Cryptocurrency Wallets Ranking
First we will look at the best Bitcoin digital wallets ranking, then we will discuss the keys to analyse this market, as well as all the details of the cryptocurrency wallet market.
Cryptocurrencies are an unregulated and highly volatile investment product. There is no protection for EU investors
Binance
Many prefer cold or hardware digital wallets, others prefer software wallets, while others prefer exchanges such as Binance. Here we have to take into account our preferences, of course.
At MBB we believe that a good wallet does not necessarily have to be the same for every customer, and that many of the best ones can be some of the most used exchanges in the market, which in addition to the digital wallet functionality come with online trading functionality. This is really important if you are in the trading business. On the other hand, if you are in the business of buying to hold for the long term then a hardware wallet is the way to go. That goes without saying.
Here we assume that we want a wallet and the ability to trade on a regular basis, not necessarily high frequency trading. This is where Binance presents itself as one of the best wallets we can find on the market.
Security has improved a lot over the years, and the regulations are getting stronger and stronger, so that the chances of hacking are gradually reduced to a minimum.
Trezor
A list of the best wallets in the world cannot miss Trezor, possibly the world reference in terms of what are known as “Cold Wallets”. What does this mean? It means that they are out of reach of the network, at least when it comes to being stored. Inevitably, when we want to make transactions we will have to connect the devices, so there might be a small risk, but that is almost nothing.
Trezor therefore has a profile of maximum security in the world of crypto safekeeping. It’s as if you keep your coins on a private USB stick, similar to a classic wallet.
What is the advantage of this?
Well, by being outside the internet connection the risk of hackers being able to discover the keys is reduced to a minimum. This makes this method ideal for storing large sums of cryptocurrencies for long periods of time.
What is the downside?
I am not going to mention the cost of buying the gadget, which we all know, but another one that can be more annoying, which is the need to be constantly connecting the tool if we want to make purchases and sales with bitcoin or other altcoins.
It all depends on what you want to do, obviously, but overall it’s a great way to store your hard-earned cryptos.
Bitpanda
If we talk about one of the most prestigious and secure companies in the cryptocurrency market, we would probably think of the Bitpanda brand, the veteran Austrian exchange-wallet that has carved out a definite niche for itself among the big names in the sector.
As in the case of Binance, we are dealing with an exchange service as its main service, and at the same time it provides a web wallet in which Bitpanda stores our funds offline, i.e. completely outside the network.
Think of it like having your money in a bank. It is ours but Bitpanda is in charge of guarding it. Obviously it is not the same as having the cryptocurrency in an offline wallet, but this broker/cryptocurrency house is famous for its security and protection of customer funds.
Naga
Naga is not your typical cryptocurrency wallet. Those who know it may think that it is only a broker of CFDs and stocks, but to the surprise of many it is also a company that works on the real cryptocurrency market, and not only on CFDs.
In this case it is a web-based wallet that operates internally under the company’s security controls.
It may not be the first option that comes to mind for the vast majority of people thinking about getting a Bitcoin wallet, but it is a very interesting option for those looking to trade the financial markets in many more ways than just using cryptocurrencies.
At Naga we can buy spot stocks, trade commodity CFDs and also trade cryptocurrencies that we can hold in the broker’s wallet.
Skrill
Skrill reviewThis is the surprise of the list as in theory it is not a wallet, but in practice it works as one, as we can buy cryptocurrencies in it and keep them in Skrill’s platform.
Why do we include Skrill?
Well, because it is a major name in the fintech industry and a company fully regulated by the UK FCA. In this case we are almost certain that we will not be scammed and that our funds are safe with the company.
This makes it an option to consider for more or less regular cryptocurrency trading while keeping currencies fairly safe.
At the moment we have not heard of any funds being hacked into this company, and I doubt we will see it.
Poloniex
The veteran US exchange is still as hot today as it was back in the day.
This exchange stores cryptocurrencies in an external cold wallet system, so we can rest assured. But what we also like is the fact that the sector is becoming more and more solid in the United States, with stronger and stronger regulations that make it very difficult for scams and hacks to take place.
Poloniex is an interesting option for frequent buying and selling or trading and at the same time keeping cryptocurrencies quite safe.
LocalBitcoins
Here we have a different model of cryptocurrency safekeeping. It is neither a typical exchange nor a typical wallet. In this case we are dealing with the world’s most widely used Peer-2-Peer service for cryptocurrency trading.
Why does LocalBitcoins stand out?
Because it is one of the most secure systems in the world, which boasts of not having been hacked, so our cryptocurrencies are quite safe there.
If we add to that the fact that we want to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with other users, then this could be the ideal product. There are many who trade cryptocurrencies in this way. For example, there are many sellers who take advantage of arbitrage by buying cheap on one site and selling more expensive cryptos on this one.
Ledger
In a list of the best wallets in the crypto market, Ledger, the hardware wallet that competes directly with Trezor, being both products quite similar, to be honest. In this case, choosing one or the other will depend more on personal preferences. Both are very good in their own right.
