The best Bitcoin wallets offer a wide range of features and simple clients for multiple platforms, but choosing the right option for you can be a little difficult, especially if you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies. Simply put, once you've bought Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), or another altcoin through an exchange, you'll need a safe place to store your holdings. Using a wallet, rather than storing your crypto with an exchange, gives you greater control over your virtual wealth. In this guide, we explore the best Bitcoin wallets available today to help you choose the optimal platform for your needs. Defining the best crypto wallet will depend on your top priorities (accessibility, transaction confidentiality, cross-platform support, etc.). Not all crypto wallets on our list are saved, which means the user is responsible for storing their own private key (we recommend using a secure password manager). Most of them are also classified as active wallets, which means that they are connected to the Internet at all times. If you have large amounts of Bitcoin, consider creating a cold wallet to store your assets more securely. With all of that in mind, here's our look at the best Bitcoin wallets currently available:
- To buy cryptocurrencies, you will need to register with an exchange or trading platform such as Coinbase, eToro, Robinhood, or SoFi.
1. Exodus
One of the best desktop crypto wallets
Reasons to buy + Support for many different parts + Intuitive interface + Cross platform + Regular update Reasons to avoid -Not completely open source Exodus is a multi-currency wallet that supports over a hundred cryptocurrencies. The wallet was originally available only on desktop computers, but now it is also available for iOS and Android mobile platforms. Exodus sets itself apart from other wallets with a design focused on people who have never dabbled in the world of cryptocurrencies. It has a user-friendly interface, and its developers spend a lot of time and effort tweaking the user interface to make it more intuitive. One of the most popular features of Exodus is support for a variety of different altcoins in addition to Bitcoin. You can also use the wallet to exchange one cryptocurrency for another without any kind of registration. Exodus is a solid option for managing and trading small amounts of cryptocurrency without going into the details of the process. However, we would not suggest this to advanced cryptocurrency users, mainly because the ability to set custom fees is currently limited to Bitcoin only. And while it's nice that the app is updated every two weeks, the fact that it's not fully open source will put some people off. To learn more, read our full Exodus review.
2.Wasabi
One of the best privacy-focused crypto wallets for Bitcoin
Reasons to Buy + Open Source + Address Rotation + Integrated CoinJoins + Custom Fees Reasons to Avoid -Complex for Beginners -Only for Bitcoin Wasabi is an open source, non-custodial, privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet available on Windows, macOS and Linux. Wasabi's main feature is its trustless implementation of the CoinJoin process. CoinJoin helps Wasabi secure individual Bitcoin transactions by combining multiple currencies from multiple people into a single transaction. By mixing in and out, CoinJoins can hide credentials, making Wasabi a popular choice for those who care about their privacy. To further mask transactions, the wallet routes them through the anonymized Tor network, which allows users to hide IP addresses. While Wasabi is a hot wallet, we won't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who cares about the privacy of their Bitcoin transactions. The developers have also done a good job of keeping most of its complexities from ruining the user experience. However, Wasabi is not as intuitive as other crypto wallets and you will need to spend some time reading their documentation before you are fully up to date. To learn more, check out our full Wasabi review.
3. Electrum
A popular 'thin' wallet client worthy of your attention
Reasons to buy + Lightweight and easy to install + Collect your BTC using a seed wallet Reasons to avoid - Relies on servers to verify transactions Electrum has been around since 2011 and works with Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. It is one of the most popular thin wallet clients, as instead of downloading the entire Bitcoin blockchain, it securely connects to other servers to check your BTC balance and process payments. This means you can set it up in minutes and take up very little space on your hard drive. Electrum uses a hierarchical deterministic wallet, which means that a random 12-word dictionary 'seed' is generated when you first launch the app, from which it derives the keys needed to spend and receive BTC. Electrum shows the seed when creating your wallet and asks you to write it down. This means that if you lose access to this version of Electrum, you can easily reinstall it on another machine and use the seed to restore your BTC. Electrum gives you the option to encrypt your wallet file during setup, although you can choose to leave it unencrypted if you wish. You can also use Electrum in cold storage mode to create a “watch only” wallet. This allows you to receive Bitcoin payments and view your balance, but not spend the coins, which can be useful if you are buying BTC as a long-term investment. As a "light" client, Electrum relies on other servers for payment information, making it more vulnerable to certain types of hacking than full node wallets. For more information, check out our full Electrum review.
4. Mycelium
A premium cryptocurrency wallet to use on the go
Reasons to Buy + Open Source + Multiple Account Types + Integrated Marketplace Reasons to Avoid -Only for Bitcoin -No Desktop Version Mycelium is one of the oldest and most popular Bitcoin wallets available exclusively for mobile platforms, having been first released time in 2013 as an Android app before it was also ported to iOS. Mycelium describes itself as the 'default Bitcoin wallet' and while its claims to be the highest rated cryptocurrency wallet on the Play Store are no longer actually accurate, the app does have several notable features. For starters, Mycelium is completely open source, which is one of the most essential features for any good cryptocurrency wallet. The app is also based on the Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) technique, which allows you to confirm transactions without having to download the entire blockchain. Since mobile devices are somewhat insecure and more prone to theft, the Mycelium developers have implemented a handful of features to improve the security profile of the app, without overly complicating the interface. For more information, check out our full Mycelium review.