Top 10 best bitcoin wallets as of 2017

OnlineSearch.net
Jul 20, 2017 · 9 min read
Top 10 best bitcoin wallets as of 2017
Top 10 best bitcoin wallets as of 2017

“Bitcoin is one of the most important inventions in all of human history.
For the first time ever, anyone can send or receive any amount of money with anyone else, anywhere on the planet, conveniently and without restriction.
It’s the dawn of a better, more free world.”

— Roger Ver, CEO Bitcoin.com
Bitcoins have become one of the most famous and controversial currency lately (remember the recent Ransome attacks?) for all right reasons. It’s a currency that has been around for a while but still beats the other forms for currencies because of its convenient and easy use. Before we dig deeper into the Best Bitcoin wallets as of 2017, let’s first try to understand how a Bitcoin wallet works: Well, it’s very simple. Just download/install the wallet, register yourself and create an account. This will generate your Bitcoin address, use it for all your transactions.

Some general features of Bitcoin include:

It’s decentralized (controlled by no single authority), essentially electronic (digital), transparent (anyone can tell how many coins are there in any address, but they won’t know who is the owner of the address), non-refundable (once they’re gone, you can’t undo it unless the receiver himself/herself sends it back)and they are anonymous (nobody knows it’s you, even the receiver only sees the seed or the address, not the name).

Since Bitcoin is a highly technical (and a new) currency for a layman in this field, let’s quickly go through a few terms that will help you comprehend the article and the Bitcoin network in whole:

Private Key- A mathematical proof that shows that the transaction has come from the user’s wallet
Mining- The process that confirms that your transaction has been successful
Cold Storage- An offline zone that stores your private key (away from the online reach of hackers)

We’ve shortlisted the best Bitcoin wallets (in no particular order) keeping in mind a number of factions including user experience, safety, and fame, take a look:

I. BitCoin Core

Wallet Type: Desktop
Founding Year: 2009
Private Key: Stored on client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Yes

It was the first known Bitcoin wallet ever know, thus it’s highly original and has a strong history. You can be sure of having a safe storage here. This is primarily because Bitcoin gives the user the access to both their public and private keys. One of the demerits of this wallet is the amount of storage space it takes up. It’s a rather heavy software that takes up over 65GB of your Desktop space. The reason of BitCoin Core being such a heavy file is that it comes with data on every transaction done.
Pros:

It’s been running for years (more than seven) and has been successful in the test of time
You can contribute to the whole network by running the security nude.

Cons:

It’s a Desktop only wallet and hence it’s not at all handy
No HD available
The new age wallets offer better features, hence this one often cannot keep up with the competition

II. MyCelium:

Wallet Type: Mobile (Android, iOS)
Founding Year: 2013
Private Key: Stored on client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

If you’re for a mobile Bitcoin wallet, then we’d definitely recommend this one. It’s extremely popular and widely used. They assure users of providing them with a ‘bank grade security’. You can simply download this app, record the twelve-word backup and that’s all the work that this needs to get started. One of the most interesting features of this wallet is called ‘watch only accounts’.
Pros:

An option for enabling touch ID available
Hassle-free transactions as you can directly pay from the cold storage
User-friendly interface
Being a mobile wallet, it’s handy in nature. You can use it anytime, anywhere

Cons:

It’s not a completely up- to- date version if we compare it to other best Bitcoin wallets. If you’re someone who just intends on using the basics, then it works fine.
The backup process is tedious. It’s time-consuming!
It’s inconvenient for those who want to transfer bitcoins to a receiver using a desktop wallet with no OR code.

III. Beither:

Wallet Type: Mobile (Android, iOS) & Desktop
Founding Year: 2014
Private Key: Stored on client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

The app developers have had a very dynamic approach that has succeeded in winning hearts. We say that this is one of the best Bitcoin wallets available because this one keeps evolving and has a very user-friendly responsive service.
Pros:

It allows you to create your own cold storage
You can create multiple wallets within this one app
The app developers are extremely responsive to the users

Cons:

They had earlier rolled out a multi signature feature, but because the users didn’t give a very nice response to it, they had to take it back. Multisignature is definitely an important aspect that every best Bitcoin wallet must have. The developers, however, do plan to come up with an advanced version with the multi-signature feature.
The feature of the address book is missing.

IV. Blockchain.info:

Wallet Type: Mobile (Android, iOS) & Online
Founding Year: 2011
Private Key: Stored on client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

Without a doubt, it’s one of those websites that have been the most used platform to view and perform Bitcoin transactions. This wallet gets an upper hand because this is extremely well funded and therefore they enjoy certain benefits that other wallets in this list don’t.
Pros:

It is one of the most popular and one of the most used websites to check and keep a track of transactions
You can make the wallet ‘view only’ as well for safety purposes

Cons:

Users have reported various technical issues every now and then
Shares private information in some circumstances

V. Trezor:

Wallet Type: Hardware
Private Key: Stored on client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Extremely Secure

This one isn’t stored on your smartphones or your laptops, it’s actually a small pen drive like a stick (almost half the size of a credit card) that you need to insert to your laptop in order to use it. But because this can’t be inserted in a smartphone, people generally use Trezor to store bitcoins and go for another Bitcoin wallet for day to day transactions.