In the case of Ledger we are dealing with a French company that has been in the sector for many years and we know of no cases of hacks or major problems.
It is undoubtedly another option for storing large amounts of cryptocurrencies in the long term without having the intention of moving them often.
Exodus
Exodus is the representative of the software wallets, possibly the second most secure way to store cryptocurrencies. This means that we have to download the application on our computer or mobile phone and proceed to secure our digital currencies.
Is this 100% secure?
Well, no, because we already know that computers are also hackable, but the process here becomes much more complicated, because with a good security system it is almost impossible to hack into the platform/application. In this case it should be noted that it is a little more difficult to use than typical exchanges or other trading companies.
Something not too positive about the app is that it does not have an English service.
Paxful
This is the other big name in the Peer-2-Peer market for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and, therefore, a great competitor to LocalBitcoins. Like the latter, it is one of the most secure sites on the network in terms of safeguarding cryptocurrencies; an ideal place if we also want to buy and sell bitcoin on a regular basis.
However, it is not an easy trading system and this is not because it is difficult to buy or sell, but because you have to be careful not to fall into scams from other users, which could happen. It is obviously not the usual thing to do, but you have to be careful with transactions. The best thing to do is to see how the system works and if you are trading often, take all possible security measures.
Kriptomat
This company is one of the jewels of the Estonian startup world, one of the most dynamic in the world, and one of the leaders in the European blockchain space. Like the rest of the country’s related companies, Kriptomat maintains a strong reputation as a cryptocurrency trading and custody service.
This company takes things seriously and can boast that it has not been hacked so far. This means that more and more cryptocurrency investors are choosing it to trade and store some of their cryptocurrencies.
What is a cryptocurrency wallet or digital wallet?
A cryptocurrency wallet is a service used to store cryptocurrencies. In other words, it is the equivalent of the classic wallets but in this case they work for the virtual world or internet.
These digital wallets have become fundamental tools in the development of the cryptocurrency world.
This is for a very simple reason: we are talking about a world created by algorithms in which each cryptocurrency is a kind of digital asset which has to be “stored” somewhere. That place is the virtual wallet, where we can store them by adopting different security measures such as the creation of private keys.
There are many names for these network devices:
- Bitcoin wallets
- Cryptocurrency wallets
- Crypto wallets
- Bitcoin wallets
- Digital wallets
- Cryptocurrency wallets
- And many more options.
The important thing is the idea behind it. That is, as we are acting in the virtual or digital world, we are going to need a wallet of this type.
But be careful, what we are going to be keeping is the keys, which is what is necessary to spend our bitcoins, since with the former we have access to that or those cryptocurrencies.
Ideally that wallet would be ours, as in the case of classic wallets, but unfortunately on the internet we will have to rely on this kind of providers, for the time being
How do cryptocurrencies and their wallets work?
Cryptocurrencies work on the basis of cryptography. This is essential for the proper functioning of these systems full of binary codes. After all, we are dealing with network algorithms, and in order to differentiate between them, it is necessary to refer to this type of system.
What does this mean?
That what we store is not the money itself, but the keys that represent these cryptocurrencies or Bitcoins. In other words, to be clear, these cryptocurrencies are keys, not physical objects. These cryptocurrencies depend on two keys: a public key and a private key. What is the difference between them?
The public key is the one we have to show to others so that they can send us the money there. Think of it as a Paypal email address that can be used to send money to us.
The private key is a security system, and is basically a password that we have to keep with all the zeal in the world, as with it we can access our cryptocurrencies and give the order for them to be transferred to one place or another. In other words, if someone is able to steal our private key, they can enter our digital wallet and send the cryptocurrencies anywhere. In this case, let’s think of it like your email password or something like that.
What is the fundamental function and feature of a Bitcoin wallet?
The answer is obvious: to store our digital money in a safe place.
In the same way that classic wallets kept our banknotes in our pocket, these digital wallets keep our Bitcoins, Ethereums or any other altcoins in our digital spaces, since we will have a unique address.
Well, as we can see, we are dealing with a subject in which security is very important, so we can classify the companies working in this field according to their apparent security. I say apparent because we are talking about theory, and in practice things are still not entirely clear, at least in the world of cryptocurrencies.
We will have to wait many years to see which are really the safest ways. Moreover, the world of cryptocurrencies is constantly changing, and above all, security is improving significantly with each passing year, so wallets are becoming more and more secure.
The least secure digital wallets are supposed to be cryptocurrency exchanges, followed by online wallets, software applications of cryptocurrency exchanges, and finally hardware or cold wallets, which are considered the most secure.
In the same way that we choose a broker, a bank or a safe deposit box, we will try to choose the one that we believe will be the most secure against possible theft, which is more common than we would like on the internet.
The other important variable in this case would be ease of use, which would be the inverse of security. In other words, the most secure companies are those that are, in theory, the least user-friendly.
