencies you hold in the deleted wallet on the Ledger Live app and if you want to receive or send to that wallet, you have to make space by deleting another wallet.
As Nano S offers storage of multiple cryptocurrencies at an affordable, it still remains very popular amongst cryptocurrency holders who want to store all their cryptocurrencies in a single wallet. Also, the intuitive Ledger Live software’s support provides the benefits of community and customer and assures the users much more than other cold wallets available at similar prices.
So, we’ve listed the top six hot and cold wallets that crypto enthusiasts are excited about currently. You’ve to analyze each of the software diligently and see which one deems fit for your usage. You can also start using the free versions of the apps before deciding. It’ll give you a better understanding of your needs and if they get fulfilled.
There’s still a lot of untapped potential in Bitcoin. Start using a Bitcoin wallet and leverage your position.