A common complaint of users using other wallets is that the cold storage is either very slow to work or difficult to understand. Trezor is one of the best Bitcoin wallets when it comes to this! Their cold storage is quick, smooth, secure and easy to understand and operate.
Pros:

One of the leading Bitcoin wallet when it comes to the hardware club
One of the best service providers when it comes to cold storage
Being an external stick, it’s handy and easy to carry around

Cons:

It’s not free of cost. It’s worth $199
Not attractive physically
It’s not mobile friendly

VI. BitGo:

Wallet Type: Web
Private Key: Both client and server’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

When it comes to acing the security of the wallet, BitGo takes the bait. In fact, many of the best Bitcoin wallets like Kraken, Shapeshift, etc have turned to BitGo for their’s client’s security requirements. The inception of this wallet happened at a time when the Bitcoin network had hit a low and people had lost faith in the system of this whole network due to third party breaches and hacks.
Pros:

Splendid security features
User-friendly- Easy to use
Bitgo instant feature (allows transactions to be settled quickly) is one of the most popular features

Cons:

Every separate wallet requires it’s seed (even though HD is available)

VII. ArcBit wallet:

Wallet Type: Mobile (iOS only)
Founding Year: 2015
Private Key: Client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

People often do the mistake of assuming that every simple app is either not loaded with all modern day features or is not safe and secure. This one certainly is a proof of that! It’s has a rather plain and simple user interface but provides some of the most unique and modern features than most other best Bitcoin wallets mentioned in this list. The transaction fees set by them is 0.0001 BTC but that varies with transactions that get picked by miners. Even though this is a comparatively new app, it has already started to gain attention and is attracting a lot of eyeballs.
Pros:

Multiple accounts in one wallet
Easy to manage and organize address book
By using the ‘advanced’ mode you can create watch only addresses too!

Cons:

Only available for the iOS platform

VIII. Coinomi:

Wallet Type: Mobile (Android only)
Founding Year: 2015
Private Key: Client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

With Coinomi, you can create multiple accounts using a single seed and you can also retain and restore your coins incase Coinomi doesn’t work or collapses! It also gives you a facility wherein you can share absolutely nothing about your account (not even the private seed or any personal information) and still make smooth and secure transactions.
Pros:

Excellent privacy settings
Flagbearer for multi wallet
Convenient user interface

Cons:

Not supported on iOS
A few coin types are not supported yet

IX. Ledger:

Wallet Type: Hardware
Founding Year: 2014
Private Key: Client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Extremely Secure

Ledger initially started as an online website and slowly moved to a full fledged hardware device. It’s not extraordinary when it comes to security, so if you think that you might be the target of attackers and have a lot of bitcoins to store, you might not want to go for this one then! Apart from that, for the ones who deal with Bitcoins on an occasional basis, you’re good to go with this.
Pros:

The hardware is super cheap ($29), hence it won’t burn a hole in your pocket as well
It is a very compatible device, you can connect it almost any software

Cons:

Users often report that it hangs a lot and hence causes inconvenience sometimes
You have to pre set a private seed on the web

X. BlockTrail:

Wallet Type: Mobile (Android, iOS) and Web
Founding Year: 2014
Private Key: Both server and client’s side
Vulnerable to Malware: Secure

This one competes with Blockchain.info and mostly beats that in terms of security with it’s super smooth 2–3 multisig wallet. In fact, one can even open a wallet anonymously and sync it with their phone contacts. The ‘blockexplorer’ feature lets the user take a look at the overview of the instances where the user’s wallet has been mentioned and has engaged in any sort of transactions (be it failed or successful).
Pros:

You can engage in bitcoin transactions with your contact list as well
Smooth Multi signature platform
An idea choice for everyday use due to its simplicity

Cons:
None that we could find!

Keep ’em safe!

These were our picks for the best Bitcoin wallet in no particular order. It’ll be unfair to label any one wallet as the best because not every user is the same, we’re all looking for different things that will make an ordinary wallet the best Bitcoin wallet for us. You can make your own pick depending on the following factors:

The kind of wallet you want- Hardware, Mobile, Web
The frequency of use- Daily use, Rare or occasional
A number of bitcoins you plan to store- More or less
Proness to hackers- Extremely secure or mildly secure

If you’re now thinking what’s the best place to buy Bitcoin or what’s the easiest way to get Bitcoin or if you’re rather concerned about the safest way to buy Bitcoin, then stay tuned and keep a track of our website- Onlinesearch.net, we’ll come up with more on that soon.

Till then, you might wanna read- How to start a startup with no money and make it profitable!

Hope this was helpful! If you’ve got any other suggestions apart from our list of the best Bitcoin wallets then make sure to leave a comment below!

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