I'm pretty new to cryptocurrency and one of the first terms I came across was 'cryptocurrency wallet' or 'cryptowallet'. To be honest, there are a lot of options for these out there and I was overwhelmed by all of them. I tried out a few like Electrum, but they weren't very user friendly. So, to help you guys out with selecting a good wallet and not waste your time as I did, let me introduce you to the best cryptowallet out there in my opinion.
First of all, what is a cryptowallet? A cryptocurrency wallet is a software program that stores private and public keys and interacts with various blockchain to enable users to send and receive digital currency and monitor their balance. If you want to use Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, you will need to have a digital wallet.
It can be software, hardware or even a cloud-based wallet. The main differences between all three is the accessibility and the security. Hardware wallets are said to be the most safe and secure out of all three as they stay with you and are really difficult to hack since they aren't always connected to the computer. Software wallets are the ones which you need to download and install on your phone or PC. Software wallets have medium security levels but they are usually limited to one device only. Finally, the cloud wallets are the ones which are completely online. They are at the most risk of being hacked and are not so safe but they have a high accessibility and can can be accessed across multiple devices.
So, which wallet is right for you? If you are someone who changes between devices, that is either from a phone to a laptop and vice-versa, the best option seems to be a cloud-based wallet, right? But, there exists a software wallet which can exist on both mobile and PC.
The wallet that I'm talking about is Exodus. This is a relatively new wallet, but is gaining popularity. If you have gotten into cryptocurrency just to earn money, chances are you might want to mine/buy more than one cryptocurrency. Exodus provides you with a variety of different wallets ranging from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Basic Attention Token and Dogecoin. It is available on both PC and mobile. It also has an easy setup for Mac PCs which is a good thing since there are fewer options for Macs than Windows or Linux.
Exodus navigation is pretty simple and easy to understand, there are only 6 main categories:
Portfolio – See an overview of all of the cryptocurrencies you’re holding. Also shows price real time stock market graphs for different assets. \
Wallet – Send or receive specific coins.
Exchange – Exodus has a built in exchange that allows you to trade between cryptocurrencies without even leaving the wallet.
Backup – Allows you to restore your wallet password or your wallet’s seed phrase.
Settings – Security and design tweaks to your Exodus wallet.
Help – Watch videos, FAQ, join a Slack chat or email support.
Exodus is currently compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.
It is one of the most secure wallets out there with features that allow you to get password protection for the wallet and set a certain time-limit after which the wallet will shut down on it's own, so you can leave your device out of sight if you have something else to do.
One of the best things I found about the wallet is the response to users. You can see it in the simple to understand support videos they’ve uploaded, the multiple communication channels they supply on their site and the direct messaging platform to the founders via Slack. Support can be reached also directly from within the wallet.
The main down point for this wallet is that it does not have any custom transaction fees, which means that it will try to achieve your transaction in the fastest way possible, which could get costly if the network is crowded.
Just wait until the Dash wallet gets usernames soon. That's going to be better than all others.