Types of wallets

Wallets can come in the form of a device, physical medium (ie USB or harddrive), program or a service. 

Hardware wallets such as a device or physical medium are usually just small, secure devices in which an individual can store crypto offline. The upside of having a hardware wallet is that a user does not have to run the risk of having their crypto stored on their phone or computer, which can be open to hacks and viruses that may result in the loss of cryptocurrency. Usually a plug in device such as a USB or harddrive, they provide an extra layer of protection against cyber attacks, phishing sites, and malware. 

A software wallet can be a mobile app, or computer program that can hold private keys online. The upside to software wallets is that they make sending and receiving cryptocurrency very easy, as well as being much safer and secure than letting an exchange hold custody of any digital assets. Software wallets store the private keys within the application or program, however, this does not entirely mean that a user is immune to losing their cryptocurrency holdings. Software wallets are more dangerous than hardware wallets in the sense that any individual can hack into another individual’s wallet if they obtain their seed phrase or password to their wallet. This is why it is of utmost importance that an individual creates a backup.

What wallet do I use?

The type of wallet an individual will use will depend on their needs.  

There are many software/hot wallets available. The most popular online software wallets include many of the exchanges, such as Binance, Coinbase, Coinsmart, ZenGo, ECOS. Furthermore, there are other software wallets such as MetaMask which also act as a gateway to blockchain applications. The choice of which software wallet to use depends on the individual themselves and their preferences. 

If an individual would prefer to opt for a cold wallet, once again, the choice of hardware wallet will come down to individual preferences. The most popular ones include Ledger Nano X, Trezor, KeepKey, Sugi and many more.