How to start a bitcoin wallet: choosing the best way

 While states make bitcoin their national currency, Russia is rushing in 2022 to determine the status of cryptocurrencies and regulate this market. It's time to get ready, especially since the golden advice of investors is still relevant - to store savings in different places.

We offer to remember what they are by 2022, how to create a bitcoin wallet, and what is the best way to do it.

Content

• What is a bitcoin wallet?

• Wallet types

• Which cryptocurrency wallet to choose?

• Stages of creating a bitcoin wallet

• How to transfer funds to a bitcoin wallet?

• How to withdraw Bitcoin to a Webmoney, Yandex.Money or Qiwi wallet

• Best bitcoin wallets in 2022

What is a bitcoin wallet?

A digital bitcoin wallet is a program that is necessary to work with cryptocurrencies and store savings in them through the blockchain. When dealing with it, you can not depend on the regimes of banking systems, quickly transfer funds around the world at any time, and remain anonymous. 

Despite the name, a bitcoin wallet is designed to store and operate a variety of cryptocurrencies, not just traditional bitcoin (BTC), which is periodically predicted to become obsolete and die.

Each wallet has a public key and a private key. 

The first is the wallet address, a set of characters visible to everyone who sends funds to it, whether it be replenishment or transfers. 

The private key is generated from random numbers, is closed from outsiders, and is used to sign transactions. 

The seed phrase memorized by the owner will help to restore the private key in case of loss - the same random sequence of words.

Wallet types

Desktop

You can create a bitcoin wallet using a program, and a database downloaded to your hard drive - for example, taken from bitcoin.org. A lighter option is to use special software like Jaxx or Exodus instead of full download and manual installation.

Mobile applications

Exceptional services and applications will help you start a bitcoin wallet online—for example, Bitcoin Wallet, Blue Wallet, Samourai.

Hardware

You can create a wallet for cryptocurrencies using a physical medium. Models such as Trezor, Keepkey, and the Ledger family stand out among them.

Paper

Another “physical” way to get a bitcoin wallet is to use paper by printing out a seed phrase and a QR code with a private key.

Which cryptocurrency wallet to choose?

To choose a wallet more efficiently, you should familiarize yourself with a specific cryptocurrency by looking at recommended applications on its website. Different types of wallets have various advantages and disadvantages.

Desktop is considered safe but difficult for users. Your wallet will be stored only with you, but you must download the database and make specific settings.

A more straightforward option is to install programs like Jaxx or Exodus on a computer instead of a complete database. Still, such wallets will require constant updating via the network, making them susceptible to hacker attacks and blurring the very plus of this type of wallet.

Mobile applications will help you get a bitcoin wallet online. They are easily accessible and have a pleasant interface; it is convenient to transfer and check your account with them. But it is also relatively easier to hack the wallets created with their help - not only you but also the platform have access to the wallet. In addition, you are tied to your smartphone, which can simply be lost in everyday use. With such pluses and minuses, mobile wallets are recommended for transactions with small amounts and imposing ones.

A hardware wallet is secure and doesn’t require internet, but you will have to pay a lot. These are physical devices, similar to flash drives, where software for storing cryptocurrencies is installed. Autonomy makes them an excellent option for long-term storage and travel - just throw the currency on the device and take it with you anywhere in the world. In addition to the high cost, the disadvantages are appropriate: such a flash drive is easy to lose, and it will be impossible to recover funds if you lose it if you forget the seed phrase.

A paper wallet is considered very secure but also very inconvenient. You need to print keys on paper and integrate them into an online wallet to use them. On the plus side, the paper password cannot be siphoned off over the network and is usually stored securely, like a safe. However, a technically necessary disadvantage of a paper wallet is that you can transfer from it only all the funds on your balance at once.

Stages of creating a bitcoin wallet

In the case of a desktop wallet, let's consider a traditional and indicative in its complexity example with a bitcoin core, which can be downloaded from bitcoin.org. Bitcoin core contains the entire history of transactions with bitcoins globally, is installed on an SSD drive, and weighs about 1000 gigabytes. Still, if you overwrite data when uploading, the total volume will be reduced to about 5 gigabytes. The wallet itself and its address appear in the wallet.dat file. This file can already be moved to any place on other devices, and your account will move with it. Of course, it is vital to protect such a file with a strong password.

Everything is more accessible with mobile apps. Download applications from Google Play or the App Store, register, receive keys stored on your device, transfer funds using QR codes. It is worth protecting the gadget with a pin code and clearing it of dubious applications.

The process is similar to desktop wallets for hardware wallets that automatically generate private and public keys but include an additional layer of security. You also set a pin code on the device itself, enter it during any transactions, and connect a flash drive. In addition, you still have to store the private key in offline mode.

Finally, the paper wallet will require you to download a paper generator program to create a paper with a QR code, which you need to put in a safe place. When generating, it is essential to track vulnerabilities: ensure that the device is immaculate from viruses and that hackers cannot connect to the printer you print paper.

How to transfer funds to a bitcoin wallet?

Funds are transferred to the wallet using its public key, which you send to counterparties or insert into the exchange service line. Instead of a key, you can also use the generated QR code for convenience. 

The source of funds can be different options for exchanging conventional currencies for cryptocurrency. 

It can be an exchange site, a Telegram bot for an exchange, a terminal-crypto map similar to an online exchanger, a cryptocurrency exchange, over-the-counter trading. In the latter case, you independently negotiate with the counterparty so that he transfers the cryptocurrency to your wallet in exchange for the transfer of ordinary money.

How to withdraw Bitcoin to a Webmoney, Yandex.Money or Qiwi wallet

You can convert cryptocurrency into ordinary money in the same ways as buying it for a factory on wallets. If you actively use Webmoney, Yandex. Cash, Qiwi online wallets, you will need payment systems like Capitalist or Payeer, which support traditional fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies and allow you to withdraw bitcoins directly to rubles. The independent question is to calculate the commission for these exchanges. To track it and select the optimal one, you can use particular

services.

Best bitcoin wallets in 2022

When choosing a cryptocurrency wallet, remember that its benefits for you are tied to your goals. 

You need active trading and constant access to funds - choose mobile applications and their desktop versions. You need peace of mind and conservative work with increased security - use hardware or paper media. Finally, a hybrid option is beneficial - to supplement an active mobile wallet with small amounts of more secure hardware, where to store the central funds.

There is a rating option from Veriphi, which divides all existing wallets into four groups according to dozens of parameters, from convenience to security. The top group includes Bitcoin Core, Green, Wasabi, Blue Wallet, Samourai, BTC Pay, Electrum.

We also recall the most famous brands of physical wallets.

Ledger Nano S, which looks like a small flash drive, has several layers of protection. With it, you can both store currency and make transactions. Ledger is distinguished by simplicity, transaction speed, and security level. The seed phrase will protect the assets, and the OLED display of the device displays them in real-time. However, this wallet does not have a battery and must be connected to a computer.

Its rival Trezor, the creators of the first cryptocurrency pool, can support a large number of cryptocurrencies. These models are fully mobile when used via Android with an OTG cable. Such a wallet is easy to use and supports two-factor authentication, but all this is due to its high cost.